Stage Door News
Stage Door News
The Stratford Festival can now officially add “national historic significance” to its long list of honours.
On Tuesday, Catherine McKenna, the federal minister of the environment and climate change, announced the designation of 12 new nationally significant persons, places and events “that helped define Canada’s history” as part of her responsibilities for Parks Canada.
These “National Historic” designations – intended to reflect the country’s rich history, cultural traditions and flourishing creativity – included the Festival. In the media release, the Festival was lauded for quickly emerging as “a major theatre with an international reputation for excellence in the classics” following its inaugural 1953 season. The Festival was also celebrated for its role in developing professional Canadian theatre while providing peerless training and experience for actor, directors and others.
“The Festival remains a tremendous artistic and economic success … with more than 700 performances each season,” the release stated.
McKenna also recognized La Petite-Ferme du cap Tourmente, a historic home in Saint-Joachim, Québec; the Reader Rock Garden in Calgary; children’s writer Mary Grannan; literary critic and writer Northrop Frye; geologist and explorer Henry Youle Hind; the Dionne Quintuplets, the Toronto Maple Leafs; the Universal Negro Improvement Association in Canada; Expo 67; the Spanish Flu in Canada; the Hudson’s Bay Company; and early Canadian science.
"I am very proud to recognize some of the persons, places and events that have shaped our country. Designations can recall moments of greatness and triumph or cause us to contemplate the complex and challenging moments that helped define Canada today. By sharing these stories with Canadians, we hope to foster better understanding and open discussions on Canada's history,” McKenna said in the release.
From: www.stratfordbeaconherald.com.
Photo: Interior of Festival Theatre as it looked in 1957.
2018-03-27
Stratford: Stratford Festival recognized for its "national historical significance" along with Dionne Quintuplets