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STRATFORD VOLUME 4 • ISSUE 24
23 FREE
JULY 11, 2025
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Happy Canada Day Stratford! AMANDA MODARAGAMAGE
Times Reporter
Stratford’s Market Square was filled with red and white on July 1, as families from across the city gathered for Stratford’s Canada Day celebration. The city’s annual community festival ran from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and featured live musical performances, family-friendly activities and interactive programming hosted by local organizations. Highlights included hands-on crafts with Gallery Stratford and Playmakers Theatre, esports gaming with NextStrat, local history exhibits by the Stratford Perth Museum and free Canada Day tattoos, flags and stickers offered by Stratford Day Camp and the Stratford Lions Pool. The celebration officially kicked off with a performance by the Stratford District Secondary School Jazz Combo, followed by a noon ceremony that included the singing of O Canada and a land acknowledgement. Entertainment continued throughout the afternoon with performances by the Eagle Flight Singers, The Fitzgeralds and Pressgang Mutiny. Visitors also enjoyed a variety of food vendors, free public swims at the Stratford Lions Pool and a festive Canada Day parade hosted by the Stratford and District Saddle Club and Bethel Pentecostal Church. The day ended with a crowd-pleasing fireworks display at the Stratford Education and Recreation Centre, hosted by the Stratford Kinsmen. For more on this year’s Canada Day celebrations in the Festival City, see more photos on page 3 and a story on why some might have seen an American flag amongst the Canadian flags on page 5.
Remi Bradley, Bryar Chandler, Lennon Bradley and Charlie Bradley came out to enjoy live music and kids' activities on July 1. See more photos on page 3.
(AMANDA MODARAGAMAGE PHOTO)
Stratford Festival nets $250,000 in provincial funding; AD says season is off to “strong” start
CONNOR LUCZKA
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
As Perth-Wellington MPP Matthew Rae said, pound-forpound, the Stratford Festival punches above its weight – which is why the Province of Ontario has awarded $250,000 to the local theatre company in one-time funding. “Actors such as Christopher (Plummer), William Shatner, Colm Feore and Maggie Smith, to only name a few, have graced the stages of the Stratford Festival Theatre,” Rae said
during the funding announcement. “And it's not only a jewel in Ontario's theatre scene, but also a major economic driver – locally, provincially and nationally contributing over $275 million in annual economic activity and now employing over 1,000 workers – and I know our provincial government continues to stand with our theatres and the larger arts and culture sector across Ontario.” The announcement was made on June 25 in the Tom Patterson Theatre, where Rae was joined by Stan Cho, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Gaming, Mayor Martin Ritsma, CONTINUED TO PAGE 2