ju – bi – lee, a special anniversary of an event, especially one celebrating twenty-five or fifty years of a reign or activity.
In 1992, Joan Patton, Carolyn Grant and The Friends of the Library board conceived the idea of a three-day festival. After a year and a half and hundreds of hours later, the Riverside Dickens Festival was born on a hot Saturday afternoon in September 1993 on the downtown library lawn. And, in 1994, Riverside Dickens Festival, Inc. was established as a nonprofit organization.
Why Dickens? Charles Dickens was the most influential and famous writer of the19th century. He made a difference in changing society and making a better world in which to live. The festival would highlight the library and encourage reading, promote literacy and enjoyment of the dramatic and cultural arts by the general public.
So as the 2018 Riverside Dickens Festival approaches, plan to join in the celebration, our Silver Jubilee, a special anniversary indeed marking 25 years of Dickens’ wit and wisdom.