Stratford is a picturesque Ontario town and is one of my favorite places to visit. It attracts many visitors every year for theatrical productions known as the “Stratford Festival.” We were there for a Doctoral Celebration which included a lovely lunch and afternoon walk along the Avon River. Many swans, ducks, and their young, make lovely companions for visitors who wish to admire and spend time with them.
I like to think of the river myself as the “Swany” River rather than the Avon. It’s delightful to see so many swans in the river and on land enjoying themselves. I have always had a liking for swans and their graceful look. It’s rather “swany” here. There are many ducks as well but the swans seem to steal the show. “In Canada, Stratford is synonymous with the stage. Each year, the town’s Theatre Festival attracts over 600,000 visitors to live performances of Shakespeare and a plethora of other classic playwrights. The festival began over 50 years ago as a means of replacing the dying railroad industry. Today, it is the largest classical repertory event in North America. As if to embellish the lyricism of Shakespeare with sheer visual grace, Stratford’s Avon River is also home to a famous population of swans swimming a picturesque shoreline river flanked by meticulously kept parks.” (Ontario Tourism & Travel)
We were very lucky to see many cygnets the day we were there. This is the name given to a baby swan. They are also known as flappers. You can see from the collage that they are a gray color. A male swan is called a Cob and a female a Pen. I used to know this years ago when I was in school but had to reacquaint myself with these terms for this post.
There were ducks everywhere. Some were in the water but many were just sun-bathing, resting, and relaxing. As you can see from the collage, there are different species there. The ducklings were so cute!
I found these appropriate rhymes about swans and ducks and like them both very much.
Swan swan swan, Bending their necks to sing to the sky. White feathers floating on green water, Red feet pushing against clear waves. (Tang Dynasty, Luo Bin Wang)
I wondered what was the duration of time of the Tang Dynasty and discovered it to be 618 AD – 907 AD. It was a time that produced many poets. “During the Tang dynasty, many great poets emerged. Li, Po, Tu Fu, and Po Chu-i and prose master Han Yu appeared when the political decline had begun. The printing of books and sharing of ideas promoted cultural unity.” An interesting tidbit!
We all like babies of any kind and I must say that duck babies are very cute. This rhyme is used as a teaching tool for very young children. Very clever and gets them thinking.
Peck, peck, peck on the warm brown egg. Out comes a neck. Out comes a leg. How does a chick that’s not been about discover the trick of how to get out? (Aileen Fisher)
There are different kinds of boats along the Avon River and it’s possible to go for a boat ride. There was also a barge near to the theatre area that carried a live band. Beautiful music to make a visit to Stratford even more memorable. The statues were at a memorial close to the river.
To add to my afternoon walk along the river and my photographic delight – was the beautiful image you see of these Mennonite ladies taking a walk. We were all very close to Festival Bridge.
Stratford’s City Hall stands out and is a very nice building to see as one walks about in the downtown area. I was very lucky to see it at night as well. The Festival Theatre was the one we went to for an unforgettable performance of “Fiddler on the Roof.” Attending this performance was a special birthday gift for me. The Festival Gardens were very beautiful. There are performances in other theatres that comprise the “Stratford Festival.” Many people go down to Stratford for a few days and take in several plays a day.
There are beautiful wildflowers all along the river. I just ordinarily enjoy flowers when I’m taking a walk, but, on this occasion – I picked some. I hadn’t seen any flower shops or supermarkets downtown where I could buy flowers. I already had the cup filled with floral foam brought with me from home. I wanted flowers desperately for “our special doctoral celebrant.” This collage shows how the arrangement turned out. She was very happy when she received them at dinner that night.
What a memorable and beautiful visit to Stratford. We had dinner at Bentley’s, coffee at Balzac’s, our Festival Theatre evening for “Fiddler on the Roof” and our overnight stay at “As You Like It.” Hope you enjoyed all the collages and visiting with me at Stratford.