Festival Theatre by the Avon River, Stratford , Ontario

The Stratford Festival has been going on since 1953 in Stratford, Ontario.  Many of my colleagues and friends have visited and made weekend trips or annual holidays out of going to the festival.

A nice an hour and half  drive from Toronto to Stratford

A pleasant an hour and forty minute drive out of Toronto, Stratford is a beautiful city on the Avon River in southwestern Ontario.

We drove there last Sunday, after the early morning Sunday service. It was a sunny day with a blue sky and mild temperatures.

The Town of Shakespeare, just a few kilometers outside of Stratford, Ontario

We talked a little bit, grabbed a coffee from the Cambridge Enroute Station and drove past  rural scenery.




Before we even realized it, we reached a little town called Shakespeare, just a few kms outside Stratford!

After living in southern Ontario for nearly forty years, I did not even realize that we have a little town named after the famous English playwright.







We got to Stratford around 1:00p.m. therefore we had a few minutes to look around before the 2:p.m. show. After parking our car in a parking lot not far from the Visitor Centre, we strolled leisurely and enjoyed the activities in the park.
( Note: parking right at the Festival Theatre would have cost $12.00 - 18.00)  Our parking spot was only a stone throw away and it was free! )

Stratford - "The Prettiest City in the World"

View of the Avon river

 It was a lovely walk along the bank of Avon River! What a picture perfect scenery!

No wonder, Stratford was crowned as the " Prettiest City in the World"by Nations in Bloom in 1997!
Wow! ( We are even better than Paris?)


Ducklings and swans swimming on the river while birds hovering along the river banks and a few peddle boats passing by.

Avon River - A perfect place for a picnic!

With an abundance of  picnic tables and park benches placed throughout the river side park, many visitors brought picnic lunches, spread their tablecloth,  throwing their heads back, munching on goodies while sipping wine from their wine glasses, enjoying a quiet and unhurried moment.

Swans - a symbol of the city of Stratford

I could not get enough pictures of this tranquil and breathtaking scenery!

Art in the Park

There was also an Art in the Park event going on with many artists displaying and selling their work in the park.

Many artists displayed their work in the park

We could have easily spent a whole afternoon relaxing in the park and admiring all the art displays.



















 However, we were here for the afternoon show, and must arrive at the Festival Theatre a few minutes before.

Festival Theatre - One of the four theatres in Stratford, Ontario

Brilliant flowers in bloom - Festival Theatre gardens

 With the Stratford Festival, there are four theatres with different plays going on during the annual season. I think the Festival Theatre is the prettiest one.  I was glad that we were watching King Lear at this venue.

There were gardens with brilliant colour flowers in bloom in front of the Festival Theatre.

There was even a formal English garden with the Statue of Shakespeare welcoming audiences to the plays he wrote five hundred years ago!

Look delicious?  These were props displayed in the theater's  lobby

Before we went in to the theatre, we had some refreshments and took a look at the props displayed in the lobby.

Parts of the costume display

Audience Waiting for the King Lear Play at Festival Theatre, Stratford

The Festival Theatre is a three level theatre with quite a large seating capacity.

It was a full house for this play.

I studied King Lear years ago in high school and forgot most of what the play was about.

The King Lear Cast - Stratford Festival, Ontario

Though there was not a lot of physical change of scenery on the stage, the actors/ actresses brought the play to life!

The audience was very respectful  as there were no cell phones ringing nor flashlight pictures taken during the entire play.

 A beautiful sunset accompanied us during our drive home to Toronto

 ( I only took a picture before the play and at the very end when the entire cast came out for the audience.)






 It was lovely to spend a summer afternoon at the Stratford Festival!

I am glad that we did allow ourselves extra time to visit the town and enjoy the beautiful parks and gardens.

Garden in front of the Festival Theatre

We will make it our tradition to come to the Stratford Festival every year!

R.T.
September, 2014
Stratford Festival
Stratford, Ontario