The Great Dickens Christmas Fair & Victorian Holiday Party is returning to Daly City’s Cow Palace for its 42nd season, inviting Bay Area visitors to step into a gloriously theatrical version of Victorian London.
Running over five weekends from November 21 through December 20, 2026, the 140,000-square-foot Christmas market offers a deeply immersive way to spend a winter day among gas lamps, winding lanes, live music, old-world artisanal shops, and hundreds of performers in period dress.
This beloved event began in the 1970s as a celebration of the writer Charles Dickens, who wrote classics like A Christmas Carol, Oliver Twist, and Great Expectations.
Early-bird tickets officially go on sale in October, so it’s not too early to take a look at your calendar and plan an outing at this year’s Great Dickens Christmas Fair. From October 16-31, you can get tickets for the fair’s first two weekends for $10 less than the usual price.
A 140,000-square-foot Victorian London comes alive
For more than four decades, the legendary Great Dickens Christmas Fair has turned the Cow Palace Exhibition Halls into a nostalgic holiday destination filled with handmade gifts, restaurants, pubs, dance halls, and playhouses. This year’s production will once again occupy more than 140,000 square feet, offering plenty of opportunities to shop, eat, drink, and catch a show as you make your way through the elaborate indoor city.
Expect theatrical scenes and literary characters inspired by Dickens’ stories, alongside music, dancing, parades, comedy, kid-friendly programming, and lively pub entertainment. It is designed to feel participatory: visitors are welcome to dress in Victorian-inspired attire, although the fair asks guests to follow its costume guidelines and avoid full face masks, costumes of major Dickens characters, or outfits that detract from the period setting.
For an extra cost, you can embark on additional experiences such as a Jekyll & Hyde-themed pub crawl, a port and chocolate tasting at the Green Man Inn, and a luxury corset-fitting experience at Dark Garden.
Great Dickens Christmas Fair 2026 at a glance
📍 Location: Cow Palace Exhibition Halls, 2600 Geneva Avenue, Daly City, CA 94014.
📅 Dates: Saturdays and Sundays from November 21 through December 20, 2026, plus Friday, November 27, the day after Thanksgiving.
⏰ Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
🎟️ Tickets: Tickets are sold online only, with no on-site box office or authorized resellers.
- Early-bird tickets for the first two weekends are available October 16–31 for $40 per adult and $25 per youth, before fees.
- General ticket sales begin November 1. Adult all-day admission for ages 13 and up is $50 before fees; youth tickets for ages 5–12 are $30; children under 5 enter free.
- Twilight admission after 3 p.m. costs $35 for adults and $20 for children.
🚗 Parking: The Cow Palace charges $20 per vehicle for parking, including accessible parking; enter through the main entrance at 2600 Geneva Avenue.
🌐 Website: The Great Dickens Christmas Fair