Spider Michaels

Galveston, Texas has a lot of events throughout the year.  One of the last events is Dickens on the Strand.

It’s a great event.  There are so many people that get in the spirit and dress up for the Victorian era.

The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria’s reign from June 20, 1837 until her death, on January 22, 1901.  It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence for Britain.

A lot of costumes are represented at Dickens on the Strand that were from the Victorian era.  You’ll see women in their beautiful dresses, pirates, cowboys and now Steampunk has started to make an appearance.

The weather was perfect for the event; a cool 60 degrees.  Here are some lovely ladies wearing their beautiful dresses.

Here are some carolers singing for tips.  They looked very sharp in their outfits.

I took a picture of this group and one of the ladies wanted a pic with me because she and I were both dressed in our Steampunk outfits.

These old guys were cool and were happy to pose for a pic.

I thought this was a great photo opportunity.  You don’t usually see a walking Christmas tree.

Santa was there also and wearing a cool get up.

I asked this girl for a photo and she posed nicely for me.

There were also people dressed as chimney sweeps, complete with the soot on their faces.  I thought they looked great.

These kids were portraying street beggars.  They had black marks on their faces also.  I gave them a buck.

This guy came as the Mad Hatter.

Here are some of the pirates that were in attendance.  They looked really good and had nice costumes.

This couple was nice enough to pose for me too.  That sure is a big pirate hat on him.

This girl looked good in her pirate costume.  I liked her hat with the big feather.

These guys were a fun group.

This lady had her kids playing their violins for tips.  They were good.

I like this picture.  These guys look like they are wearing Civil War uniforms.  The American Civil War was between April 12, 1861 and April 9, 1865, so it occurred during England’s Victorian era.

This group looked good in their clothing.  I wonder how much these people spent on their outfits.  Those dresses look expensive. And I know those hats can cost a lot too.

I like this picture too.  She looks great in her dress.

These two ladies were having fun walking around drinking their drinks.

Scrooge even made an appearance.  Nicely done.

Here’s a guy in his Steampunk outfit.

I thought this father / daughter looked great in their Steampunk costumes also.

This girl was the best looking girl at the event.  And her hat made her look even better.

I had to get a pic with these ladies because they looked so nice in their pretty dresses.

Here I am with the street beggars.

Admission to the event was $15.00, but if you were in costume you only had to pay $8.00 to get in.  Since I had my Steampunk hat and goggles to go with my black, leather jacket and boots, I got in for $8.00.

From my condo in Houston to until I parked in Galveston was about an hour and fifteen minutes.

Parking can be tricky.  There are lots with parking spots available for $10, or you could find a spot on the street, but be prepared to walk a ways if you do that because finding a spot on the street is tough with such a large crowd at the event.

I got lucky and found a spot on the curb only about two blocks from the event, so that was nice not having to pay for parking.  I used to park in a big lot for the motorcycle rally, but it looks like they are building townhouses on the lot now… bummer.

Although I only stayed at the event for a little less than two hours, I had fun and took about 50 pictures.

I usually take a lot more photos when I cover an event, but I didn’t feel up to it on this day.

I’ll go back next year and take lots more photos and stay out for several more hours.

Spider Michaels

https://SpiderMichaels.com