The Blyth Festival unveiled then new outdoor Harvest Stage Wednesday.
Artistic Director Gil Garratt says the idea started as a solution to the challenge of performing in front of an audience indoors and still meeting health protocols during the pandemic.
He says as the discussions developed the concept evolved into something that could be a huge permanent asset and they enlisted the help of the Federal, Provincial and municipal governments and created something special.
“The Huron County sunset happens right there over stage right, the stars come out as you're making your way back to your car and last night, I watched a dress rehearsal and there was even a flock of sea gulls that flew by about half way through the show, so, you know, guest appearances from wild life is always welcome at Blyth,” said Garratt.
While the outdoor theatre can only seat 100 people at this point, he notes they'll be able to expand to at least 300 seats in the future.
“When we hit a point where we can finally say good bye to social distancing we will be able to expand here to at least 300 seats under the existing sun shade that we'll have here. But then our dream is to continue to build here, we could continue to build more rows back,” added Garratt.
Garratt says the time will come when they'll have shows running in Memorial Hall and on the outdoor stage at the same time.
