Dickens Christmas in Downtown Franklin TN

Hear Ye-Hear Ye Cool Springs! It’s time to line up Ye Olde Volunteers for Dickens of a Christmas, one of the Historic Downtown Franklin Festivals produced by the The Heritage Foundation each year.

This 25-year tradition on Downtown Franklin’s Main Street, this fabulous event will be held on Saturday, December 11 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, December 12 from 12 noon to 5 p.m.

Dickens of a Christmas features all the sights and sounds of a Victorian Christmas scene complete with Dickens Characters, food, carolers, carriage rides, entertainment, and craft vendors. Dressing up in Victorian fashion is encouraged and adds to the fun! It is NOT mandatory that you dress up.  It just helps all the visitors to the festival enjoy the spirit of Dickens!  See below for Victorian Costume Guidelines.

Dickens Christmas in Franklin Tennessee

The Heritage Foundation are looking for volunteers to fill 2 to 3 hour shifts, so please see if you could donate a few hours of your precious time to help with one of the following areas.  All volunteers are welcome in their Green Room at GreenBank on the Square to rest, get refreshments and get warm.

If you are interested in volunteering, please do the following:
1. Select Saturday or Sunday to volunteer.
2. Select the area in which you would like to volunteer.
3. Select the time frame that works best for your schedule.
4. Please email the above information to: kwilliams @ historicfranklin.com
5. In your email/phone call, please provide your name, email address and phone number (preferred mobile phone).
6. Please respond by FRIDAY, DECEMBER 3 AT NOON. She will send a Confirmation email to you the week of Dickens.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2010

Heritage Foundation Booth-Souvenir Sales, Hot Beverage Cooking, Beverage Sales
9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Need 5 Volunteers for Set Up
10 a.m. to 12 noon Need 5 Volunteers
12 noon to 2:00 p.m. Need 5 Volunteers
2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Need 5 Volunteers
4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Need 5 Volunteers (includes closing)

Carriage Rides (Carriage: Sell Tickets, Ensure people enter & exit carriage safely, Line control)
10 a.m. to Noon Need 4 Volunteers
12 noon to 2 p.m. Need 4 Volunteers
2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Need 4 Volunteers
4 p.m. to 5:30 (includes closing) Need 4 Volunteers

Green Room-Serve as hostess/host in volunteer hospitality room. All food, beverages, utensils, etc. provided.
10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Need 1-2 Volunteers
12:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. Need 1-2 Volunteers
3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Need 1-2 Volunteers (includes closing)

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2010

Heritage Foundation Booth-Souvenir Sales, Hot Beverage Cooking, Beverage Sales
11:15 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Need 5 Volunteers
1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Need 5 Volunteers
3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Need 5 Volunteers (includes take down)

Carriage Rides (Carriage: Sell Tickets, Ensure people enter & exit carriage safely, Line control)
11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Set Up and sell Need 4 Volunteers
1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Need 4 Volunteers
3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Need 4 Volunteers

Green Room-Serve as assistant hostess/host in volunteer hospitality room. All food, beverages, utensils, etc. provided.
Noon to 2:30 p.m. Need 1-2 Volunteers
2:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Need 1-2 Volunteers (close and clean up)

Victorian Costume Guidelines:

FOR LADIES:

1. Every lady wore a hat. Outside, ladies usually wore bonnets of some kind, trimmed with feathers, flowers, ribbons and bows. Create a bonnet easily from an old straw or felt hat from a thrift shop. Indoors, ladies often wore small lace caps that can be fashioned today from lace handkerchiefs, a flower and a few small ribbons. Domestic servants wore mopcaps.

2. A Victorian dress usually had a high neckline, sometimes with a collar and fitted bodice, three-quarter length full sleeves and a very full, long skirt worn over layered petticoats or a hoop. With a few amendments, such as adding more fullness to the skirt, accenting with ribbons, braid, lace and flowers, and even adding a collar, any thrift-shop find can be transformed into a lovely Victorian dress.  Keep in mind that solids and small prints were more common, but stripes and plaids also were popular.  Cotton, lightweight wools or any fabric that looks like silk or brocade would most resemble period cloth.

3. When choosing a long skirt, accent it with ribbons, lace and a full petticoat or hoop. A high-necked blouse with a cloak, mantle, shawl or pelerine jacket completes this easy outfit.

4. A working class woman would wear simple dress with narrow sleeves and a dark material, with no petticoats. She might wear a bibbed apron over the dress, with a shawl tied over her shoulders.

5. Dark stockings and slipper-type shoes or ladies’ boots were worn during this period. To complete the outfit, a lady would add a bonnet to match her dress, gloves, a fan and a small purse.

FOR GENTLEMEN:

1. Hats are a must. A gentleman always wore a hat of some kind when he was outside. Even working-class men are pictured with battered top hats or lower-crowned, broad-brimmed hats. Tweed skimmers were more sporty versions of Victorian attire.

2. A plain white shirt can be given a period look by turning the collar up. Add a ribbon, scarf or fancy cravat and knot in front. A working man would wear a collarless shirt or smock, with sleeves rolled up.

3. A vest [or waistcoat] of brocade, velvet or silk will help create a gentleman’s costume. A waistcoat of wool in bright colored strips or plaid will make any 21st Century man a sporting 19th Century chap or shopkeeper.

4. Tapered pants in black, grey or buff with a strip of ribbon running down the outer seam were a gentleman’s normal attire. A working man would wear a baggy pair of pants in wool or corduroy.

5. A frock coat or tailcoat is easy to create, using a dark overcoat or raincoat. Trim the collar with velvet, silk or brocade, and move the first button to mid-chest, causing the coat to fall in a cutaway fashion. A laborer, fisherman or stallkeeper would have a wool coat with a scarf tied around the neck.

FOR CHILDREN :

1. Boys wore trousers, shirts and coats as grown men did. A cap or small top hat also was common. The younger boys wore knickers, and the “young men” wore trousers.

2. Girls wore low frocks fastened behind, and short sleeves.

When they went outside, they put on a cloak or shawl. Upper-class parents dressed their girls like miniatures, reproducing on a small scale each detail of puff, frill and elaborate decoration. The more common folk tended to be thrifty, and would reuse garments to make their children’s clothes.

3. Babies were dressed in layers of flannel or cotton petticoats to combine warmth and ease of washing. Caps, with rows and rows of lace, looked dear around an infant’s face. It was fashionable to drape baby in a simple circular cape while outside.

TIPS
For additional tips on Victorian dressing, visit a public library for books about costuming.  Search through old magazines kept on microfilm from the turn of the century and study the clothing pictured in the magazines.  Rent an old Charles Dickens classic turned into a movie, such as Oliver or A Christmas Carol, and try to duplicate the clothing worn by the actors. Remember, a Victorian costume can be custom-made by a professional dressmaker, or pieced together with elements found in many closets or thrift shops.