Prince’s Island Park exists because a lumber company dug a channel to bring logs closer to its sawmill.
The park sits downtown, covers 20 hectares and is named after Peter Anthony Prince, a lumberman from Quebec who came to Calgary in 1886 and founded the Eau Claire Lumber Mill. The channel his company dug made the island. The City bought the land in 1947 for parkland.
These days the park hosts big events, including the Calgary Folk Festival (here’s how Folk Fest took over the island), and Theatre Calgary’s outdoor Shakespeare series, Shakespeare by the Bow. In 2019 the company’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream ran from June 27 to August 18 in Prince’s Island Park, which Theatre Calgary described as a “gorgeous natural setting.” A fairy play under open sky seems about right.
Calgary has another Shakespeare story too. The Shakespeare Company was founded in 1995 and presents Shakespeare and Shakespeare-inspired plays for Calgary audiences. Calgary Arts Development calls it “lean and mean,” and the company’s own site says it aims to rediscover the power, passion and playfulness of Shakespeare and his peers. Its listings include Othello in 2014, Much Ado About Nothing in 2018 and Goblin Macbeth in 2022. That last title is worth a grin on its own.
You get two ways to meet the Bard, one with a picnic blanket and a river nearby, one with a lean cast and a sharp eye on the text. And if you like your culture near the water, our story on the Pumphouse Theatres sits along the same river.
Next summer, look up the Shakespeare by the Bow schedule and bring a friend. When the weather cools, check the Shakespeare Company’s season.
Sources: City of Calgary, Prince’s Island Park; Theatre Calgary, A Midsummer Night’s Dream; The Shakespeare Company, About.
For a different angle, read Walk Stephen Avenue Like a Movie Fan. Six rooms, four names and one very busy arts centre is good too.
Keep going with Calgary Gets a Full Halloween Horror Season From CUFF.
Quick answers
Prince’s Island Park is named after Peter Anthony Prince, a lumberman from Quebec who came to Calgary in 1886 and founded the Eau Claire Lumber Mill. His company dug the channel that made the island, and the City bought the land in 1947 for parkland.
Prince’s Island Park covers 20 hectares in downtown Calgary. It hosts big events, including the Calgary Folk Festival and Theatre Calgary’s outdoor Shakespeare series, Shakespeare by the Bow. In 2019 A Midsummer Night’s Dream ran there from June 27 to August 18.
Theatre Calgary presents Shakespeare by the Bow in Prince’s Island Park, and The Shakespeare Company, founded in 1995, presents Shakespeare and Shakespeare inspired plays for Calgary audiences. Its listings include Othello in 2014, Much Ado About Nothing in 2018 and Goblin Macbeth in 2022.
