The Shaw Festival… (Part One)

I think anyone who has ever visited Niagara-on-the-Lake has heard of the Shaw Festival! Judi and I have been visiting Niagara-on-the-Lake for years. We had heard a lot about the Shaw Festival, but never really knew it and what it could offer! That is, until Judi decided to give me a surprise anniversary gift! Judi had sold quite a number of her original paintings at the Cobourg Waterfront Festival and had earned some extra money. She decided to spend it on a surprise anniversary present. The present, you guessed it, was a “romantic” weekend in Niagara-on-the-Lake! And, the weekend included tickets to a play at the Shaw!

Judi had planned everything and wouldn’t tell me anything! This silence even included directions to where we were going! Once we were on the Q.E.W. highway and heading towards Buffalo, it finally dawned on me where we might be going, but I still wasn’t sure and I had no idea what was in store for me!

Our destination was the town of Niagara-on-the-Lake and once we arrived, Judi instructed me to drive to the main town park. Here she unloaded the truck of the car with chairs, a folding table, glasses, cutlery and a picnic basket! She had packed everything before we left without my knowledge (very sneaky!!). She laid the whole picnic out and we sat in our chairs quietly eating our lunch. It was the perfect start for what was to come next! After packing our picnic essentials back into the car, Judi instructed me to drive to the main street and head away from the downtown. She told me to stop and park at the Royal Park Hotel (now the Shaw Club Hotel).

(To be continued in Part Two)

Getting Into Character…

Some time ago, Judi and I visited the Scugog Shores Museum and their Pioneer Fall Fair. We were impressed with village interpreters and how they assumed the identity of the pioneers they were portraying. It wasn’t just the costumes. It was the little things. The way they spoke. The knowledge they displayed about their tasks and staying within character during conversations with visitors.

We have visited quite a few re-enactments and pioneer villages and they all seem to attract people who have these characteristics in common! Re-enactors and village interpreters are, in most cases, unpaid volunteers. They do it for the love of history and they have a lot of fun doing it! Just think, they are portraying our forefathers in the heat of summer! No air-conditioned buildings! Dressed in “hot” old fashioned materials! I asked one re-enactor how he coped with the wool uniform he was wearing. He just shrugged and smiled and said “You get used to it after a while!” I wondered what he meant by “after a while”! Did he mean when the leaves started to fall and it was time to stoke up the coals in the fireplace?

No matter, these wonderful, dedicated historians continue to keep our past vivid and alive! Thank goodness there are people out there that care so much!

If anyone reading this article is interested in becoming a village interpreter or re-enactor, the pioneer villages and re-enactment groups are always looking for new volunteers. Just contact your nearest pioneer village and they can steer you in the right direction.

Who know, the next time Judi and I visit a pioneer village or re-enactment, we might be snapping a picture of you! If we are, let us know. We will make sure the photo ends up in one of the articles we are writing.

Attention Animal Lovers…

It’s amazing how well festivals and animal fit together! I had never really thought about it until I started examining festivals and their common links. The more I thought about, the more I realized how large a part animals played in the majority of the festivals that Judi and I had visited. Out of the 10 festivals visited, 7 had had animals involvement in one form or another! I’ll quickly go down the list. The Fur Trade Re-enactment at Lang Pioneer Village had a number of farm animals plus a horse drawn wagon ride. The Old Time Fiddle Championships in Shelburne had a number of horses in their parade. The Kingston Sheep Dog Trials was really animal oriented! There were, of course, dogs (Border Collies) and sheep, but they also included 2 horse drawn shuttle wagons, a birds of prey demonstration by the Canadian Raptor Conservancy plus two other animal presentations, one by Jungle Cat World and the other by Little Ray’s Reptiles! The Rural Ramble Farm Tour featured numerous farm animals including cows, pigs, chickens, sheep and horses. At the Fort Henry Sunset Ceremony, the Fort Henry Guard’s mascot is a goat named David IX. The Orono Fair had animals galore, chicken (lot of them!), ducks, rabbits, cows and horses! Finally, at the Dine and Shine in Lang Pioneer Village Museum, not only did they have their traditional horse drawn wagon ride, but they had their own unique brush with wildlife! Just as Village Museum Manager, Joe Corrigan, was about to welcome the attendees, a flock of Canada Geese flew over the event giving us all a very loud, but appreciated Canadian “fly-by” (NASCAR eat your hearts out!)! So, if you are an animal lover, Ontario festivals and events are a must for you!