Politics & Government

Narberth Already Planning Next December's Dickens Festival

Participants in last Saturday's event can join a meeting Wednesday night to discuss what went well and what didn't.

Narberth borough and Business Association officials said at Monday night's council meeting they believed the past Saturday's sixth annual Dickens Festival was the biggest ever in the borough. Thousands attended and enjoyed the .

The event has gotten big enough that organizers are already planning for the 2013 edition. There will be a meeting at 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Maido! grocery store on Narberth Avenue to discuss how the festival went and what, if anything, should be changed next time around.

The Narberth Business Association recapped the event on Facebook:

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Feedback from last year’s meeting led us to close off part of Narberth Ave and Forrest Ave, to use safety barriers and additional police and crossing guards at busy intersections, to station almost every vendor onto the streets, leaving sidewalks for pedestrians, and to restrict pedestrians from crossing mid-block on Haverford Ave. We’ve already received feedback about how this improved the feel and safety of the event. We know there is still room for improvement. Coordinating the traffic of vehicles, pedestrians, and horse-drawn carriages will always be a challenge, so, as always, this topic will be thoroughly discussed.

If you have comments or suggestions, please join us at the meeting. Those with strong opinions about any aspect of the festival are encouraged to come and share your thoughts and ideas. Remember that if an idea seems incredibly obvious to you, it’s a pretty good bet that the issue is given careful attention by the organizers every year. Bring your comments and criticisms, but we’d also like to hear your ideas and solutions.

We also need your time and energy. Anyone who is involved will tell you that the planning and performance of this event is incredibly fun and rewarding. It is also very time consuming when we don’t have enough volunteers. If you haven’t been to planning meetings before, you’d may be surprised to learn how few people are actually involved in the production of this festival, which has grown ten-fold in the last five years. So while the suggestion box is always open, we’re really hoping your name will be on next year’s volunteer list.

What did you think of the Dickens Festival? What should change and what shouldn't? Tell us in the comment section below, and post your photos here.

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