Each is held every summer, but extends from early blossom time into the falling of the leaves in late autumn. The first, located at Stratford on the beautiful Avon River in southwestern Ontario, has been producing the classic plays of William Shaespeare since 1953; the second, at Naigara-on-the-Lake, has been staging the works of the Irish wit, George Bernard Shaw; since 1962; the third, at Carlottetown, Prince Edward Island, has been showcasting Canadian musical talkent since 1964.

The Stratford Festival, which opened in a giant tent on grassy parklands that edge the placid Avon, was the brainchild of Tom Patterson, a young man from Stratford. Back in his hometown after World War Il service, he had dreamed of using this attractive setting for a Canadian Stratford offering Shakespeare. And his dream-on-a-shoestring won backing not only from local businessmen but also from the world-renowned director, Tyrone Guthrie, and the famed actor, Alec Guinness. This subsequently led to a six-week season, in 1953, with Guinness performing splendidly in Richard III. This triumph led to longer, more varied seasons featuring not only Shakespearean plays but also comic opera and musical concerts from symphony to jazz. In 1957 the Tent Theatre was replaced by a permanent building, designed by Canadian architect Robert Fairfield, that featured an innovative apron stage, devised by Tanya Moiseiwitsch, that projected into the audience. Thereafter, the Festival grew apace. It drew first-rate directors and actors, many of them developed at Stratford, many internationally renowned such as Sir Lawrence Olivier, Sir John Gielgud, and Canada's own Christopher  Plummer. Other types of drama and more music were added; two more theatres, an arts museum, new hotels, and quality restaurants now cater to the needs of the enthusiastic audiences that throng in from Toronto, Detroit, and beyond. Thus the Festival was no mere cultural “frill” to be sneered at by hard-headed businessmen. Drawing annually close to 500,000 theatregoers, the Stratford Theatre has become a money-maker as well as a great enjoyment for all who could see that Shakespeare’s plays just might prove more lasting than the Ringling Brothers or P.T. Barnum.