5 Places That Showcase the
Best of the Canadian Entertainment Scene
There is no doubt that Canada is an international cultural powerhouse, and anyone who wants to experience the best that it has to offer has a number of options available to them.
If you are in the process of planning your next trip, here are just a handful of venues and events to visit to see the best that Canadian live entertainment can provide to audiences.
Stratford Festival
The city of Stratford, Ontario is roughly the same size as its namesake back in the UK, and this connection is not lost on the locals, as the annual festival is a celebration of everything Shakespeare-related.
While you can see productions of the Bard’s plays put on by a world-class company of actors and directors, the festival is not just about Shakespeare, but has expanded in recent years to encompass all kinds of performances.
From dramas and comedies to musicals and beyond, the Stratford Festival attracts thousands of visitors from across North America, and is thoroughly entertaining for people of all ages.
Casino de Montreal
If the casino experience is more your speed than 16th century plays, then heading to the largest casino in all of Canada should definitely be something to add to your itinerary.
Perched on the edge of Notre Dame Island, this vast hub has a whole host of table games and slot machines, spread across over 526,000 square feet of internal space. There are also bars, restaurants and performance spaces to keep non-gamblers entertained during their time there.
Of course there are also Canadian online casino sites which offer all of these experiences in a form that can be enjoyed on the move, and it is a country which is quickly embracing both land-based and digital gambling for citizens and tourists alike.
TIFF Bell Lightbox
The Toronto International Film Festival is one of the biggest events of its kind, showcasing not only Canada’s latest and greatest cinematic creations, but also dazzling the world with its screenings of everything from Hollywood blockbusters to foreign language art house hits.
The Bell Lightbox is the super-modern venue that acts as the centerpiece of the festival, and even if you cannot manage to visit during the TIFF itself, you can still see movies in its cool environs at any time of the year you happen to be in town.
Royal Alexandra Theatre
If you are looking for Canada’s most venerable and historic theatre, then you’ve found it. The Royal Alexandra has been operating continuously for over a century, making it the longest surviving venue of its kind on the entire continent.
Inside you will find a 1244 seat auditorium, positioned right in the heart of Toronto’s entertainment district, and with a renovation carried out in 2016 it is the perfect mix of modern features and technologies with more traditional aesthetics. Productions often pop up here before they make their Broadway debuts, so it is also a good place to see shows before they hit the big time in New York or elsewhere.
The Commodore Ballroom
While you can see globally known music acts at various vast venues across Canada, this mid-sized location in Vancouver is able to provide the perfect balance of a more intimate setting with the reputation that will still pull in big names.
Whether you prefer country and classic rock or hardcore and electronica, The Commodore Ballroom should be able to accommodate your tastes with its various events over the course of a year, all within a setting that is both dripping in history and also kitted out with the conveniences that make it a pleasure for audiences to attend.
