By: John Turner

Though Jim Greene has led Skaneateles’ annual Dickens Christmas festival for nearly a decade, he and his family and friends celebrate the holiday in a bit of a different way.

Jim’s Christmas, in fact, involves Chinese food and geese.

Last week Jim talked about his ten years of involvement with the Dickens festival, and about how he and his family celebrate Christmas.

Jim is the director of the annual Dickens celebration, which sees about 50 cast members wander the village dressed in Victorian-era attire and acting as if the year were 1842.

The cast descends upon Skaneateles the day after Thanksgiving, and can be seen the four weekends leading up to Christmas Day.

Jim has had quite a successful career as an actor, director and producer, and runs a production company called Scarlett Rat Entertainment. In addition, he worked for years as a cast member at Disney World in Florida.

“When I moved here (to Dryden) from Orlando, I got involved with the (Sterling) Renaissance Fair. Then a friend of mine from Syracuse said I should check out Skaneateles and the Dickens festival,” he explained.

Jim got in touch with Ted Davenport, who was the Dickens director at the time, and Davenport told Jim he was actually overqualified.

“He said, ‘Oh, you’re way over this,’” he continued, noting the Dickens festival’s budget was much smaller at the time.

Even so, the festival, which is presented by the Skaneateles Area Chamber of Commerce, hired Jim’s wife, Tracey, as Queen Victoria, and Jim as the Ratcatcher, an extension of a character he created for the Sterling festival.

“We were pretty well received. So long story short, they came to me and asked if I would run the whole festival, and I said no.

“I said the only way I’ll do that is if you cut a bigger check,” he said with a laugh.

So the chamber doubled the Dickens budget for the next year’s festival, and Jim and Scarlett Rat took the reins, Jim eventually casting himself as Charles Dickens.

As the years passed, the festival grew exponentially, and is now a popular holiday destination for people from across the country.

“It’s gotten to where we (Dickens cast members) really get people into the Christmas spirit. Everybody’s always happy. … All those smiles are really genuine,” he added.

The festival’s success, Jim said, is mainly due to its interactive nature. “People ask, ‘What’s the magic?’ I always tell them it’s the connection with the people that makes (Dickens) great.”

The festival’s last day is always Christmas Eve, when cast members have sing-alongs and other fun activities.

Then, on the way back to his Dryden home every Christmas Eve, Jim said he always stops to get his family Chinese food.

“It’s a tradition. It started back in Orlando years ago, when one Christmas Eve we had a freak cold snap, and it actually snowed down there, and the power went out.

“I called around, and the only place I found open was this Chinese place, so we got some food from there. And we’ve done it ever since.”

Jim said that since he loves to cook, he and his family and friends always have a huge feast Christmas Day.

“Up until recently, I’d always cook a goose. Because I think it’s appropriate for Charles Dickens to eat goose on Christmas Day,” he said, noting that in the past few years he’s had less people at his house December 25.

And the Dickens festival, Jim said, always puts him in the Christmas spirit.

“I always say, in the words of Bruce Springsteen, thanks for letting me crash your party. I’m so grateful to be able to do this every year.”

Learn more about Jim Greene here.