Wellsboro Dickens of a Christmas Festival

The real life Hallmark Christmas town in Wellsboro, PA

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A Dickens of a Christmas Festival!

Nestled in the hills of Pennsylvania, miles of winding country roads away from anything, is a small town that could easily be the setting of a real life Hallmark Christmas movie.

For nearly 4 decades the small town of Wellsboro has been adorning its main street with Christmas trees, dressing up in Victorian garb and pulling out all the stops for its annual Dickens of a Christmas Festival.

And this is no small festival. For a town of 3500, the number of vendors is astonishing. Heck, for a town of 35,000 it would be astonishing! In addition to all of the vendors, the downtown shops are all open (and their downtown is full of shops), there are Christmas carolers roaming the streets, a best dressed contest, and countless productions of Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.”

History of the Dickens of a Christmas Festival

Looks like a real life Hallmark town to me!

As the story goes, this small town was trying to come up with a way to celebrate the holiday season. With a lack of ideas, someone said, “I don’t know what we should do, but whatever we do, we ought to have a Dickens of a good time doing it!”

And so the festival was born…

Certainly sounds like a potential plot of a Hallmark Christmas movie to me! So come to this magical small town and experience the real life Hallmark town setting for yourself!

How to Get There:

Where is Wellsboro, PA?

Wellsboro, PA is in the middle of nowhere. It is located in north-central Pennsylvania, less than 30 miles from the NY border.

The closest large cities are Binghamton, NY, at just under 2 hrs. away, and Rochester, NY, just over 2 hrs.

It’s a 4 hr. drive from both Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, and just over 4 hrs. from NYC.

What airport to fly into?

The closest regional airport is the Elmira Corning Regional Airport, just about 30 minutes from Wellsboro.

Binghamton and Rochester also have airports, but if you’re going to fly in, you will probably want to fly into a larger city and plan a trip around the whole area. The closest major airport is Syracuse Hancock International Airport.

Where to park:

The easiest place to park is at Wellsboro High School.

A heated shuttle (AKA a school bus, so you can relive high school!) runs every few minutes from the parking lot to the corner of Water St. and Central Ave. The festival runs along Main St. between Central Ave. and Queen St. You’ll be able to see the start of it from the drop off location.

There is one porta potty available at the high school parking lot, and several more at the drop off location.

  • If you’re staying downtown, just park at your hotel.

The view from the high school parking lot!

Practical Information:

When is it?

The Dickens of a Christmas Festival is always the first weekend in December, Friday, Saturday & Sunday.

How long do you need?

There are different events on all weekend long, so if you really want the full experience, stay in town and enjoy the whole weekend. In fact, I think it’s best to stay in town for at least one night, as the festival gets really crowded and that way you will be able to enjoy it when there are less crowds around, and see the evening events.

We just drove in for the day (from Jamestown) and stayed for about 2 1/2 hours. We walked around to all of the stalls and in a few of the stores, but we didn’t see any of the programs.

You can easily fill up an afternoon if you go to everything. I didn’t realize that there were even more things to to see outside of the Main Street section (that’s what happens when you pick up your program on the way out…)

Where to start?

The first place you should visit is the Deane Center. There are bathrooms here, a beautiful Christmas village window display, you can get your tickets for a showing of “A Christmas Carol,” and most importantly, you can pick up a map with all the locations, events and times (best to start here, as opposed to getting it on the way out as we did…!).

What to eat?

Come hungry, because there are lots of food vendors at the Dickens of a Christmas Festival! Be sure to walk around to see what different kinds of food are offered, so you can pick what you most want to try!

The main food vendors are on the ends of each of the four “offshoot” streets, each side of Craffton St. and Waln St. off of Main St. You’ll see things like spiedies, Buffalo chicken spiedies, lobster mac and cheese, sausages, and lots of desserts and candy.

Some of the local restaurants on Main St. will also be open and some even have booths set up out front. Or you can try the Wellsboro Diner, but you will probably be waiting in a long line!

A spiedie

Christmas cupcakes

What to do?

There really are so many things to do. It’s not just shopping (though there is so much shopping).

Be sure to stop by the Deane Center to pick up a program. This will tell you when the plays are showing, when the costume contest is, when to expect a parade or join a sing-a-long, and when the Christmas tree lighting is. It doesn’t get more Hallmark Christmasy than that.

Here’s a run down of what they have to offer:

  • Window displays

  • Book sale

  • Street vendors

  • Model train show

  • Bake sales

  • Raffles

  • Cooking demonstrations

  • Christmas caroling/sing-a-longs

  • Dancing/street performances

  • Candlelight walk

  • Christmas tree lighting

  • “A Christmas Carol” at the Deane Center & Warehouse Theater

  • Other Christmas plays & movies at the high school auditorium & Arcadia Theater

A mini parade!

What to Wear?

Feel free to dress in your normal, everyday wear. Or in your normal, everyday Christmas wear (my friend came as a full-blown elf)!

Or come in your normal, everyday Victorian garb and enter the best dressed contest (because everyone has normal, everyday Victorian outfits, right?). You will see lots of people, vendors, musicians, or just your average Joe, walking around in Victorian era dresses, hats, and suits.

So don’t be afraid to have fun and dress up a little!

  • I would also say to wear something bright and easily recognizable. With so many people, and so many things to look at, it’s easy to get separated and lose your party. But if one of you is dressed in a bright red elf costume, they’re easy to spot in the crowd!

Just your average Joe…

Where to go to the bathroom?

There is one porta potty in the high school parking lot, where you will park your car (unless you’re staying downtown).

There are several porta potties at the start of the festival on Central Ave. where the shuttle bus drops you off.

There are bathrooms inside at the Deane Center, which is where you should head first to get your program.

Is it worth it?

Let’s be honest, nothing ever actually looks (or feels) quite like a Hallmark movie. I just watched a Hallmark Christmas movie the other day that takes place in Alaska in December, and yet is somehow bright and sunny despite it being the time of year the sun never rises. That’s Hollywood (or Hallmark) magic for you I guess…

Overall, this festival did not disappoint. There is so much going on and so many vendors, that it was worth the 2 1/2 drive we made to come.

Is the festival crowded? Yes, very crowded! That definitely deters from the Hallmark feel of the place.

This is one reason I would suggest staying overnight in Wellsboro. You can experience the cute small town in the morning and evening after the crowds have left, and you will be around for the evening events like the Christmas tree lighting. You can even go back to your room to rest so you don’t have to stay out all day.

Is it magical and snowy? It’s possible, but probably not. You just never know. Because this is the real world and there is no fake Hallmark snow that somehow doesn’t make your hands cold even after throwing a snowball at your soon-to-be lover.

When we went, it poured rain for the first half of the day. Which was actually kind of entertaining to try to hold my umbrella and my water bottle, and eat my spiedie while not getting drenched in the torrential downpour. But it really was no fun to wander around and explore.

Thankfully, the rain stopped, the sun came out, and the second half of the day was very enjoyable!

Even the umbrellas are part of the costume!

Real Life Hallmark Moments

I Spy Santa

What kind of real life Hallmark town would this be if there wasn’t a Santa (or 2) in disguise?

We found a couple potential Santas roaming around:

Hillstone Farms Market

While there are a lot of shops in downtown Wellsboro, this was our favorite. This sweet little shop absolutely felt like we had stepped into a real life Hallmark movie (even with all the crowds!).

This family run shop sells meat from their family run farm, as well as baked goods from their own (you guessed it… family run) kitchen.

Christmas Carolers

The random Christmas carolers (complete in period costume) are, to me, the final touch in making Wellsboro, PA a bonafide Hallmark Christmas town. This is exactly the sort of thing I would expect to see (and have seen) in a Hallmark movie.

Plan a Trip:

Where to stay?

If you can swing it, stay at the Penn Wells Hotel right on Main Street. You can’t beat the location, or the charm if you’re going for that Hallmark movie feeling. Be sure to book far in advance to be able to get a room for the festival. If you can’t get into the hotel (or maybe you want to be a bit further from the crowds), they also have a lodge just a few blocks away.

Another cozy choice right downtown is the Romantique Bed & Breakfast. The small and cozy home is run by a local family and has 2 rooms available.

Or you could stay in one of the three rooms at the La Belle Auberge Inn & Spa, also close to downtown, and even get a massage while you’re there!

Other things to do nearby:

Cherry Springs State Park is a popular star gazing site. You might think that star gazing in December sounds like a terrible plan (although a decidedly Hallmark place for a Christmas date), but winter is actually an ideal time for star gazing as the nights are often clearer than warm summer nights (and darker too!).

Cherry Springs State Park is a 45 min. drive from Wellsboro.

The PA Grand Canyon, or the Pine Creek Gorge, is a beautiful place for hiking and exploring outside. It is best viewed in the fall, but check out some of the overlook points in the winter for views unhindered by the trees.

It’s about a 20 minute drive from Wellsboro to get to the Pine Creek Gorge.

Corning Museum of Glass in New York is a unique museum full of all different kinds of glass pieces, live demonstrations, and make your own classes with seasonal offerings. You can make an adorable snowman or a glass tree at Christmas time!

CMoG is a 45 min. drive from Wellsboro.

Amazing paperweights at Corning Museum of Glass.

Make it a road trip:

Because Wellsboro is close to… nowhere, if you don’t already live within driving distance, I would suggest flying into a larger airport like Syracuse or Buffalo, and making a road trip of it!

Here are a couple potential road trip itineraries:

From Syracuse:

From Buffalo:

More ideas: For a full list of things to do across the great states of NY & PA, check out my New York State Bucket List and my Pennsylvania Bucket List!

Even MORE ideas: Here is a road trip through the 9 most Christmassy places in PA—though I’d disagree with them leaving Wellsboro off the list!

Frozen Niagara Falls

Letchworth State Park in winter

Any more questions?

If you have any more questions about visiting the real life Hallmark town of Wellsboro, PA for the Dickens of a Christmas Festival, don’t hesitate to email me!

Planning a trip?

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