Perth County

A $14 MILLION RENOVATION PROJECT AT THE FESTIVAL THEATRE IN STRATFORD INCLUDES SEVERAL CHANGES.

Festival soon ready to re-open

STRATFORD -- A $14 million, renovation project is almost finished on the Festival Theatre in Stratford.

Construction has been underway for months but it was hoped rehearsals could begin this week. New seats, carpet and lighting are just some of the changes inside the theatre auditorium. Patrons will find new additions like an elevator, expanded lobby, Theatre Store and washrooms on all three levels.

Outside, visitors will notice newly landscaped gardens, a reflecting pool, and upgraded entrance driveways. The renovation also includes two new lounges for members only and the Theatre Marquis, available for private functions and year-round entertainment events.

The renovation project is part of the Act III Campaign and is due to a multi-million dollar fund raising campaign with support from several major corporations like Union Gas, Bank of Montreal, General Motors, the City of Stratford, TransCanada Pipelines and community service clubs and donors.

STRATFORD -- The hockey season is over in Midwestern Ontario and a Junior B championship just wasn't to be for the Stratford Cullitons.

After the Owen Sound Platers and the Listowel Cyclones were eliminated, all hopes were pinned on the Cullitons to win the regional title. However, in an exciting seven-game series, Stratford lost to the Elmira Sugar Kings.

This was the first time in the Elmira team's history it won the Midwestern Ontario Junior B final. The final game was played April 2 in Stratford. The final score was 6-4. It was a well-earned victory for the Sugar Kings as they didn't give up even when they lost the first two games of the series. They came back and won four of the next five games.

STRATFORD -- An exciting discovery was made during recent construction work on the Stratford Festival Theatre. A time capsule was found by workers behind one of the theatre's cornerstones.

A special ceremony was held February 25 to open the time capsule, 40 years after it was sealed. Richard Monette, the festival's artistic director, led the ceremonies and was joined by several other dignitaries. Inside the metal box, wrapped in a January 28,1957 edition of the Stratford Beacon Herald, were different papers and documents.

There were letters, reviews, programs from some of the first productions at the festival, and a one-cent copper penny. There was also a list of remarks made by Vincent Massey, then Governor General.

It is believed Mr. Massey placed the time capsule behind the cornerstone in a ceremony in January, 1957. That ceremony was celebrating the construction of a permanent festival building to replace the tent used since the festival opened in 1953.

Festival organizers are planning to replace the time capsule back in a cornerstone when the newly renovated Festival Theatre opens this spring.