Hospitality

A Dickens Holiday returns for its 22nd year

By Staff Report, posted 4 years ago

A Dickens Holiday: A Unique Holiday & Shopping Experience is back for the 22nd year, complete with fun festivities in both November and December. 

The event, presented by the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County, attracts attendees from across Cumberland County and surrounding areas, all the while supporting Shop Local initiatives in downtown shops and through local vendors. 

A Dickens Holiday always draws in big crowds as well as sponsorships from a variety of businesses. 

The Event Partners include Piedmont Natural Gas, H&H Homes and Cape Fear Valley Health. 

Supporting Partners are Truist (formerly BB&T), Fayetteville Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine, Cape Fear Eye Associates, P.A. and Systel Business Equipment. 

Friends of the Arts include the Fayetteville Cumberland Economic Development Corporation, First Citizens Bank, Holmes Security Systems, City Center Gallery & Books, Valley Radiology, Lumbee Guaranty Bank, ERA Strother Real Estate and Callahan and Rice Insurance Group. 

Community Partners include the City of Fayetteville, Cumberland County and the North Carolina Arts Council. 

This year, The Spirit of Dickens will take place on Nov. 19 and 20 and on Dec. 3 and 4. Downtown restaurants will have “festive feasts” and storefronts and windows will be decorated with Victorian holiday decorations. There will also be live performances from Michael Daughtry, David Nikkel, Coventry Carolers, Highland Brass Ensemble, and others.

As tradition goes, A Dickens Holiday will take place on Black Friday, Nov. 26, from 1-8 p.m. Attendees can stroll through through downtown Fayetteville, supporting local merchants and artisans, ride on a horse-drawn carriage or capture images for social media at a selfie station or with Dickens themed cut-outs. 

H&H Homes will host their Gingerbread Community of Hope competition once again at Capitol Encore Academy. 

Other forms of entertainment include musical performances, live chalk drawings and ballet excerpts from The Nutcracker, to name a few. 

As part of A Dickens Holiday, Dickens After Dark will begin at 5 p.m. This part of the event will include the traditional candle lighting and singing of popular Christmas tunes. 

To learn more, visit https://www.theartscouncil.com/

Ico insights

INSIGHTS

SPONSORS' CONTENT
fayetteville-state-university elizabeth-hunt headshott

Fayetteville State University leads campus-wide CPR and AED preparedness push

Elizabeth Hunt - Assistant Vice Chancellor for Risk and Compliance, Fayetteville State University
north-carolina-military-business-center tim-malone headshott

Federal Construction & Infrastructure Leaders Head to Wilmington for 2026 Southeast Region Summit, April 14–16

Tim Malone - Data Management and Programming Technician, North Carolina Military Business Center
the-arts-council-of-fayettevillecumberland-county kennon-jackson headshott

ArtsXL Is a Tourism Strategy, Not Just a Building

Kennon Jackson - Chief of Staff, The Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County

In The Current Issue

Mutts with a mission: Specialized K9 program supports local Veterans

Kristen Botts co-founded the program with her husband, Nathan Botts, who is a Veteran himself. Photos provided by Kristen Botts.An organization helping Veterans live a full life after their service in the U.S. Military wants to connect Veterans and d


Committed to community: Huntington Bank completes merger with Cadence Bank, continues to grow client base

Patrick NoblesHuntington Bancshares Incorporated announced on Feb. 2 that it has closed its merger with Cadence Bank, a regional bank headquartered in Houston, Texas and Tupelo, Miss. This strategic partnership accelerates Huntington’s growth in


Editor's note: What really catches the attention of someone new to Fayetteville?

There is extensive dialogue surrounding Fayetteville as a travel destination or city aimed at recruiting new businesses and new residents. As someone who moved here from out of state, I thought it could be fun to share my personal experience as