Stratford lives, Ad Astra not so much
On Monday, a 96-page glossy magazine promoting the 2023 Stratford Festival arrived with the Globe and Mail. I was happy to see that some of my fannish favorites are appearing in productions this year. Paul Gross is in King Lear, Geraint Wyn Davies is in Grand Magic, Jonathan Goad (from Republic of Doyle) is in Spamalot, and Krystin Pellerin (also from Doyle) is in Casey and Diana.
I haven't been to Stratford for quite a few years (even before the pandemic), and I probably won't get there this year. Although the festival-specific direct bus service between downtown Toronto and Stratford has resumed, I'm not quite ready to face unmasked crowds just yet; the family is vaccinated to the nth degree, but I can't risk bringing anything even semi-virulent back home to the spouse.
It's been just about as many years since I was able to attend Ad Astra in person, and now it looks as if the long-lived fan-run literary convention is gone for good. Although the board chair says that the con is in a "dormant phase," it seems pretty clear that it won't be coming back. Ad Astra, along with Toronto Trek/Polaris and a couple of other fan-run cons, was an important part of Canadian fandom from the 1980s to the 2010s.
I haven't been to Stratford for quite a few years (even before the pandemic), and I probably won't get there this year. Although the festival-specific direct bus service between downtown Toronto and Stratford has resumed, I'm not quite ready to face unmasked crowds just yet; the family is vaccinated to the nth degree, but I can't risk bringing anything even semi-virulent back home to the spouse.
It's been just about as many years since I was able to attend Ad Astra in person, and now it looks as if the long-lived fan-run literary convention is gone for good. Although the board chair says that the con is in a "dormant phase," it seems pretty clear that it won't be coming back. Ad Astra, along with Toronto Trek/Polaris and a couple of other fan-run cons, was an important part of Canadian fandom from the 1980s to the 2010s.