Experience Historic Chestertown’s
Victorian Holiday Extravaganza

Step back into 1840’s London and experience the holiday season as Charles Dickens imagined it.

This two day event includes entertainment, home tours, food, book talks, merchandise, and more.

And don’t forget to come dressed like the dickens!

December 6 & 7, 2024

Volunteering for A Dickens of a Christmas?

Sign up for your spots!

Sign Up Here!

Join us in the charm of the holiday season!

Main Street Chestertown welcomes thousands of residents and visitors
for its annual Dickens of a Christmas during this two-day celebration of the season.

“Christmas, and the end of the year, is definitely a time when people try their hardest to begin afresh, a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely.”

– Charles Dickens

Friday, December 6th, 2024

5 – 9pm, downtown Chestertown

Enjoy an evening filled with oysters, food vendors, beer, wine, and bonfires! We will have our opening ceremony and listen to KCHS Jazz Band, Garnet Elementary Chorus, River Voices, and end the night with a jam session from The Devils Brigade (formerly theAmerican Rogues)!

Don’t forget to visit Santa!

On Saturday from 10AM to 12PM,
Santa will be waiting for children
to visit him with their Christmas wishes
in his house in Fountain Park!

Saturday Schedule

December 7th, 2024

Save with Combo Tickets

With our combo ticket, you’ll have access to both the Holiday House Tour and the Second Seating of the Victorian Tea. Explore the charming streets adorned with twinkling lights, indulge in delicious seasonal treats, and enjoy Chestertown’s unique Victorian architecture. Get your combo ticket now and make memories that will warm your heart for years to come!

Sold Out!

Stage Schedule

10AM: Quinn Arnold
11AM: O’McPub Band
12PM: Quinn Arnhold
1PM: Jimi Kinstle
2PM: O’McPub Band
3PM: Baltimore Pipe Band
3:45PM: The Devil’s Brigade
(Formerly American Rogues)

7AM – 9AM

Run Like the Dickens! 5K Run/Walk and Kids’ Fun Run

Start and finish near The Kitchen at the Imperial.

Sign Up Here!

8AM – 12PM

Chestertown Farmers’ Market

Enjoy the award winning Chestertown Farmers’ Market on the 300 block of High Street!

Visit Website

12PM – 5:30PM

Beverage Tent Opens!

Serving beer, wine, hot cider, mulled wine, and non-alcoholic beverages!

10AM – 1PM

Children’s Activities at Park Row

Santa’s House Open in Fountain Park

10AM – 2PM

Holiday House Tour

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12:00PM – 2:00PM

Victorian Tea

Enjoy a proper English tea from Victorian servers.

Sold Out!

10AM – 4PM

Heritage Village in The Bank

Wildly Native Flower Farm, River Arts, WAC Women’s League, Museum’s of Kent, Tarot Readings

10AM – 2:45PM

Dickens Performers

Enjoy acts such as O’ McPub Band, Jimmy Kinstle One-Man Show, and more!

Stock Image of Tarot Cards displayed out

Time TBD

Tarot Card reading in The Vault in The Bank!

Exterior photo of Sumner Hall in Chestertown, Maryland

10AM – 1PM

Sumner Hall has Great Expectations!

Visit Sumner Hall as it transforms from Sumner Hall to Satis House! Enjoy refreshments with the Ghost of Miss Havisham. Experience the museum’s Debutante Exhibit: “Pride Without Predjuce.”

11AM – 5PM

Food vendors open

Food vendors coming soon!

2:45PM – 5:30PM

Main Stage Entertainment

Enjoy an epic finale to Dickens of a Christmas 2024. Acts coming soon!

5:00PM-6:30PM

“13 Unmerriest Monsters”

How much do you really know about the holiday season? …Have you taken precautions against the Yule Cat? Meow!

Get to know Mari Lwyd, a skeleton horse who challenges people in a battle of rhymes. How about the French whipping father, le Pere Fouttard? Locally, we must be on the lookout for the Belsnickel. Maybe you think your decor is up to snuff for inspection by The Yule Goat? Ready for Caga Tio, the festive holiday “log?”

Well, if you’re not prepared for all this, Krampus may be the best introduction for the true spirit of the season.

Join us for this darker look at holiday legends and lore presented by Rissa Miller, and discover the shady backend of the most wonderful time of the year ~ or as she likes to call it, a Creepy Little Christmas.

Rissa Miller is an editor, author, herbalist, seer, and storyteller. Her storytelling expertise stems from extensive research into the area of esoteric history, including ghosts, witchcraft, cryptids, and folklore. Rissa believes the most enduring stories teach us not only about humanity’s past, but also give reason to reflect on our own present beliefs and realities. She often leads ghost tours and gives lively history talks.

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