Bid farewell to the frenetic shopping malls of the 21st century and steal away to a bustling Victorian wonderland of holiday merriment and cheer when the Great Dickens Christmas Fair kicks off Friday at the Cow Palace in San Francisco. Featuring hundreds of costumed players, winding lanes filled with shops, pubs, delicious fare and colorful characters from literature and history, the Great Dickens Christmas Fair is a Victorian Christmas Card come to life.

 Each year for more than 30 years, the Great Dickens Fair is directed by the Patterson family, producers of the popular Renaissance fairs at Black Point and Stafford Lake in Marin County for three decades. 

Stroll down a London street and meet characters form “Alice in Wonderland,” “A Christmas Carol,” “Oliver Twist,” “Nicholas Nickleby,” as well as the great Charles Dickens himself. Enjoy the outrageous Christmas pantomime or a Punch & Judy puppet show, then duck into Mad Sal’s Dockside Alehouse where patrons can join in singing rowdy favorites or watch the bold high-kicking gals take to the stage in the wicked can-can!

Feast on Victorian holiday delights like hot roasted chestnuts, Meyer’s rum cakes or Mrs. Bumble’s Sugar Plums. Enjoy hot English “bangers” (sausages), fish and chips, and even exotic dishes from the far-flung reaches of the Victorian empire, like spicy chicken and Greek delicacies. Wash it all down with champagne, cider, hot chocolate, hot buttered rum or a pint of stout or ale from one of four English pubs.

Kids can try their hand at being “printer’s devils” at an actual 1860s printing press, learn to tie intricate knots and sing sea chanteys with the Paddy West sailors along the dock or create their own holiday gifts like rolled beeswax candles, miniature wreaths and intricate brass rubbings. Children can also visit Pirates Cove down by the dock or learn to play darts at the Cat n’ Bull Dart and Gaming Parlour.

The Great Dickens Fair opens Friday and runs weekends through Dec. 23 from 11 a.m. to 7 pm. Tickets are $8 for children ages 5 to 11; $17 for students/seniors/military and adults before opening day; and $20 at the door. Tickets are available online at www.dickensfair.org. Special group rates are available. Call (800) 510-1558 for more information.