It's in its 28th year - Dickens Festival

CHARLES Dickens and Medway go together like strawberries and cream. The great British author is as synonymous with the area as cricket is with Lords and that's why we're delighted that 2006 marks the 28th Rochester Dickens Festival.

The festival, which this year runs from Friday, 2 to Sunday, 4 June, is a traditional celebration of the Victorian era. It has colourful parades, music, dance, drama and street theatre and is three days when the centre of Rochester turns the clock back 200 years. It’s a great opportunity to mingle with costumed participants.

There are daily parades making their way to the heart of the festival from Rochester Railway Station (Saturday, 3 June) and from Rochester Pier (Sunday, 4 June), where participants get off the Kingswear Castle coal-fired paddle steamer. It’s a great sight to see.

Charles Dickens spent five of his childhood years in Medway, from 1817 to 1822. He returned to the area, a national legend and spent the last 13 years of his life at Gads Hill, where he died in 1870.

Friday, 2 June is Children’s Day; there are Victorian Pleasure Gardens in Rochester Castle Gardens over all three days of the festival, competitions for all the family and a festival marketplace. On the eve of the festival (Thursday, 1 June) a Grand Summer Ball is being held at the Corn Exchange, Rochester.

Portfolio Holder for Strategic Development and Economic growth Cllr Jane Chitty said: “This year’s festival will again demonstrate just why the Dickens Festival has been running for as long as it has. “The three-day event is great fun for people of all generations, from the young to older people.’’

Highlights include:

Friday, 2 June

11am – Medway Dickens Quiz. Aimed at children, Rochester Castle Gardens.

11.15am – A Day in the Life of a Dickensian Lady’s Wardrobe, Princes Hall, Corn Exchange. Exhibition and demonstration.

12noon – Dickens Festival Parade, led by the Mayor of Medway from Star Hill to Rochester Castle Gardens.

1pm – Victorian Costumed Baby Competition, Rochester Castle Gardens.

1.30 and 3pm – Dickens Fellowship readings of Dickens and the Hustings, Medway Visitor Information Centre auditorium.

2.15pm – Walking Tour led by City of Rochester Society from Medway Visitor Information Centre.

3.15pm – Widow Corney’s Workhouse Tea Party, Rochester Castle Gardens.

Saturday, 3 June

11.15am – A Day in the Life of a Dickensian Lady’s Wardrobe, Princes Hall, Corn Exchange. Exhibition and demonstration.

12noon – Grand Parade, led by the Mayor of Medway from Rochester Railway Station to Rochester Castle Gardens.

1.15pm – Mrs Rochester Competition, Rochester Castle Gardens.

2pm – Dressmaking with the Mantolinis, Princes Hall, Corn Exchange. A talk with slides about garments used in David Copperfield.

2.15pm – Walking Tour led by City of Rochester Society from Medway Visitor Information Centre.

2.15pm – Mr Rochester Competition, Rochester Castle Gardens.

Sunday, 4 June

12noon – Grand Parade, following the arrival of the Kingswear Castle paddle steamer the parade will make its way from the Esplanade to Rochester Castle Gardens.

12.15pm – Yard of Ale Competition, Courtyard of Royal Victoria and Bull Hotel.

1.15pm – Arm Wrestling Contest, Courtyard of Royal Victoria and Bull Hotel.

2pm – Gurning – Ugly Face Competition, Rochester Castle Gardens.

2pm – Through the Keyhole, Boley Hill. One-off auction for Victorian-style servants.

3pm – The Victorian Family Competition, Rochester Castle Gardens.

4.30pm – Closing Parade, led by the Mayor of Medway, from Star Hill to Rochester Castle Gardens.

There is also:

·Festival marketplace at Boley Hill on Saturday, 3 and Sunday, 4 June. Local charities will be selling goods and there will be games and tomobolas raising money for worthy causes.

·The Victorian Pleasure Gardens will be home to craft stalls with handcrafted products, children’s activities including free craft workshops, a picnic area and traditional fairground rides.

·Thursday, 1 June – Grand Summer Ball at the Queens Hall, Corn Exchange. Tickets cost £19.50, Victorian costume needed. Phone 01795 843317. The ball begins at 7 for 7.30pm.

·Encore to Music Hall with the New Phoenix Players is on Friday, 2 June and Saturday, 3 June at Medway Visitor Information Centre at 7.30pm. Tickets cost £5.50 adults, £4.50 concessions. Phone 01634 843666.

·Sunday, 4 June at 7pm there is a Last Night Sing-Along at the Royal Victoria and Bull Hotel with Donn Barcott, Ashley Davis and friends at 7pm. Phone 01795 843317.

Find out more from Medway Visitor Information Centre on 01634 843666 or visit www.medway.gov.uk/events

The Media Team on 01634 332021 / 332562 / 332017 / 332870 / 338308 or email communications@medway.gov.uk