The History of Camelot’s Village

•CAMELOT’S VILLAGE began, innocently enough, during a trip to New England in 1987 when Ms. Sharon Dumke purchased the original seven shops of the Dickens Heritage Village and that Christmas season they found a home on her fireplace mantle. Five years later, in 1992, the collection had burgeoned beyond the capacity of the home mantle and began to be displayed in the Camelot showroom on a few shelves and tables with the idea that it would be nice to share the joy of the set-up with customers and friends.

Two years later, in 1994, the Village display, which now included houses from four different collections (Dickens, New England, North Pole and Alpine), evolved from tables to stage decking and began to take on the nascent character of its current design with decorative elements like trees, fencing, people, animals and other accessories. These elements helped to add a dimension of a real city lay-out instead of a retail like display. In the ensuing years the display continued to be enhanced and in 1995 and 1996 Camelot was awarded first prize in the City of Sparks (NV) Traffic Stopper Holiday Decorating Contest. New Year’s of 1997 was also notable for the ‘Great Flood’ that encompassed the Reno-Sparks area as the mighty Truckee River deposited 24” of water into our showroom - barely sparing the display!

In 1997 the half of the showroom where the current display is was acquired and populated by the ever increasing collection. Set-up times also increased to nearly a month. By 2002 the individual Villages had grown so large that they began to be displayed in rotation with Santa’s North Pole and the colorful New England series taking center stage. The 2006 Village again escaped another flooded showroom. 2007 marked another leap forward with an ambitious display of the Dickens Village and its 150 lit structures echoing 19th century London of Charles Dickens day and the Alpine Village with a mountain range worthy of the Alps! 2008 was an exciting year for us as the Village could be seen for the first time throughout the world on our Web-site.

This year’s Village, again featuring Dickens houses is larger and more detailed than ever with a fluid layout that invites the viewer deeper into the display.

The design concept we employ is one that encourages the viewer to take pause during this hectic season and look at the details of this small world. We hope that Sharon’s desire to share the Village and the joy that it engenders is conveyed in this years display and brings a sense of peace and holiday cheer to all who view it.

A FEW FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS...

Q: Are the houses for rent?

A: No. They are a private collection and on display for anyone

who would like to view them.

Q: How long does it take it to set-up?

A: About four weeks. We began this year on October 26nd and

were open for viewing on November 23rd.

Q: How many houses are there?

A: New England and North Pole together have 144 lit structures.

And with the other Villages out of circulation there are over

330 houses total.

Q: How many trees are there?

A: Well into four figures...Please, if you have the time, count

them, we’d like to know ourselves!

Q: Who makes the houses?

A: Department 56 produces all of the buildings and accessories

and most of the trees that are in the display.

Q: How long is it up for?

A: It is open a few days before Thanksgiving and is

deconstructed in early January.

WHO DOES IT?...

-This years ‘Director’ is Joseph Del Grosso, an erstwhile adventurer whose peregrinations have taken him to the top of 167 different mountain peaks (including 59 over 12,000’) and into 41 different National Parks. This is his 13th foray into Village assemblage. He is always excited to reveal the secret world of the North Pole Elvii that make all our presents.

-He is not alone in this endeavor and special thanks go out to the Camelot staff and ownership for their assistance in the construction of this project. Special mention and thanks go to Jose Guitierrez, Deisi Gonzalez, Ken Stebbins and Miguelito ‘Lord of the Underworld’ Valenzuela for their contributions in the building of this year’s Village.