Dickens Christmas Festival and Faire Announces First Summer Fundraising Event - 'Dickens of a Ride'

February 23, 2023

Mountaineer News

Upshur County Commission

Becki Westfall, organizer of the Dickens Christmas Festival and Faire speaks to the Upshur County Commission during the February 16th Commission meeting. / Mountaineer News Photo

BUCKHANNON - During the Upshur County Commission meeting on February 16th, the organizer of the Dickens Christmas Festival and Faire, Becki Westfall, was in attendance to request the use of Courthouse facilities for their second annual event. She also announced a new summer fundraising event - ‘Dickens of a Ride’ - which is an ATV - UTV fundraiser ride scheduled for Saturday, July 29th from 9:00am to 5:00pm in Tallmansville. Cost will be $25 for drivers and $15 for passengers.

The 2nd Annual Dickens Christmas Festival and Faire will commence Saturday, December 2nd, 2023. Its first planning meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 28th at 5:30pm. Anyone interested in participating is invited to attend at 11 E Main Street.

Westfall began her address to the Commission by requesting permission to utilize the Upshur Courthouse Courthouse again in 2023, given its overall importance to the festival. She also briefly touched on the minor glitches they experienced during last year’s event. Watch the full segment here:

Westfall further detailed the upcoming ‘Dickens of a Ride’ summer event and how it’s not only intended to help with some of the operating costs for the Dickens Faire winter event but for raising as much food as possible to help families in need within our community. She said they received over 1,500 donations of canned food items from last year's Christmas festival for the Parish House and were overwhelmed by the show of support.

“July 29th… It’s going to be through the beautiful mountains of West Virginia, which is going to be a two-part fundraiser. First… instead of collecting money for baskets, we’re going to ask for donations of food. So, we’re going to hopefully collect a lot of food for our ‘Dickens of a Ride’ and be able to give that to the Parish House when their coffers are very low in the summer and the children are hungry...,” she said.

Watch the full segment here:

She further expressed her gratitude for everyone’s support and participation with the event:

Westfall closed by reflecting on the 2022 festival and shared with Commission the positives, the glitches and the learning experiences from the inaugural event: