Hello, travel friends, and welcome to Pacific Northwest Travel with Jaunty Everywhere, where we're all about exploring the best destinations in the Pacific Northwest.
I'm your host, Cheri, and today we're headed to the charming town of Ashland, Oregon, a place that's bursting with culture and natural beauty.
In this episode, we're diving into the world-renowned Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Before we get into the nitty gritty of Ashland, it's time for our Pacific Northwest 'Worth a Stop.'
I'll be starting every show with a specific location that I think is worth a stop. Usually, it's a hidden gem that's not very well known. On our way to Ashland. Let's make a stop at Talking Water Gardens in Albany, Oregon.
Albany is about an hour and a half south of Portland, and Talking Water Gardens is a beautiful green space with a twist. It's actually an innovative water treatment facility, but you would never know it, thanks to the 50 acres of nature trails that wind through waterfalls, ponds, and streams.
It's the perfect place to stretch your legs on the 2 miles of interpretive trail and take in some fresh air. You might even spot some wildlife along the way. The facility is home to turtles, fish, beaver, muskrats, birds of prey, water birds, and much more.
We've been there early in the morning when the birds were very active and abundant, and on one sunny afternoon, we stopped to have a picnic, and a muskrat popped out to see what we were up to. Talking Water Gardens is definitely worth a stop.
Back on the road, we'll continue our way south to Ashland, Oregon.
By the way, you can find all the links and details that we mention in this episode on our jauntyeverywere.com/Podcast.
When is the best time to go?
The festival runs from February to October, so the best time to visit depends on your preferences. If you love winter and picturesque snow-covered landscapes, then February is the perfect time to visit.
The surrounding Siskiyou Mountains are dusted with snow. This is when the Shakespeare Festival begins, and the downtown restaurants and merchants create a very cozy atmosphere to welcome visitors. It's truly picture-perfect.
For mild and sunny weather, spring is the ideal season to visit. It's the heart of the Shakespeare Festival season, and it's also a great time to explore the town's natural beauty or wander around the charming downtown area.
During the summer, the festival is in full swing, and you can enjoy free outdoor theater, dance, and musical performances at the Green Show, which I'll talk about more in a minute. It's also an excellent time to experience outdoor activities like river rafting, touring, local wineries, camping, hiking, and biking.
Fall is my favorite season in Ashland. The festival is winding down, so check the performance calendar to be sure that the performances that you want to see are still running. But for fall, color in Lithia Park and the surrounding area, combined with the moderate weather in late September and early October, autumn can't be beat.
Depending on your preferences, there is a perfect time for you to visit Ashland and immerse yourself in the world of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.
Let me break this down a little. Theater is huge in Ashland. Not only do you have the Shakespeare Festival, but there's the Oregon Cabaret Theater, Camelot Theater, and the Ashland Contemporary Theater.
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival revolves around downtown. Or I should say the downtown revolves around the festival. It's a charming district of unique shops, coffee houses, restaurants, and tea shops. It's very walkable.
As for the performances, it's a myth that it's all about Shakespeare. Shakespeare is the central point. But out of the six main performances in this season's lineup, two are Shakespearean works. And if you don't think that you like Shakespeare, give it another chance. They are performed in very creative ways, sometimes out of the traditional time period or in a different setting, or from a different character's perspective. For example, the upcoming Twelfth Night performance has a blues and jazz spin. I don't think they had blues and jazz when Shakespeare wrote Twelfth Night.
There are also contemporary plays which offer a perspective on modern culture, sometimes a social or political issue.
There are classic plays from a variety of eras and cultures. You'll find everything from Greek tragedy to Broadway musicals. Coming up, they'll be performing Rent and the Three Musketeers.
They also produce Premieres, which are new plays from emerging and established playwrights. This year they're doing Where We Belong, which is a solo show with a debut director.
And they're always experimenting with new forms of theater. For instance, the Quills Fest, which is a digital festival that combines live performance and immersive technology, is something new and innovative that came out of the rough go that all theaters have had in the last three years. And they're continuing Quills Fest this year.
As for the venues, you have three main places that you'll see the plays. The first is the Allen Elizabethian Theater. This is the largest theater of the three. It's modeled after the original Globe Theater in London. It features a large, multimedia, multilevel stage. The most elaborate performances will happen here. It's open air. I repeat it is open air. A few years ago, we went to Ashland in October, and during the day, it was nice and toasty in the 80s, but at night the temperature dropped rapidly. And it's a testament to how good The Book of Will was, because we stuck it out through the entire performance, even though we were freezing. The next time we went to the Elizabethian, we made sure to wear warm clothes and take an extra blanket.
Thomas Theater is next. For perspective, the Elizabethian holds 1200 guests. The Thomas seats an intimate 300. It's a flexible stage venue, which means that each time you attend a performance, the layout is probably going to be different. It's usually the stage for experimental or nontraditional type performances.
And finally, you have the Angus Bowmer theater. This is the original festival theater. It has been in operation since 1935. It accommodates 600 guests with a traditional proscenium stage, and it's often used for the more classic productions.
What is a proscenium stage? Well, that's the kind of stage you think of when I say stage. It has an arch with a curtain that separates the auditorium from the performance area.
Now, the fun doesn't end there. There are many other festival events, the best being the Green Show. This is an outdoor stage that sits outside the Elizabethian Theater. All the preshow performances happen here. They're free. You don't even have to be a ticket holder. It's an outdoor area with these huge concrete blocks that are artfully arranged and service seating. The performances feature music, dance theater, and other cultural type shows that are relevant to the festival lineup.
Backstage tours are my favorite festival event. This is a behind-the-scenes look at what happens behind the curtain. You'll want to make reservations because these fill up fast, and there is a small charge. They'll take you in, under, and around the theater complex. When we took the tour, we were allowed to go through the dressing room area and the costume shop. It was fabulous.
There's also the Behind the Curtain summer tours, which are geared towards kids.
Next, you'll have Festival Noons, which is a monthly series hosted by Theater Pros. They will give a demonstration or create some kind of interactive theater experience.
There are post-show talks which happen right after some of the shows. These are 30-minute discussions, and they're free to ticket holders.
And finally, workshops and classes are sometimes offered in stagecraft acting, playwriting, and different aspects of theater.
Be aware that one of the things we can count on these days is a change of plans. To help you find what's currently available, I'll link up in the show notes to as many of the current special calendars as I can find, and you'll have to check and see if the event that you're interested in is happening this year.
I can't leave you without a few recommendations for where to eat. All of the suggestions I'm about to make are an easy walk from any festival event.
Let's start with breakfast.
I like Brothers Restaurant. They are famous for their corned beef hash, but they do have a full menu. We personally tried a couple of breakfast scrambles, and they were excellent.
Next, Coffee Houses, which can also double as breakfast spots. You have Noble Coffee, which is this very large bright space. The coffee is roasted in-house. You can actually see the roasting room through the glass. The baristas here take their craft very seriously. This is rated one of the best coffee roasters in the Pacific Northwest, and that's saying a lot.
Next is Bloomsbury Blends, which is a coffee house on the main strip. They have a few breakfast and lunch options. It's very charming, cozy. There are picnic tables in the garden. It also happens to be a wine bar and often hosts live music, but presumably not for breakfast.
And finally, the Mix Bake Shop, which has coffee, bakery items, and ice cream. This is a good stop, too.
For a meal - these restaurants serve both lunch and dinner. You can choose from Oberon's Restaurant and Bar. This is a Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream, British-style pub. They have food, craft beer, cocktails, I guess 100 whiskeys, and often live music.
There's Taj Indian Cuisine, which is a good option for lunch and dinner. But they have a great lunch buffet.
Thai Pepper is a delicious Thai restaurant. They have a patio down on the creek. Call ahead and make a reservation if you're set on sitting on the patio. The night we went, there was a wedding rehearsal dinner being hosted, and we had to sit at the bar. The food was still good, but it wasn't quite the ambiance we were looking for.
Next is Agave Gourmet Mexican. I would try the tamales. That's what they're known for.
And our favorite for dinner, because they only serve dinner, is Blue Toba Indonesian food. The chef travels to Indonesia and brings back fresh spices every year. The space is beautiful, refined. They provide little lumbar pillow at every chair. It's delightful. And oh, the food is so good.
There are many, many restaurants with seating on Lithia Creek, from wood-fired pizza to really fancy. And if it's in the downtown theater district, it's probably going to be good because it wouldn't survive the competition. So you can wander up and down the street as you're exploring and check out the menus that are in all the windows to decide where you would like to try.
One final food suggestion is the Ashland food coop. This is a great option if you want to take a picnic over to Lithia Creek Park. Their deli serves quality breakfast and lunch options, and you can get everything you need to have a first-class picnic. Again.
For full show notes with all the links and Ashland-related blog posts, visit JauntyEverywhere.com/podcast
On to our travel tip of the week. Today it's take the tour, specifically the Shakespeare Festival backstage tour. And again, they sell out fast, so be sure to get a reservation. This will make your experience so much richer.
But as a general rule, I say take the tour. In tiny Cashmere, Washington, you can see Aplets and Cotlets being made. In Seattle, you can go inside Boeing or Microsoft. In Washougal, you can take a tour of Pendleton Woolen Mills. From brewery tours to factory tours, always jump at the chance to see what's behind the curtain, so to speak, even if it costs a little more.
You've probably heard of the Sunshine Coast of Australia, but did you know that we have our own Sunshine Coast in the Pacific Northwest? Join me next week as we head to one of the best-kept secrets in British Columbia.
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Have a great week.
Bye.
