The Avon River, where it forms a reservoir behind a flood control dam in Stratford, Ontario, is more than a place to store excess water. It is a place for fun and fun is never excess. Rental paddle boats, canoes and kayaks are all available, complete with life jackets, from Avon Boat Rentals.
Noodoe EV is a Taiwanese maker of electric vehicle charging systems has operated in Asia and Europe for the past decade. A few years ago Noodoe EV expanded into North America and has now installed nearly 1,000 EV charging stations in the U.S. at casinos, hotels and shopping malls plus more.
The feature that Noodoe EV most likes to brag about is its use of a cloud-based platform. Does the cloud connection benefit drivers? Yes but it benefits the owners of the Noodoe EV charging stations more. Noodoe EV provides the parking lot owners with the charging stations with a wealth of information: how long does the average user charging their car, how much power is used during an average charge and how much profit is being made from each charging unit.
Noodoe EV like to brag that its technology transforms parking lots into "hands-off revenue generators."
Upper Queen's Park is right next to the Festival Theatre. One can stroll into the park from almost any direction, it is not surrounded with a barrier of any type. Yet, it does have a proper entrance off Water Street. It is clearly a proper entrance as there are two matching stone arches over both sidewalks bordering the roadway. In front of these, there are two dogs, two pleasant dogs. One might expect lions, or at the very least large guard dogs, but no, these mellow dogs look like a couple of family pets.
The occasional intermingling of the two Stratfords, the one in England and the one in Canada, shows up in the most surprising places.
The statue of William Shakespeare in the garden at the Stratford Festival was done by Frank Holte. Holte headed the Stratford Festival prop department for some 39 years. And, this is where the link appears, Frank Holte was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in England.
The American Southwest is in the middle of a drought of historic proportions, but not Southwestern Ontario. The southern most province in Canada, Ontario, is having a rather wet summer. There are weeks when residents don't have to water their plants at all. In fact, some of the local strawberries have had their flavour diluted by all the rainfall which has made the berries bigger, wetter and with a less intense flavour than one expects.
Stratford, in Ontario, is a town that knows how to make itself more than a stop but a destination. Without going into all the details, Stratford chased and embraced the dream of the English theatre director and stage legend, Tyrone Guthrie.
At the time, Stratford was known mainly as a place specializing in repairing steam locomotives. In other words, Stratford was facing economic disaster. Today the locomotive repair facilities are long closed and the theatre arts are the big driver of the local economy.
But great theatre is not enough to propel a town forward decade after decade. London, Ontario, can attest to that -- but that is another story. If you want to find a fine restaurant, think Stratford. And the town does not just have high-end eateries. You can get a very good shawarma, submarine or burger there as well.
If you cannot afford the theatre, it is not cheap, there are smaller venues with smaller ticket prices. If you only visit the town to enjoy a take-out lunch beside the river, you might be lucky enough to catch a singer giving a fee performance from on a slowly passing boat.
Stratford is lovely and full of lovely surprises.
Before continuing, I must mention why I have not posted since last Sunday. My other computer crashed and may be down for the count. I was out of town, in Stratford, unable to find another computer to use for filing.
Stratford, Ontario, was not always famous like it is today. The first theatre production opened on July 13, 1953. Today Stratford has at least three theatres and possibly more. The new Tom Patterson Theatre is now finished and is simply waiting for the O.K. to open. COVID-19 threw a wrench into the entire massive theatre operation. Until COVID-19 buses from across North America rolled into Stratford attracted by the now world famous theatre.
Stratford in Ontario sits on the Avon River and where the river runs through the city a damn has been built and a long reservoir formed. The river has become a secondary magnet to hold people in town who are first attracted by the theatre. There are small paddle boats and even a small cruise boat to be seen on the river.
To know more, click the link: Stratford Festival.
