Official Dickens Fair Performer Page
Back to Dickens Christmas Fair Backup Performer Missive Page
Cow Palace Missives
Official Save The Cow Palace Website

Dickens Christmas Fair 2008 December Missive #1- Thanks!
(sent December 1st, 2008)

Attendance, marketing, heat, lines and...THANKS!!

Congratulations to all of us on a fabulous opening weekend 1!  Our attendance  was so good, it broke records all three days.  This resulted in the best opening weekend of any year in recent memory.  The 30th Anniversary is off to a roaring start!  The Fair LOOKS great and the spirit in the streets, on stages, and in the shops and parlors is delightfully high.  We expect that attendance numbers will continue to grow, as they always do, between now and closing day.

Special thanks are in order for the extremely hard working pre-fair crews of carpentry, design, lighting, & production, the entertainment groups who build environmental areas, and the vendors who create shops and stalls with great attention to lovely design and detail. The quality of the shows, due to diligent rehearsals, workshops, and individual effort are also worthy of many thanks and kudos.

We can all be very proud of the Fair we have created together!

Please spread the work via email and with everyone you meet. Tell them your personal stories and be sure to include: "The Dickens Christmas Fair is exceeding all great expectations in its 30th season. Come join the fun!" Come early (by 11) or late (after 3) to avoid the crowds. Don't forget the "Twilight Special" is a half-off adult, child ticket discount after 4 PM - every Fair day!!

Also, be sure to check out the new photo gallery (thanks to Becky Miller!) at http://www.dickensfair.com. Check out the map too. Forward this link!!

If you have posters, door hangers or flyers that you have not put out yet, please please please put them out now or drop them off at the Promo Table outside the Operations Trailer in the Breezeway. Everything we printed must be put up and out in the next few days to be effective!  Thanks!

Production and Operations issues being addressed: the heat in the venue...we got a few of the ancient vents in the North bays to open for the first time on Sunday (Thank you Chris Bishop).  Cooler weather this weekend should help too.  We are opening doors as much as possible as well. The bathrooms will be properly stocked going into the weekend. Our sincere apologies to everyone on this. This was the result of a miscommunication and will not happen again. The Cow Palace staff has been extremely responsive to all our needs from the moment we arrived. They even brought in a outside plumbing company on Sunday to fix the Women's bathroom behind the Box office.

We will very likely experience long lines again each remaining day of the event. Many thanks to all the performers who ventured forth to entertain the masses as they waited patiently, sometimes for over an hour, to buy tickets. The Willcall operation has been moved, ahead of schedule, out to a trailer so additional ticket sellers may take over all windows inside the lobby. We will still need everyone's help to spend time 'working the lines'.  All entertainers - please ask your director, or Cat or Robert what you can do to help. 

With all sorts of regards,

Kevin & Leslie and the whole Red Barn Productions team.



To sign up for the missives, please email missives@redbarnproductions.org, and request to be added to the missive list.


Link to Cat Taylor's Homepage