California Corner : Festivals, Feasts & Fairs

RIVERSIDE--Charles Dickens was a small, energetic man with a penchant for cleanliness, long walks and brightly colored jackets. Learn more fun facts about the English author and his works at the Dickens Festival, Sept. 17-19, presented by the Friends of the Riverside Library. Featured: stagings throughout the weekend of “Great Expectations� and “Oliver Twist�; readings and discussion with Douglas Broyles, who has portrayed Dickens on stage for 20 years. A free Victorian Bazaar with arts and crafts, costume parades and entertainment of the Victorian period is held daily. Festival venues are the Riverside Downtown Library, 3581 7th St.; the Universalist Unitarian Church, 3571 Lemon St., and the Municipal Auditorium, 3485 7th St. Take Interstate 5 south to California 91 east to the Seventh Street exit. (909) 682-1852 or (909) 359-6272.

SAN BERNARDINO--Help honor one of the country’s most celebrated highways at the fourth annual Route 66 Rendezvous, Sept. 17-19. Festivities are at San Bernardino’s City Hall parking lot, Court and E streets, and adjacent downtown streets. American-made vehicles and motorcycles will be showcased in an E Street Cruise, 4-10 p.m. Friday; the World’s Best Mystery Poker Run, 11 a.m. Saturday, and an Open Header Cruise, 3-7 p.m. Saturday ($30 registration for access to all car events). Custom and classic cars are featured at the Show and Shine car show, 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday. A street dance, 4-10 p.m. Friday, features music by Memories of Elvis. Also scheduled: a golf tournament, Friday at the San Bernardino Golf Club ($66); an arts and crafts show, all weekend at the Carousel Mall, and a wine and micro-brewery beer tasting, all weekend in the Jersey’s parking lot, 440 W. Court St. ($10). (800) 669-8336.

SAN JOSE--A flourishing arts community is the setting for the second annual SoFA Street Fair, Sept. 19. Featured in the South First Area, noon to 8 p.m., are street performers, poetry readings, karaoke singing, arts and crafts, political and community action groups and live entertainment, including reggae, rock, comedy and dance. Don’t skip the SoFA Decorating Contest, where old sofas are transformed into art pieces. Free. On South First Street, between San Carlos and Reed streets, downtown. (408) 295-2265, ext. 483.

SANTA PAULA--Film and nostalgia buffs won’t want to miss the Movieworld Collection auction, Sept. 24-26. Movie props, vintage cars and other collectibles go to auction 9 a.m. daily in the Movieworld Collection warehouse, 18245 Telegraph Road. $10 for registration, $20 for an auction catalogue. Preview times: Sept. 18-23, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Interstate 5 north to California 126 (Telegraph Road) west; turn right on Hollock and bear right. Warehouse is on the left. (800) 968-4444.

CALISTOGA--Antique aircraft and classic cars are the centerpiece at the Calistoga Auto and Air Fair, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sept. 25. “Flivvers and Flyers� is the title of the show, held at the Calistoga Gliderport, 1546 Lincoln Ave. $5 general, $3 kids under 12. A Hangar Dance is at 8 p.m. ($10). Sponsored by the Soroptimist International of Calistoga and the Rotary Club of Calistoga. (707) 942-6333.