The celebrated Riverside Dickens Festival will wrap up Sunday with an afternoon tea reminiscent of Victorian-era London during the life and times of author Charles Dickens.
The 1 p.m. event, dubbed “Royal Victorian Tea Room and Music Hall,” will be held at First Congregational Church, 3504 Mission Inn Ave., and include a mockup of a London bazaar, characters from Charles Dickens’ classics on parade, literary readings, an original musical, a series of skit performances and high tea with homemade treats.
Most of the 32nd annual fest’s activities took place Saturday in White Park, offering visitors a chance to “step back in time” with “immersive historical re-enactments, captivating performances, literary discussions and interactive workshops that celebrate Victorian life here and in England,” organizers said.
The event also included an “Authors’ Salon,” featuring the works Dickens contemporaries Jane Austen, Edgar Allan Poe, Oscar Wilde, Sir Richard Burton and others performed by actors; parades, live music and who-dun-it mysteries.
In February 2024, the event was hosted at the Jensen Alvarado Historic Ranch & Museum, near Flabob Airport, in Jurupa Valley. The decision to relocate from its traditional place along the Main Street pedestrian mall was cost-driven.
Organizers said setting up security barriers and cordoning off streets required paying ever-escalating municipal fees that the fest couldn’t afford. White Park offered a more economical option.
The fest was nearly nixed completely in February 2021 amid the COVID lockdowns, but organizers managed to throw together a virtual presentation featuring profiles of Dickens’ stories online.
In-person activities returned in February 2022.
More information is available at dickensfest.com.