The Great Dickens Christmas Fair Missive |
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Great Dickens Christmas Fair 2021 – October #1
Drive Thru Dickens Update!
October 22, 2021
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Notes from your Missive Maven: |
This Missive is intended as a general overview/ update and to provide initial information needed for participants in the Drive Thru Dickens London Event (DTD). Please note that upcoming Missives will include much more information on plans for 2022 and our ongoing DEI and HR work.
Affectionately,
Cat
Please remember to contact the folks referenced in each notice below, rather than hitting “reply.” Contact information for various departments can be found at the bottom of the missive.
If you wish to unsubscribe from the missives or update your email address, those links can be found at the bottom of the missives.
Cat Taylor
Entertainment Director & Missive Maven
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Table of Contents/List of Topics
- Overview and Update on Drive Thru Dickens (DTD)
- New Onboarding Process for DTD Participants
- Casting Notice: Open Call for Paid Positions
- COVID Safety Measures
- Harassment Reporting & Prevention Training
- Update - Dickens Fair At Home 2021 (DFH)
- Update - Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) at DTD and Beyond
- Red Barn Productions & Drive Thru Dickens Contact List
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Overview and Update on Drive Thru Dickens (DTD) |
This new event has been keeping the elves on our design and creative teams hopping around their workshops for several weeks now. DTD has not only been an opportunity “to think outside the (Exhibition Hall) box,” but also express ourselves creatively; something many of us have missed. This event, although much smaller than our normal Great Dickens Christmas Fair, will nevertheless create jobs and income for approximately 280 artists, crew members, vendors, and performers. We hope you will join us in supporting this effort.
While the final line-up is still evolving we will have some great musical entertainment that will be presented on two stages along with five tableaux depicting scenes from A Christmas Carol. Telling the tale of Scrooge’s redemption and return to humanity is a worthwhile reminder for us all. Please visit our newly created Drive Thru Dickens pages for more information as we continue to develop this innovative new event.
Those participating in DTD will be among the first to benefit- and help test-drive- many of the policies and procedures we have been working toward over the last several years. If you are part of DTD please note the following:
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New Onboarding Process for DTD Participants |
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Emails will go out to all individuals and groups who have been hired or contracted for DTD. These emails will contain a link to an onboarding portal to streamline the registration process and communicate important new agreements and training ahead of your arrival on site. |
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Casting Notice: Open Call for Paid Positions |
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(from Therese Porter)
The first part of Drive Thru Dickens London takes our guests through scenes from A Christmas Carol, before they head on to the Grand Concourse.
The scenes are enacted physically, like a moving tableaux vivants in a lightbox, created in the doorways of the Fair building. Think of those sugar Easter eggs where you peep into the aperture to see a jolly scene - that's what we're doing. The idea is to show a glimpse of action from each of the Staves of the book culminating in Scrooge's Redemption. Each role would be double cast to permit breaks and to ease the strain of the day. The roles require strong physical characterisation and the ability to convey the meaning of the scenes to the audience without words.
We are still looking to cast a few roles, and are open to new performers. Roles include a second set of Mr and Mrs Cratchit, a Ghost of Christmas Past, and two couples (depending on the ages of the actors these will be young Scrooge and Belle from the Christmas Past sequence or Mr and Mrs Fezziwig).
If you are interested, or want more detail, contact Therese Porter at airndark@aol.com
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Vaccinations are required for every participant. Masking while onsite is recommended but is not required except for those having close contact with customer vehicles such as parking attendants, cashiers and delivery staff. Everyone participant will need to provide proof of vaccination. Sorry, but we cannot allow family or guests to visit with you, and there are zero complimentary tickets for this event. Please let us know if you need a helper or assistant who you wish to be provided with credentials.
This COVID policy is intended to help us keep each other healthy and safe.
As our customers are required to remain in their vehicles (except at the outdoor privy banks), they do NOT need to be vaccinated. Participants with medical conditions or religious concerns who are working the event please contact us.
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Harassment Reporting & Prevention Training
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Our new, third-party, Red Flag Reporting system became available September 1st for all former or current Dickens Fair participants. This system is used by municipalities, educational institutions and small and large companies to provide secure reporting of incidents of harrassment, discrimination, safety violations, and any other issues or concerns. Filing a report immediately notifies the external Red Barn HR consultant, as well as appropriate staff, and is designed to provide anonymity if preferred. Additionally, it allows the reportee to omit any management personnel they do not want involved. Please view their orientation videos here for more information.
To file a report, do one of the following and provide client code RBP:
Visit www.RedFlagReporting.com and click on “File a Report”
Call 1-877-647-3335
Text RFR to 234-231-9005
You may also file a report via the following methods (be sure to be detail-oriented, provide our client code, and indicate if you wish to be anonymous or not):
Fax to 330-572-8146
Mail to RFR, P.O. Box 4230, Akron, Ohio 44321
Anti-Harassment Training
Anti-harassment training by a third-party provider will now be required for every participant. There is a free one-hour training option available at https://www.dfeh.ca.gov/shpt/. Please note those supervising others will be required to take the two-hour version of this program. Take it anytime, and be sure to capture your completion certificate (we will ask for it in the onboarding process). This training is valid for two years. If you have any questions, please contact our HR consultant Martin Bell via martinhr@redbarnproductions.com
More DTD questions? Please see the contact list below, or reach out to your director.
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Update - Dickens Fair At Home 2021 (DFH) |
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Please consider contributing to this collaborative endeavor - it's greatly appreciated! Do you have a favorite Victorian holiday poem, recipe, DIY craft/design project, costume hack or historical (Victorian) amazments (our amusements) to share? Create a short video or allow us to help reproduce your submission as a printable download. This is a free program that entertains and educates those unable to join us in-person. It’s an opportunity to share the talents and expertise you bring to this ensemble production. Thank you! Email questions and suggestions to drew@redbarnproductions.com. Deadline for finished content is December 1st. Sooner is better of course!
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Update - Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) at DTD and Beyond |
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With the help of our community, educators, business partners, and DEI specialists we have been steadily working toward making the necessary changes that create safe and inclusive spaces. Some of these changes are structural and in place now including:
- Hiring Martin Bell as our HR consultant
- Utilizing Red Flag Reporting a third-party reporting system
- Rewriting/ revising the Participant Handbook with the help of outside HR professionals including Martin Bell
- Rewriting/ revising the Employee Policy Manual
- Adopting stringent sexual harassment and discrimination policies
- Instituted mandatory anti-harassment training for all participants
Other needed changes are cultural and require that we continue to listen, learn, and identify opportunities in concert with our participant community.
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Red Barn Productions & Drive Thru Dickens Contact List |
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Seasonal & Part-Time Participant Management Staff
Living History Centre
External Consultants
RBP Year-Round Staff
The above, as well as additional resources and Red Barn Progress Reports, are currently available on the Red Barn Community page, and will be available through our Participant Portal in the future. Thank you.
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Quick Links and Contact Information |
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Quick Links:
Contact Information
For questions regarding performing at the Fair, please email Cat Taylor
For questions about the Living History Centre and workshops, please email Robert Young
For questions regarding vending at the Fair please email Vendors
For questions the beverage department please email Beverage
For questions regarding costumes, please email Costumes
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