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November 2025 | Phonebox Magazine 25What the Dickens? Christmas is here againYou know the festive season is just around the corner when Olney%u2019s famous Dickens of a Christmas street event is announced. This year it%u2019s on Sunday 7th December.Fun, food, a fair, market stalls and a brass band, all wrapped up in a traditional Victorian theme. That can only mean one thing: it%u2019s Dickens of a Christmas time!Every year the eagerly awaited town event is enjoyed by thousands of people from Olney and the surrounding villages. It%u2019s the time when everyone really starts to get the festive feeling when Dickens of a Christmas comes to town for its annual festive fun day.This hugely popular event, which brings a taste of Victorian England to Olney%u2019s Market Place, its shops, pubs, restaurants and churches, is enjoyed every year by locals and visitors alike.Dickens of a Christmas, which this year is on Sunday 7th December, will once again feature its brilliant blend of decorated shops, stalls, market traders and fairground attractions.It%u2019s one of the main attractions on the local calendar each year, and for 2025 %u2018Dickens%u2019 will once again see the Market Place as the centre point of the celebrations. But it%u2019s by no means the only place to visit during the exciting day. With the entire High Street and the Yardley Road/West Street junction at the north end of town also featuring tempting stalls and items of interest, there will be something for all ages to see and do.The High Street will be particularly busy as local businesses and residents take part and sell unique wares from tiny stalls along the pavement. The main road will be busy, so a %u2018Park and Ride%u2019 service has been arranged, available from Emberton Country Park and the Yardley Road Industrial Estate.For the 29th time in succession the popular Dickensian theme is retained as visitors step back in time. Most stall holders %u2013 and many visitors %u2013 dress in the costume of the Victorian age. And a hearty Dickens-style market place is re-enacted with around 60 stalls off ering food and drink, fresh farm produce, cheeses, pies, wine and beer, clothing, jewellery, arts and crafts, and cosmetics.Olney Brass Band are set to play, and there will be lots of other musical interludes throughout the day, including local performing arts groups and the ever-popular street organ.The Newport Pagnell and Olney Lions Group plan to run a Craft Fair in the Olney Centre with a wide array of local and regional stalls lined up to see and perhaps make a purchase from.The town%u2019s Christmas Tree Festival runs in conjunction with %u2018Dickens%u2019 throughout the entire weekend. It%u2019s based at St Peter and St Paul Church, where a display of decorated trees, created by local people, organisations and businesses, are shown. There%u2019s also a chance to make your own decorations, hear the choir singing and listen to the organ music. Refreshments will be available.Dickens of a Christmas is scheduled to run all day on the Sunday %u2013 10am to 4pm %u2013 so go along and join in the fun, support the stalls and charities and welcome in Christmas 2025!Some of the Dickens of a Christmas photographs from last year