BRIDGE TO CANADA....tension on steroids. BUBBA, THERE BETTER NOT BE ONE THING IN THIS CAR THAT WILL JACK US UP! "No honey. We're good." So we took a bet, 3rd year...a charm? Bubs said they will pull us over, I said smooth sailing. So up we roll to the very nice border guard man. Any guns? ammo? liquor? no sir. any gifts for Canadians? no sir. Oh I see you eyeballing all those wrapped presets in the back seat. Not to worry. it's all for...ah Boca! Ok, Have a good time in Canada. Whewwwwww. Made it.
Stratford, Ontario, is the home of the largest classical repertory theatre in North America. This fact can be attributed to the dream of one man, Stratford-born journalist Tom Patterson. In the early 1950s, seeing the economy of his home town endangered by the withdrawal of the railway industry that had sustained it for nearly 80 years, Patterson conceived the idea of turning Stratford into a cultural destination by mounting a theatre festival devoted to the works of William Shakespeare. On January 22, 1952, Patterson presented his plan to Stratford City Council, which granted him a small sum to investigate the possibility further. Dora Mavor Moore, an early pioneer of Canadian theatre, put him in touch with legendary British actor and director Tyrone Guthrie, who, intrigued by Patterson’s notion and impressed by the enthusiasm of the committee that had been formed to pursue it, agreed to serve as the proposed festival’s first Artistic Director.
A legal entity, the Stratford Shakespearean Festival of Canada Foundation (subsequently changed to the Stratford Shakespearean Festival Foundation of Canada), was incorporated on October 31, 1952. A giant canvas tent was ordered from a firm in Chicago, and in the parklands by Stratford’s Avon River work began on a concrete amphitheatre at the centre of which was to be a revolutionary thrust stage created to Guthrie’s specifications by internationally renowned theatrical designer Tanya Moiseiwitsch.
Ever since its first season, the Stratford Shakespeare Festival has set "benchmarks"-pun intended, for the production not only of Shakespeare, Molière, the ancient Greeks and other great dramatists of the past but also of such 20th-century masters as Samuel Beckett, Bertolt Brecht, Anton Chekhov, Henrik Ibsen, Eugene O’Neill and Tennessee Williams. In addition to acclaimed productions of the best in operetta and musical theatre, it has also showcased – and in many cases premièred – works by outstanding Canadian and other contemporary playwrights.The Festival’s artists have included the finest actors, directors and designers in Canada, as well as many from abroad. Among the internationally renowned performers who have graced its stages are Alan Bates, Brian Bedford, Douglas Campbell, Len Cariou, Brent Carver, Hume Cronyn, Brian Dennehy, Colm Feore, Megan Follows, Lorne Greene, Paul Gross, Uta Hagen, Julie Harris, Martha Henry, William Hutt, James Mason, Eric McCormack, Loreena McKennitt, Richard Monette, John Neville, Nicholas Pennell, Amanda Plummer, Christopher Plummer, Sarah Polley, Douglas Rain, Kate Reid, Jason Robards, Paul Scofield, William Shatner, Maggie Smith, Jessica Tandy, Peter Ustinov and Al Waxman.
With an annual operating budget of just under $60 million, the Festival now employs more than 1,000 people. A typical season runs from April to November and includes a wide variety of ancillary events and activities, including tours, concerts, lectures, discussion sessions and appearances by celebrated authors. A wide range of educational and enrichment programs are enjoyed each year by thousands of students, teachers and members of the public, while the Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre offers an unparalleled training opportunity for young theatre artists. 
We met up with my pal Sandy (from Boca and Detroit) and her Sis Terrie. Sandy has been attending the Festival for years. Unlike Boca and Bubs she ordered her tickets well in advance. Many choices- The Merry Wives of Windsor, Camelot, Twelfth Night, The Misanthrope, The Grapes of Wrath, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Homecoming, Richard the III and more. Sandy and Terrie attended Hosanna, a play about a transvestite and how she confronts her insecurities and illusions- ultimately asking the question of who she really is....Pleep and I pretty much ask that question everyday. And you?
