FAIR HAVEN - Judy Loftus was going to get in the Christmas mood no matter what happened Saturday.

Even with gray skies, a light rainfall and a lack of visitors for the third annual Dickens Day in Fair Haven, Loftus' Curious Moon antique store and coffee shop was the place to be if you were looking for a sense of holiday spirit.

"Dickens' 'Christmas Carol' is my favorite story," said Loftus, just minutes from donning her Victorian shopkeeper's outfit. "It just gets you in the mood for the season."

The smell of baking gingersnaps and simmering coffee filled the air inside the shop while a Frank Sinatra Christmas CD played in the background. Outside, the streets were void of visitors the town had hoped for.

"It's hard to get people to come out around here," said Loftus, who also helped organize the event as a member of the chamber of commerce. "We just don't have the store frontage like Skaneateles has. I think we need better advertising, more stores and maybe we should bring the surrounding towns in the area into the project. We'll keep trying."

Members of the Fair Haven Community Church held a lunch and bake sale at the church on Richmond Avenue. Children took turns playing Christmas songs on a piano in the basement dining hall, and Carolyn Fernquist was working the kitchen dressed as a Victorian mother.

"It's fun to dress up like this," she said. "It feels like the old-time Christmas spirit."

A craft show was held at the American Legion, and children's stories were read at the library. A tree lighting ceremony was planned for later on in the day. Chamber of commerce president Dave Holdridge said the biggest problem for the small village of 884 people was establishing a new identity.

"We're widely known for our summertime activities and our association with the lake," Holdridge said. "So, now we're trying to let more people know there's stuff here in the winter months,too."

Staff writer Benning W. De La Mater can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 237 or ben.delamater@lee.net