For over 30 years, a blast from Thomasville’s Victorian past takes over the City of Roses. 

Victorian Christmas was started in December 1986 by a group of downtown retailers. 

“It began real small, very modest,” said Sarah Turner, City of Thomasville director of events and marketing and communications. 

The goal of the now-annual Christmas event, Turner said, was to promote downtown Thomasville.   

While some shopping locales have come and go, others have remained throughout Victorian Christmas’ tenure. 

“We have a lot of the same actual spaces,” Turner said. 

Al Dixon and Hicks took part in the inaugural event and have remained in their locales on Broad Street ever since. 

Ron Dixon, Al Dixon owner, was a member of the downtown merchant group and took part in crafting the first Victorian Christmas. 

“I remember when they we’re planning for Victorian Christmas,” Dixon said. 

Dixon recalled trying to get customer foot traffic and build interest in the event, which “has grown every year.” 

“Every time we have it, we critique it afterwards,” Dixon said, also noting figuring out what can be done better year after year. 

The draw of the first Victorian Christmas, Dixon said, was to provide more opportunity for holiday shopping by downtown businesses by extending shopping hours. 

“That was the key,” Dixon said. “That was the main goal.” 

The first Victorian Christmas, Dixon recalled, was “so cold, rainy” and around 5,000 attendees filled downtown. 

“And then, it just started, doubling, doubling, and doubling,” he added. 

Said Dixon: “This has been a community effort, no doubt about it.”

Hicks owner Kate Wilder, who inherited the clothing store from her family, was in high school when Victorian Christmas started. 

Wilder said before the annual event kicks off, she looks forward to tourists coming to attend the event. She also looks forward to Thomasville natives coming back during the holiday season to catch up with family and friends. 

“That’s one of the things I probably look forward the most to,” she added. 

Wilder said her mother, the late Charlotte Kanning, was “very active” on the downtown merchants board, who took part in Victorian Christmas.  

To Wilder, the annual trip down memory lane is unique. 

“I think that we were kind of ahead of our time,” she said of Victorian Christmas.