The Experience: So the semester is drawing to a close and so do my posts for this blog. For my final adventure out in to the world of South Jersey I had originally planned out a visit to a local high performance kart track in Millville. Unfortunately the racing season is over, I had no idea go-karts were a seasonal business, and I have been informed it will restart some time in March. For any of my adrenaline driven junkies who want to find out some more information, you can read up on it here.

As a replacement I figured I would do something more time appropriate, and with the spirit of the upcoming holiday I will be attending the Dickens Festival in Medford, NJ. The event itself will be held on route 541, or Main Street, in Medford and you can get Mapquest directions here. The event was held Saturday 6th, 2008 in the historic portion of main street, as a free celebration of the holidays.

When I got there, on a snowy Saturday in December, the streets were swamped with people walking up and down the streets. We parked about a quarter mile off the main road and walked out into the frigid night. Police officers directed the major traffic down a side road, because about a mile off road was blocked off for the festival.

The streets were sporadically lined with all types of food vendors, selling kettle cooked popcorn, hot dog, and pretzels. The town itself, Medford, is a old Victorian style village established in 1847. It is littered with historic houses, some built before the 18oo’s by Flemish settlers. HMVA, Historic Medford Village Association, is responsible for preserving the state of this town, and promoting it through festivals such as this.

The warmth of this town could not be escaped, and a quote from the National Geographic Guide to Small Town excerpt provides a useful insight into the nature of this town and the importance of this festival, “Pine garlands and twinkling white lights provide a Victorian touch to tiny Medford in early December, when the whole township crowds Main Street for the annual Dickens Festival celebration. A cool northerly wind sends aloft the sweet aroma of steaming apple cider and cinnamon, as bundled up revelers, carolers, characters from a Christmas Carol, and musicians alike greet familiar faces, of which there are many. For that’s the kind of place Medford is: a friendly tight-knit community where everyone knows everyone.”

The bustling scene at the street, the smiles on the faces of everyone as the street is transformed to a Dickens 19th Century story, added to a general happiness in the air. The sweet music from carolers could be heard saturating the air. We walked, occasionally popping in a store to look around, and regain feeling in our extremities. We admired and laughed at the brave characters walking around in nineteenth century get ups, and my girlfriend even got caught by one on stilts who singled her out to wish her a happy holiday. After a brief, but embarrassing incident, in which her cheeks became redder than the Santa suit he was wearing, we continued on our way, determined to walk the entire length of the festival before giving in to the cold.

On the way we passed  small pen, with two actual rain deers that were set up for the amusement of all the people around. This was probably the saddest thing at the Dickens Festival. The small pen gave no space for the animals, who were visibly terrified at the large group of people encircling them. The cheers of the crowd definitely had a stressful effect on the deers.

We finally got near the end of the entire street to find a great little spot hosted primarily by the Medford United Methodist Church. Not really a religious person, but free cookies, apple cider, and hot chocolate made this an appealing place to hang out for a little and see what was going on. Nearby was a small petting zoo, which eventually transformed itself into a nativity scene that involved a cast of church volunteers, the usual batch of farm animals (goats, calf, and sheep), as well as a camel. That’s right a camel. Immediately I wondered where you find a camel. Is there a 1-800 number? A store? Well, it doesn’t take much these days, but a quick google search later pulled up tons of “rental” zoos. If you want a good laugh take a look here, and keep in mind the key words used were only, “camel rental.”

After this, we pretty much reached the end of the festival, and we about faced a booked for the car, and warmth. The Dickens Festival was a great experience, even with the cold, that I would not miss. As a part of the holiday season, it is a charming town, that embraces its historic background. The snowy atmosphere, the smells, the bright lights of lite Christmas trees and streetlights, brick faced buildings, the actors, and carolers made this great. The only problem is that it is only for one day a year.