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December 7 from 4 – 7 p.m. A Dickens Tea with Sherry White
Back by popular demand, the Arts Council and Sherry White will host an afternoon of tea, light refreshments, costumes from the era of Charles Dickens. Be ready for Ms. White’s spicy stories from a bygone time. Several models will wear costumes from Sherry White’s extensive collection of Victorian dresses.
The winter holidays may bring to mind Charles Dickens’ beloved character Tiny Tim saying, “God bless us, every one!” Sherry White, a volunteer with the Doña Ana Arts Council (DAAC) wants to help get everyone into the holiday spirit with a Dickens’ Tea and Fashion Show on Saturday, December 7, from 4-7 p.m.
White, known to Renaissance Arts Faire attendees as Queen Cherie de la Colletage, is a retired high school history teacher and living history reenactor who enjoys sharing her knowledge with others. For this tea, she has arranged for food appropriate for Dickens’ time in the 19th century: scones, watercress sandwiches, cucumber sandwiches, and tea.
There will also be a fashion show featuring examples of the attire women would have worn from the ante-bellum period, through the Civil War, and up to 1910. The models for the fashion show come from Susan Jewells’ Desert Dancing Troupe, who practice at My Place Jewell and friends of Sherry’s.
The fashion show will be followed by a presentation by White on the morals and manners of the 19th century. For example, she shares as a preview, “Love and scandals were quite the rage in the Victorian era. Women and men had to wear gloves in the ballroom. If you didn’t have gloves, you weren’t allowed to dance because it was considered crass for anyone to touch a sweaty hand. Ladies also could not dance with anyone they hadn’t been properly introduced to by a family member or the dancing master.”
A Dickens Tea and Fashion Show is quite affordable at $15 for adults and $5 for children under the age of 12. As there are only seats for 30, it is suggested tickets are purchased early. White says, “Come spend two hours with Dickens in the 19th century and get in the holiday spirit.”
The event will be held at the DAAC Arts & Cultural Center, 1740 Calle de Mercado, in Mesilla’s Bulletin Plaza. For more information or to register, go to www.daarts.org or call (575) 523-6403.