'A Dickens Holiday' Coming to Downtown Fayetteville After All

A Dickens Holiday returns this Friday to Downtown Fayetteville.

Beasley Media Group

Amen and pass the figgy pudding, the "A Dickens Holiday" event is indeed happening in Fayetteville after all, this upcoming holiday season.

We recently reported that the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County was changing things up for the annual event, to make it more inclusive. That decision drew a lot of pushback from the community.

This week though, another group decided to save the event as it is known. The Downtown Alliance issued a release saying it will hold the event in conjunction with the Arts Council's new event.

"The Downtown Alliance has been welcomed to continue A Dickens Holiday, the 22 year old event, the day after Thanksgiving in tandem with the Arts Council’s revised holiday event," the Downtown Alliance said in its release. "The Dickens festivities will be centered around downtown’s historic Victorian era train station, The Fayetteville Area History Museum located on Franklin Street at Maxwell Street."

During it's two decade run, A Dickens Holiday brought thousands of people to downtown Fayetteville, ready to celebrate the holiday season in Victorian style.

"The holiday season is a time of celebration, of life and love, of old traditions and creating new ones," Downtown Alliance president Isabella Effon said. She owns the Taste of West Africa restaurant on Person Street.

"For the Downtown Alliance and many of you, A Dickens Holiday is about community and all the people who support our small businesses every holiday season. As the day of the event expands and changes the Alliance is delighted to be able to help keep this nostalgic event in the lineup. To many, Dickens is a family tradition, a day to step back in time, a place to connect with our community. Dickens lives in the heart of every single person who has enjoyed this event over the last 22 years. We encourage everyone to come out November 25th, to enjoy the festivities while shopping and eating with our local downtown businesses."

This holiday season marks the first year of Holidays on Hay, A Festival of Lights by the Arts Council.

The Most EXTRA Pumpkin Spice Items in Fayetteville This Season

Like it or not, Pumpkin Spice Season is upon us Fayetteville!

As declared by Starbucks, who have released their iconic fall flavors to grocery stores already, and Dunkin Donuts dropping their pumpkin laden menu on August 17th .

What makes pumpkin spice so popular? According to a study from inverse.com "... the reason this drink has a cult following may have just as much to do with its actual taste as with the nostalgia we’ve cultivated around it," Sarah Cormiea told Inverse. "When it comes to memory, scent is one of the most powerful triggers. It’s especially powerful when it’s confined to a period of time.

“We know that when you go back to your grandma's house or something and you're like ‘ah smells like grandma's house’ that can remind you of all my childhood summers there,” Cormiea explains. “But if you visit grandma every day you don't get that intense memory experience."

As a result, smelling a familiar scent can be a strong trigger for a memory — especially if it's a scent from childhood. This connection can weaken if we’re over-exposed to a smell but works particularly well for scents — like a pumpkin spice latte — that are familiar but seasonal or limited.

That being said, the pumpkin spice craze can go to far. We've put together a list for all you Fayetteville folks looking for the most extra pumpkin spice items of this season.