Dickens Festival Heralds Holiday
By Lenore McKenzie-Morris
Sitting in her booth at the end of Brompton Road, Jennifer Penegar knitted away on a scarf lamenting the sold-out status of her Christmas-colored stock with a satisfied smile. It was, after all, only the first day of the Dickens Christmas Show at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center.
The four-day show suffered a bit from attendance on the first day as the remnants of Hurricane Ida blew through the coastal city with cold winds and heavy rains, but several of the vendors inside said they'd done better than expected on the inaugural day of the event.
"This is my first year here," Penegar said. "It's worked out pretty well."
Her new line of scarves, Warm Again, was selling well.
Recycling sweaters by combining strips of them to form a scarf, Penegar trims them with fringe and sometimes adds pockets. These charming creations were walking out the door for $30. The Little River resident was hand knitting beautifully patterned scarves to benefit the Sea Turtle Hospital and Susan G. Komen Foundation as she chatted with customers.
"My husband joked that this is a one-year thing, because next year there will be four booths here with these scarves," she said. This year, however, Penegar's original Warm Again scarves have guaranteed her success.
Throughout the convention center, hundreds of vendors offer everything from quilts to pet beds. Most have items with a Christmas theme on display and all the vendors are in Victorian costume. At the Sheraton's booth, marketing representative Debbie Benson proudly displayed her purchases for her co-workers: 20 beaded and stone necklaces for $50.
"I've been filling up my car for the last six hours," Benson said. "I just keep walking in and buying stuff. I went all through everything; there are some really nice things here."
Benson was especially thrilled to hold a live Sugar Bear. The tiny squirrel-like animal warmed her heart.
"If I was still teaching," she said, "I would have to buy that."
Dozens of palm-size fairy doors lined the inside of a one booth, while another was draped for private tealeaf readings. Christmas ornaments range from tiny polymer clay figures to fabric oversized angels, with plenty of theme items in between for everything from pets to athletes. This colorful craft show features everything from carved wooden bowls to saunas. From the truly artistic one of a kind item at the potter's booth to the mass produced but much loved nutty fruitcake, there was a great deal of variety here.
In among the incongruent booths for motor oil sales and home improvement contractors at this holiday gift convention, there were some jewels. Teri Zimmerman's doll clothing booth was a delightful surprise. Not only were the tiny doll dresses and adventure outfits adorable, but Teri and her daughter were warm and friendly. Married for 50 years, the Floridian donates the proceeds of her sales to fund an anniversary present for 50 children. She and her husband have pledged to sponsor 50 surgeries through the Smile Train organization, a well-established agency that works with surgeons to create functional and beautiful mouths for children with cleft lips and other deformities.
Locally, Dollie Skipper stocked her booth with her handmade foot warmers. These fleecy blankets have pockets for tucking feet into for warmth. Customized in size for adults and children, Dollie takes orders from her Conway home and on her Web site dolliesdesigns.com.
At the other end of the convention hall, non-profit organizations display hundreds of fully decorated Christmas trees, wreaths and centerpieces in a silent auction. Tree sales benefit the Citizens Against Spouse Abuse organization which shelters women and children in secret locations and provides counseling. Some trees were decorated with a theme such as cats or college teams. The American Legion Post 178 memorialized POWs and veterans. The North Myrtle Beach Women's Club tree featured $7,200 in golf and gift certificates. Bids on this tree, which featured everything from record albums to feathers, started at $200 and created a bidding war on the first day of the four-day event.
Wreaths were being auctioned off to benefit the local Kiwanis Club. Centerpieces featured everything from cardinals and red berries to Victorian Santas and birds of paradise. The centerpieces bids started at $40 and all proceeds went to the Waccamaw Animal Rescue Mission. A multitude of wreaths hung on doors nearby, a fundraiser for the local Kiwanis chapter.
Surrounded by Christmas decorations, Santa stood nearby waiting for the children to come and visit for photo shoots in front of the big wave backdrop at the surfboard. Santa, however, went virtually unnoticed by the small children sitting in rows of chairs in front of a tiny puppet theater where Punch and Judy lookalikes pantomimed a holiday show.
The festival also features a gingerbread house contest to benefit the Autism Advocate Foundation. With categories for adults and children, the gingerbread homes featured everything from Necco wafer roof tiles to windows made from whole wheat cereal squares. The largest and by far most elaborate gingerbread house was a two-story home with a round tower. This confectionery delight was produced by the pastry chef at the Grand Dunes and won first place for the professional category.
Now in its 27th year, the Dickens Christmas Festival includes plantation tours and afternoon teas. These simultaneous events allows visitors to enhance their early holiday experience by visiting historic landmarks in the Georgetown and Mullins areas by bus on a full-day tour. The teas, which are being held at the Greek Orthodox Church Community Hall this year, feature the traditional English goodies with a holiday twist. The Victorian costumed staff and performance by Shakespearean actor Howard Burnham as Mr. Scrooge make these teas a unique event. Teas and tours are held throughout the weekend.
The festival is held at The Myrtle Beach Convention Center on Oak Street in Myrtle Beach through this Sunday, Nov. 15. Admission is $8 for adults. Visit www.dickenschristmasshow.com for more information.
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