May 30 to September 15, 2018
LIVE. ORIGINAL. CANADIAN. THEATRE.
SUPPORT US For as little as $50 a year you can support this region’s only professional theatre company dedicated to producing and presenting stories that originate here in Huron County but resonate across the country. Each membership level comes with a list of benefits depending on the membership level you choose.
BENEFITS OF DONATION OF $100 OR MORE:
•Blyth Spirit receptions •Behind the scenes tours •Early booking privileges •Recognition in the House Program •Curtain Call - our Members Only newsletter •Season Poster signed by the Company •Changeovers with Artistic Director Gil Garratt
Visit www.blythfestival.com/why-give for more information! The Blyth Festival is a registered charitable organization. Registered Charitable number: 11881 2056 RR0001. All donations over $20 receive a tax receipt.
MESSAGE FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Adventurers. Frontier spirits. Originals. These are the people who come to see shows in Blyth, Ontario every year. The Blyth Festival is the source. For 44 years and counting, Blyth has been the home of New Canadian Plays. They happen here first. To date, Blyth has premiered more than 130 plays by Canadians for Canadians. Plays that started at the Blyth Festival have won Governor General’s awards, have been produced in 29 countries worldwide, and have been translated into dozens of languages (including American Sign Language). In 2018 alone, eight plays that premiered at Blyth will have subsequent productions at fifteen different theatres all across Canada. But the folks who come to Blyth always see them first. This is your chance. Gather your expedition party and prepare to take the road less travelled. Always relevant. Always real. This is Blyth.
@GilGarratt
Season Sponsor
Parkland Cover photo by Gemma James Smith
FUEL CORPORATION
Media Sponsor
Photo by Terry Manzo
A country parable for our times, reminding us that what takes flight always comes home to roost.
May 30 to June 15 | BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND!
THE PIGEON KING
#bfPigeon Written by The Company Directed by Severn Thompson
Weeks after we closed, folks were still phoning our box office for tickets and so back, by popular demand, The Pigeon King returns for a limited engagement. If you missed it last summer, come back and catch what Stage Door’s Christopher Hoile calls “fascinating, highly entertaining...[a] vibrant depiction of one of the greatest, most bizarre frauds in Canadian history.” When Arlan Galbraith created his company, Pigeon King International, he boasted some 50 years as a top breeder. Claiming to have access to lucrative pigeon racing markets in Saudi Arabia and throughout the Middle East, the Pigeon King began to sign 10-year contracts with guaranteed profits for buyers of his breeding pairs, promising to personally buy back all of the offspring.
Rebecca Auerbach
Pigeon King International became a massive empire worth tens of millions of dollars, only to collapse in a bankruptcy filing of epic proportions. Finally convicted of fraud in a Waterloo Court, Arlan Galbraith was sentenced to seven years for his preposterous Pigeon Ponzi scheme. Full of original music, show stopping performances by the ensemble, and an incredible scope of real-life research by the actors themselves, The Pigeon King is a quintessential Blyth play, leading long-time critic Robert Reid to remark: “Of all the regional theatres across Canada, no theatre has been as truthful and as faithful to its core audience as Blyth.” Production Sponsors
Jason Chesworth
Media Sponsor
carlylepeterson
Gil Garratt
Lawyers, LLP
Blyth Festival gratefully acknowledges the support of:
Severn Thompson Birgitte Solem
J.D. Nicholsen
George Meanwell Gemma James Smith
Photo and creative by Gemma James Smith
A hilarious and inspiring story of an unlikely group of would-be athletes who face off against local prejudice to become a true team.
June 20 to August 23 | WORLD PREMIERE
THE NEW CANADIAN CURLING CLUB
#bfCurling
Written by Mark Crawford Directed by Miles Potter
From Mark Crawford, the playwright who brought us the smash hits The Birds and the Bees and Stag and Doe, comes a hilarious new comedy with a rich heart. The essential premise is a small town in rural Southwestern Ontario with an ice rink, a refugee resettlement program, and a “Learn to Curl” class. In an effort to welcome sponsored Syrian refugees to the town, the municipality offers a free, introductory “Learn to Curl” program, open to anyone. In addition to a young Syrian girl, everyone who signs up happens to be a newcomer from across the globe, each with their own story. The night before the very first class, the woman from municipal Parks & Rec who organized the outreach event falls and breaks her hip. Consequently, the duty to teach “Learn to Curl” falls on the custodian/Zamboni driver, Stuart, a former champion curler, and unfortunately, a man with some opinions about immigrants.
Mark Crawford
What follows is the hilarious and inspiring story of an unlikely group of would-be athletes who face off against local prejudice to become a true team, and end up competing in the most prestigious local bonspiel: the highly coveted Highlander Cup. Opening Night Gala: Friday, June 22 | 5:45 pm | $40 Help us celebrate the start of the 44th season of live, original, Canadian theatre in rural Ontario. Join the Blyth Festival’s staff, directors, donors and friends for dinner and celebrations prior to the 2018 Season opening performance of The New Canadian Curling Club. Production Sponsors
Miles Potter
Media Sponsors
1.877.862.5984 BLYTHFESTIVAL.COM
Photo and creative by Gemma James Smith
With her own patch of land, a barn full of sows, and memories of her childhood, Judith rediscovers the true meaning of home.
June 27 to August 11 | WORLD PREMIERE
JUDITH: Memories of a Lady Pig Farmer
#bfJudith
Based on the novel “Judith” by Aritha van Herk | Adapted for the stage by Heather Davies
Directed by Jennifer Brewin
Based on Aritha van Herk’s award-winning 1978 novel, Judith, this is a play about a young woman who leaves the home farm (a pig operation) to move to the big city. Her parents plead with her to stay and take over the farm, but Judith wants none of it; she sees nothing but bright lights in her fantasy future. When her parents die suddenly, and the big city turns out not to be what she anticipated, Judith returns to her home county and uses her inheritance to start out on her own. With her own patch of land, a barn full of sows, and memories of her childhood, Judith rediscovers the true meaning of home.
Heather Davies
Jennifer Brewin
Media Sponsor
1.877.862.5984 BLYTHFESTIVAL.COM
Photo and creative by Gemma James Smith
An epic Canadian story about a rebellion whose reverberations helped build the very Canada we know today.
August 1 to September 15
#bfFarmers
1837: THE FARMERS’ REVOLT
Written by Rick Salutin and Theatre Passe Muraille Directed by Gil Garratt Before the Blyth Festival was born, before the community saved the building, the first group of actors who rehearsed in Blyth Memorial Community Hall had to sign waivers in case the roof fell in on their heads. Well, 1837: The Farmers’ Revolt was the show those actors were working on at the time, with a young, upstart, hardly known, and heavily bearded director named Paul Thompson. Forty-four years later, Blyth Festival is still fighting the good fight. This is an epic Canadian story about a rebellion whose reverberations helped build the very Canada we know today. At its core, this is a play about farmers who distrust the government of the day, and rise up to take them down. Fighting against a class of entitled would-be aristocrats, the farmers in the play are frontier people, eager to break the bonds of tyranny and forge their own country, free of British rule, and featuring incredible turns by the likes of local historic titans Van Egmond, Tiger Dunlop, and William Lyon MacKenzie.
Rick Salutin
This is a play that was born here, and helped inspire the creation of the Festival itself, and yet has never been produced on our Mainstage. Gil Garratt
Media Sponsor
1.877.862.5984 BLYTHFESTIVAL.COM
Photo and creative by Gemma James Smith
Working from local stories and memories of the now infamous Rubber Boot, this is a play that celebrates and lampoons 141 years of the Blyth Inn.
August 8 to September 15 | WORLD PREMIERE
#bfBoot
WING NIGHT AT THE BOOT Written by The Company Directed by Severn Thompson
Working from local stories and memories of the now infamous Rubber Boot, we are creating a show that both celebrates and lampoons 141 years of the Blyth Inn. From Michael Ondaaatje’s famous poem The Concessions (which features a mid-70s portrait of the place), to snowmobilers in the winter, from the crafty years spent skirting the law when the county was dry, to the hey-days of the Huron County Idol karaoke contest, from the fiddlers and country singers, to the waitresses, crusty bartenders, shuffleboard, perfect pie-crusts, and an omnipresent jar of pickled eggs, Wing Night at the Boot promises a loving, familiar portrait of an all too familiar place.
Georgina Beaty
We will also try, once and for all, to settle the age old question “why do they call it the rubber boot anyway?” Graham Cuthbertson
Marion Day
Media Sponsor
Severn Thompson
Daniel Roberts
Tony Munch
Nathan Howe
Gil Garratt
R
A PUL Y PO D B K BAC DEMAN
Phillips Studio
Aug. 22 to 26
A Steps & Stairs Theatre Company production
THE DOWNS
Written and Performed by Sheryl Scott Directed by Desiree Baker
If you missed The Downs’ sold out run last summer this one-woman show is back, written and performed by local artist, Sheryl Scott, directed by Desiree Baker and produced by Debra Chantler. Photo of Sheryl Scott by Debra Chantler Come spend some time with Millie Johnson as she spins tales about life on the farm in 1950s Northern New Brunswick, when working hard had a whole different meaning and homemade bread was served at every meal. Millie teaches us lessons in acceptance and love. The story of raising five girls on a New Brunswick farm will leave you inspired, touched, and wondering when you can return for a cup of tea at Millie’s table. The Downs received The People’s Choice Award and Sheryl Scott won the Outstanding Actress Award at the London One Act Festival in 2013. The show also took the Producer’s Pick Award for the 2015 London Fringe Festival. “Scott’s performance is a tour de force, among the best I’ve ever seen at London Fringe. Millie will make you laugh. Millie will make you feel happy to be alive. Millie will warm your very soul and make you cry with joy.”
Joe Belanger, London Free Press
A Nightswimming Theatre production
Phillips Studio August 28 to Sept. 1
THESE ARE THE SONGS THAT I SING WHEN I’M SAD
Created by Jane Miller and Brian Quirt Performed by Jane Miller Directed by Brian Quirt
These Are The Songs That I Sing When I’m Sad is an intimate, interactive performance by the remarkable singer Jane Miller. Through storytelling and songs, Jane explores the sad songs that Photo by Max Telzerow have played a role in her life and delves into the link between deep emotions and the musical elements that make these songs so addictive. Audience members are drawn into the action when their favourite sad songs are requested and, in some cases, played by Jane in real-time. Sad Songs examines why we identify certain songs as sad or melancholy, and others as joyful, beautiful or triumphant, and how they weave themselves into our lives. Since 1995 Nightswimming has been recognized with 4 Governor General’s Award nominations, 7 Dora Mavor Moore Awards, 19 Dora Award nominations and 8 published scripts. Artistic Director Brian Quirt has twice received the Elliott Hayes Award for Outstanding Dramaturgy in North America, as well as three Dora Award nominations.
YOUTH OUTREACH
Blyth Festival Young Company
Drama Camps
H(uron) C(ounty) Kid HC Kid is a spectre. Or a ghost, a poltergeist, a demon. HC Kid is a shadow on the county line, started a fire in Clinton, speaks behind the waves of Bayfield and Goderich. Maybe they exist. Maybe they don’t. In the summer of 2018, The Blyth Festival Young Company opens the doors of the Phillips Studio and invites Huron County Kid in. Half fact and half fiction, HC Kid is a storytelling, spirit summoning, time traveling love letter to growing up in the middle of nowhere. HC Kid is conceived and directed by Clinton native, Curtis te Brinke (himself a graduate of the Young Company program). The Blyth Festival Young Company is a free program we offer to local young people for five to six weeks in the summer. Essentially, the Young Company is composed of local teenagers, ages 14 to 19 (anywhere from 3 to 17 young people), and like everything we do at Blyth, emphasizes originality and creation-based work. The teens get to work with a professional director, doing skills training, creating and developing their own show, and then they perform it in our studio theatre, with full technical support. But the work is wholly in their own original voices… created collectively….expressing their own ideas and worldview. There is no cost other than commitment. The program is 5 days a week and usually 10am-4pm, in Blyth. Participants also get to attend all of the shows in the Blyth season, and meet the artists who form the company.
In 2018, Blyth Festival will hold full-day week-long drama camps in Blyth for young people ages 7-13. The program will be led by a professional artist educator, guest artists and Blyth Festival Staff. Drama camp is active, engaging and full of creativity and fun for kids who have a keen interest in the performing arts! Camps will be held July 23-27 and July 30-August 3. For more information, contact the Blyth Festival Box Office at 519-523-9300 or 1-877-862-5984.
Young Company Sponsored by
2018 Calendar MAINSTAGE
The Blyth Festival is housed in the historic Blyth Memorial Community Hall, 431 Queen Street in the rural village of Blyth. Directions: Located on Huron County Road 4, south of Hwy 86, north of Hwy 8. Parking: Free on all side streets and in the town parking lot across from the theatre.
Blyth Memorial Community Hall 431 Queen Street Pigeon The Pigeon King Curling The New Canadian Curling Club Judith Judith: Memories of a Lady Pig Farmer Farmers 1837: The Farmers’ Revolt Boot Wing Night at the Boot
PHILLIPS STUDIO
Downs The Downs Songs These are the Songs That I Sing When I’m Sad YoCo Young Company
GOOD SCENTS POLICY
JULY
209 Dinsley Street
On behalf of those who have serious allergies, we respectfully ask that employees, artists, and patrons refrain from wearing perfume, scented hairspray, cologne, scented deodorants, aftershave, or other scented products in the theatre building.
MON
JULY JUNE
12
13
19
20
26
27
3
4
10
11
JULY
2:00 Dinning 17
18
2:00 Birds
31
UST
7
25
AUG
24
1
Civic Holiday
Bonanza 2:00 Truth
8
14
15
2:00 Donnelly
TUES
14
21
WED
THURS
FRI
15 CKNX Night
16
8:00 Dinning Preview
8:00 Dinning Preview
22
23
SAT
17
18
5:45 Opening Gala Dinner
6:15 Supper: Trinity Anglican
8:00 Dinning Opening
2:00 Dinning 8:00 Dinning
24
25
6:15 Supper: Blyth United
6:15 Supper: Blyth Legion
1
2
8:00 Birds Preview
8:00 Birds Preview
29
30
2:00 Dinning 8:00 Birds
2:00 Birds
2:00 Birds 8:00 Dinning
5
6
7
8
2:00 Birds 8:00 Dinning
2:00 Dinning
2:00 Dinning 8:00 Birds
8:00 Birds
8:00 Dinning
12
13
14
15
16
2:00 Dinning 8:00 Birds
2:00 Birds
2:00 Birds 8:00 Dinning
6:15 Supper: Trinity Anglican
6:15 Supper: Trinity Anglican
19
20
21
22
23
2:00 Birds 8:00 Dinning
2:00 Dinning
2:00 Dinning 8:00 Birds
6:15 Supper: Blyth Legion
6:15 Supper: Trinity Anglican
26
27
28
8:00 Truth Preview
8:00 Truth Preview
3
4
2
8:00 Birds Opening
2:00 Birds
28
JULY
SUN
Happy Canada Day!
8:00 Dinning
2:00 Dinning
6:15 Supper: Trinity Anglican
8:00 Birds 9
6:15 Supper: Walton Hall
8:00 Dinning
2:00 Birds
6:15 Supper: Walton Hall
2:00 Dinning
8:00 Birds
2:00 Birds
8:00 Birds
8:00 Dinning
29
30
6:15 Supper: Trinity Anglican
8:00 Truth Opening
5
Bonanza
6:15 Supper: Blyth United
2:00 Birds 8:00 Dinning 6
Bonanza
2:00 Birds Closing
Supper: Fish Fry Lower Hall
8:00 Donnelly Preview 8:00 Donnelly Opening 8:00 Dinning Closing
9
10
11
12
13
2:00 Truth 8:00 Donnelly
2:00 Donnelly
2:00 Donnelly 8:00 Truth
6:15 Supper: Walton Hall
Supper: Walton Hall
16
17
18
19
2:00 Donnelly 8:00 Truth
2:00 Truth
2:00 Truth 8:00 Donnelly
8:00 Donnelly
8:00 Truth
6:15 Supper: Blyth United
2:00 Truth
8:00 Donnelly
20
2:00 Donnelly
6:15 Supper: Blyth Legion
8:00 Truth
Bonanza Weekend - AUG 10-12 Purchase a Bonanza Pass and see four plays in three days. A Blyth Festival tradition! Opening Night Gala Dinner June 22 | 5:45pm | $40 Begin the season in style at our Gala Opening Night Dinner in the Lower Hall. CKNX Night - June 20 | $9.20 Join our friends at CKNX Radio for the first preview of the season! Proceeds to benefit the Actors’ Fund of Canada. Country Suppers | $22 Home-cooked meals served at local venues selected Friday and Saturday evenings. Blyth Spirit Members at the $100+ level are invited to join Artistic Director Gil Garratt and company members at a pre-show reception in the Lower Hall. RSVP required. Talk Back Join cast members after the 2pm performance for an informal talk in the Lower Hall. ASL Interpreted The July 8th performance of Judith will include American Sign Language Interpretation.
How to Order Tickets
o on sale
to:
Memb er Group s - February s - Mar 1 ch 1, 20 , 2018 Gener al Pub 18 lic - Ap ril 2, 20 18
Visit: 423 Queen Street in Blyth Call: 1.877.862.5984 Email: info@blythfestival.com Online: blythfestival.com By Post: Mail ticket request and cheque to Blyth Festival, PO Box 10, Blyth ON N0M 1H0
Single Tickets Prices Regular shows Previews Youth (18 under) Phillips Studio Young Company
Tickets g
Orchestra
Balcony
$40 $18 $15 $28 Adult $15 Adult
$36 $18 $15 $15 Youth $8 Youth
Regular Box Office Hours
Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm
Summer Box Office Hours May 30 to September 15 Monday to Saturday 9am to 5pm Evening performance days until 9pm
Groups: A Baker’s Dozen! Buy 12, get the 13th ticket free! Special group rates apply. Call the Box Office for complete details or visit our website for more information on the theatre, ticket prices, and policies. Special Events: Ticket prices appear with event descriptions. Ticket Fees: Applicable taxes are included in all ticket prices. Each order is subject to a $7 handling charge. Exchanges $4 per ticket. Exchanges are a free service to members. No exchange on day of performance. No Refunds.
1.877.862.5984 blythfestival.com
We accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Debit, Cheque, Cash
Passes PASSES ON SALE UNTIL APRIL 30 Purchase now and save up to 13%! Passes are redeemable for mainstage productions until September 15. Special Events, Young Company, and Phillips Studio productions do not apply.
Orchestra Pass 140
$ (Four tickets total) One ticket to each mainstage production in the Orchestra.
Balcony Pass 125
$ (Four tickets total) One ticket to each mainstage production in the Balcony.
Youth Pass 50 Bonanza Pass $140 (August 10-12 - Four tickets total)
$ (Four tickets total) One ticket to each mainstage production.
See four plays in three days. A Blyth Festival tradition!
2019 Passes on sale as of August 10, 2018!
Seating Plan
BLYTH MEMORIAL COMMUNITY HALL 431 Queen Street, Blyth
SPECIAL EVENTS
Annual Used Book Sale
May 3: 4pm - 9pm | May 4: 9am - 9pm May 5: 9am - 5pm | May 6: 12pm - 5pm A Blyth Festival tradition | Free Admission Blyth Memorial Community Hall - Lower Hall Order your delicious homemade pie for pick up. Visit our Blyth Festival Café for soup & sandwich lunch or join us for tea or coffee and a slice of famous pie. It’s open all hours of the Book Sale!
Helix Fundraiser Concert
May 17 at 8pm | $45 Blyth Memorial Community Hall Helix is coming to the Blyth Festival in a performance that’s bound to catch the attention of anyone who had access to a radio in the ‘80s and beyond. This show not only features all the Helix hits acoustically but also allows the band to stretch out and play other Helix material that it wouldn’t normally play. Band members will showcase their vocals and interact with the audience between songs through conversation.
Blyth Barn Bash - Save the Date October 18 at 6:30 pm
Dust off your favourite cowboy boots and hat, and get ready for great evening of music, food and live auction in this new “fun-raiser” for the Blyth Festival. More details to come.
Special Events Sponsor
Blyth Centre for the Arts Blyth Festival Art Gallery
Now into its 43rd year, the Blyth Festival Art Gallery continues its mandate of presenting quality art work to the Huron County community as well as to visiting theatre-goers. The annual Student Show has a growing reputation for featuring the best work from art students in Perth and Huron County secondary schools. The public at large is invited to submit their art for the annual Community Show, a non-juried (open) exhibition. The Gallery annually presents three exhibitions of professional level art. The first of these is by Kathy White, a Stratford fibre artist who uses wool yarn and beeswax to create complex realistic images with a dreamy haze. This will be followed by a retrospective exhibition in various media by a group of artists whose professional collective, the Huron Society of Artists, dissolved more than 20 years ago. Many of the members are still producing creative work and have close friendships with each other. Then, the viewing public will be treated to a show of whimsical marionettes. Artist Gemma James Smith creates the pieces as caricatures of notable local residents and historical figures. This is a show not to be missed! All Blyth Festival Art Gallery exhibitions are organized by an enthusiastic group of volunteers and are displayed at the Bainton Gallery in the recently renovated Blyth Memorial Hall. The Gallery is open the same hours as the Festival Theatre Box Office. Admission is free. Donations are appreciated.
2018 Exhibitions Student Show 2018 | May 3 to May 25 Community Show 2018 | May 26 to June 16 Kathy White | June 22 to July 14 Huron Society of Artists | July 20 to Aug. 18 Gemma James Smith | Aug. 24 to Sept. 15
Gemma James Smith’s marionnettes will show in the Gallery Aug. 24 to Sept. 15.
Blyth Festival Singers
Blyth Festival Singers is a county-wide community choir under the professional direction of Sharon Poelstra. The choir performs primarily in Huron County and has endeavoured to present a high standard of choral singing since its inception in 1980. A variety of music is performed: arts songs from all eras, popular music, Canadian and world folk songs, sacred and secular masterpieces. Like us on Facebook!
1.877.862.5984 blythfestival.com ANNUAL CABARET DINNER AND AUCTION
Saturday, May 26 | Stanley Township Hall | 6pm Adults: $30 | Children 6-12: $15
Rounding out the season’s musical journey will be our Cabaret dinner/concert/ auction. Always a great time with a yummy dinner prepared by the Singers, a lively auction with great prizes and a concert of our favourites. For more information, check out www.blythfestival.com closer to the date.
Blyth Festival Orchestra
Formed in 1995, the Blyth Festival Orchestra performs frequently
MAY THERE ALWAYS BE SUNSHINE
Sunday, April 15 | Blyth Memorial Community Hall | 3pm Adults: $15 | Children 6-12: $6 This concert welcomes you to the world of sunshine, blue skies and warm breezes after a long winter. Come mellow out with the Blyth Festival Singers as they present a programme of contemporary pieces, Celtic melodies and folk tunes celebrating the elements and lazy days to come. We are pleased to welcome back guest artist, Jan Searle, on flute. A lovely concert you won’t want to miss.
throughout the year and shines during special performances on the lawn during the theatre season. Its members are drawn from Huron County and the surrounding areas. The Orchestra plans a number of concerts with guest artists, including thatotherchoir. Its first concert of the year will take place this spring. The orchestra welcomes new musicians interested in playing an eclectic mix of music, from classical to contemporary, arranged as required to accommodate the membership and the audience. Rehearsals take place in Seaforth at St. Thomas Anglican Church on Tuesday evenings starting at 8:30 p.m. (most of us have day jobs!) For more information, contact the Blyth Festival Box Office.
LEGACY GIVING: THE GRANARY If attending the Blyth Festival has been a meaningful part of your life and you believe in the power and transformative nature of theatre, you may consider remembering the Blyth Festival in your Will. By leaving money to the Blyth Festival you are: • Choosing to align your personal values and interests with the financial goals of the Festival. • Bequeathing a portion of your estate to support a cause you care about even after you are gone. • Able to exclude those assets from your taxable estate, which reduces the amount your family may owe in estate taxes. • Making certain the Blyth Festival can continue its work in creating new productions, expanding our education projects and offering professional live theatre in a thriving non-urban community. Donors to The Granary will be invited to an annual event with the Artistic Director who will share behind the scenes insights into what it takes to plan the Festival each year. “Every farmer knows that planning ahead this season is the key to an abundant harvest next season. The Blyth Festival’s Granary program allows us to do precisely that: plan for the success of our future. By pledging your legacy donation to the Granary, you ensure that future generations of artists and audience alike, will reap the bounty of Original Canadian Theatre.” Gil Garratt, Artistic Director, Blyth Festival
NEW PLAY DEVELOPMENT Since 1975, the Blyth Festival’s mission has been “to give voice to the region and the country.” We have accomplished this by passionately pursuing the best in local stories, legendary stories, important, problematic, and inspiring stories. The work we do is of national importance, and we continue to be a beacon of best practice in play development coast to coast. We support new and experienced playwrights by offering not only financial support, but workshop space, staff, time and expertise to help get stories that should be told, onto our stages, and to stages across the country. We continue to tell the stories of this very place, to put this very region, and its very real lives on stage. To remain a dynamic force that contributes to the cultural fabric of this country we need your help. The Blyth Festival is a not-for-profit charity. We rely on the generosity of individuals, government funding bodies, and local and national corporations to bring you the best in new Canadian Theatre. To support this mandate, call us at 1.877.862.5984. We have a wide range of levels of support and benefits to match. Sponsored by
Above: Gil Garratt in The Last Donnelly Standing, 2016. Design and photo by Beth Kates. At right: Emma Marcie in the Blyth Festival Young Company’s From Sallows to Selfies, a one-woman show from 2017.
North Huron
A-FRAME COTTAGE
QUEENS ACCOMMODATION
BLYTH BROOK COTTAGE
WINGHAM WINGHAM TRAILER TRAILER PARK PARK
Stay
WHERE TO
An evening at a bed and breakfast after dinner and the show or a week, unplugged, looking at stars and fireflies – stay awhile in North Huron! Choose a well-appointed room at a historic main street inn or a bed and breakfast that allows you to walk our downtowns and pop into shops and restaurants. If “getting away from it all” is more your style, consider a cottage or retreat where fishing, nature walks and paddling are available at your leisure. If you would prefer reading a book by a pond or yoga under the trees, we have LOTS of places for you to relax, unwind and enjoy! North Huron is home to two campgrounds, so you can enjoy everything we have to offer and sleep in your own bed too! For help planning your stay in North Huron visit... northhuron.ca
North Huron
BLYTH FARM CHEESE
THE ANCHOR
QUEENS BAKERY
PART II BISTRO
Food Drink
LOCAL
AND
Fresh and local – for some, it’s a movement; for us, it’s a way of life. North Huron boasts some of the richest farm land in the province and our residents enjoy the bounty! We invite you, our visitors, to savour our fresh and delicious fare. From gourmet meals prepared by award-winning chefs to farm-gate products to take away – fresh and local is what we do! For a list of local food and drink establishments, please visit... northhuron.ca
North Huron
WONKY FROG
MAITLAND RIVER
ALICE MUNRO FESTIVAL OF THE SHORT STORY
CANADIAN CENTRE FOR RURAL CREATIVITY
Play
WHERE TO
We are proud to be home to the Blyth Festival and we love having excellent Canadian theatre in our own backyard! There’s lots to do in North Huron. A creative hub and activities galore – there is something for everyone! Experience one of our festivals, perfect the Rumba, create a pottery masterpiece, or discover our trails – these are just a few of the extraordinary events waiting for you. Leave your cares behind and spend some time in beautiful, creative, natural North Huron. For suggestions on where to play in North Huron, go to... northhuron.ca
See you at the
COWBELL FARM “THE NO.1 CRAFT BREWERY IN CANADA TO VISIT.” —WAYNE NEWTON, FOOD & DRINK JOURNALIST
40035 BLYTH ROAD, BLYTH, ON N0M 1H0 2018-BlythFestivalBrochure-AD-v1.indd 1
1-844-523-4724
WWW.COWBELLBREWING.COM 2018-02-27 3:58 PM