Festival Stratford 2013 Part 1

Last weekend I had the pleasure of taking part in the first annual Arts Marketplace which took place during Festival Stratford's showing of A Midsummer Night's Dream, performed by Connecticut Free Shakespeare. As a way to draw attention to the cause of resurrecting the American Shakespeare Festival Theatre in Stratford, CT, this was the eighth year this event has taken place. It has gained in popularity and the organization is finding new ways to increase the draw. One such activity was adding the Arts Marketplace. There were ten art/craft vendors in total along with several food trucks and the local VFW selling mixed drinks and draft beer from Two Roads Brewing Company which is our newest town attraction.

I will add photos in several posts to keep this from being so long.

The setting is beautiful. The buildings are historical treasures. The Shakespeare Garden is taking shape once again. Here is a quick tour:

The Theatre

Sundial on Theatre

inside of Theatre

Theatre Museum

Katherine Hepburn often performed here

in the Lobby

A statue on the grounds

Shakespeare Garden

the White House where actors used to stay

Note: Photos on Summer Photography Scavenger Hunt 2013 list in this post:
# 2 - Theater for performing arts (1st photo)
#21 - Sundial (2nd photo)

Festival Stratford 2013 Part 2
Festival Stratford 2013 Part 3

Stratford Arts Guild

Last evening I attended the monthly meeting of the Stratford Arts Guild. One of my New Year goals was to get involved with this group. I was a little apprehensive, as one often is when entering a new situation and meeting new people. I wasn't sure how I would be received. Their website encourages artists and others from the community to attend the meetings, so I wasn't too worried. Artists can be an intimidating group of people if they choose to be. Not so with this group, thankfully! I was immediately welcomed, introduced to everyone and had several good conversations.

Roger, the president of the Guild, told me that for many years Stratford had a yearly nationally recognized juried art show. The event was canceled about twenty five years ago. The Guild is hoping to revive it. Now is a good time as plans are moving forward with the re-opening of the Stratford Festival Theater and the huge success of the newly opened Two Roads Brewing Co. Stratford is poised to be a tourist destination once again. I plan to do my best to help the Stratford Arts Guild achieve their goals.