LOCKHART, Texas – Bertha Martinez is one of many people that have helped turn the Lockhart's Dickens' Christmas Celebration into a winter wonderland 30 different times.

  • Started in 1990
  • Held near the library every year
  • Free event is Friday and Saturday

Lockhart's Dickens Christmas is centered around the Dr. Eugene Clark Public Library. The event is held every there every year since 1990- the year after Martinez first started as a librarian.

"Our former librarian said we need to have a Dickens' Christmas just like in Galveston, we want to bring it to Lockhart, to our citizens. And so that's how it started," said Martinez, the now operations director for the library. "And we wanted to make it a gift from our library to the community."

The event takes place the first Saturday of every December and transports people back to an English Christmas circa 1843, as described in the Charles Dickens classic, "A Christmas Carol."

“During the parade you’ll see the Ghost of Christmas Past," said Martinez. 

Martinez helped coordinate the first Lockhart Dicken's Christmas- at the time it was called "Dickens at the Library." The inaugural event featured an old fashioned taffy pull, carolers, mimes, a display of old fashioned toys, children dressed up as Victorian-era 'street urchins' peddling ornaments, and a horse drawn carriage. 

There have been a number of changes since that first event. For example, the horse drawn carriage has been traded in for a hayride. Despite that, library staff and Dickens' Christmas coordinators are still dressing up in period clothing and there are still Victorian-era music performances, food and atmosphere.

This year the kickoff parade is Friday night, but Martinez said for the first five years of the event, the parade was held on Saturday mornings.

“Something that we have not changed is the Father Christmas. We do not have a Santa Claus- we have Father Christmas- and he’s dressed in his robes," she said.

The Victorian experience also continues the tradition of making the event free of charge for all to enjoy. 

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