Anne's Birthday

Saturday we took a short drive through the hills near our home, heading for the North Shore of Prince Edward Island.

Prince Edward Island is small - 120 miles long, 40 miles wide at its thickest point, but far less than that in most places.  It's a tiny crescent nestled in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, just above where Nova Scotia and New Brunswick meet.

The North Shore is essentially 120 miles of the most incredible white sand beaches and dune systems you'll ever find.  But beyond being a summer playground for thousands upon thousands of families, the North Shore is also home to Anne of Green Gables.

Some of you have read the book by Lucy Maud Montgomery - the story of a tiny red-headed waif who is adopted by a farmer and his sister and comes to live on this Island.  If you haven't, you should; beyond being a lovely children's story, it's a very literate and articulate view of a society that existed around the turn of the last century.

As you will see if you visit the link above (and I wish you would), the Island's substantial tourism industry is largely built on two elements:  golf (this place was recently named Canada's Number One Golf Destination) and Anne of Green Gables. 

Anne is an icon here.  There is a musical based on the book that has been playing to sold-out audiences every summer since (wait for it) 1965.  I would have been 11 years old then (spare yourself the cypherin' - I'm 52). 

There are Anne of Green Gables gift shops selling all manner of Anne tchotchkes, Anne of Green Gables tea rooms, and Anne of Green Gables cottages.  Think Graceland, and replace Elvis with a red-headed girl in pigtails.  That's what she means to Island tourism.

Much of the Anne idolatry comes from Japan - Anne of Green Gables was the first English novel translated into Japanese, and it became a school text.  Millions of Japanese girls - living in a society that repressed their freedom and individuality - had their imagination swept away by this spirited, outspoken character, and "Red-Haired Anne"  became their heroine.  It is not at all uncommon to see a Japanese girl - sometimes a teenager, but often young or even middle-aged women - sitting on the lawn of Green Gables House in Cavendish, quietly weeping, overcome by the experience.

Not far from Cavendish, you'll find Avonlea Village, a "recreation" of the fictional village from the Anne stories.  It's a great family attraction, offering lots for younger kids to do, including pig races, barnyard animals, activities, concerts, and what is essentially a day-long musical play performed by characters from the novel. 

The actors stay in character throughout the day - if a kid tells Gilbert Blythe that she took a car from Maine to get there, he is baffled - he's heard of train travel and steamboats, but " ... what is this "car" you speak of?  Must be something new - we never hear tell of 'em here. " They perform in concerts, pose for endless pictures with arms wrapped around kids from all over, and generally try to make the day a rewarding and memorable experience for the families who come to visit.

The past few summers Allison has been working up at Avonlea, often playing the part of Josie Pye, Anne's nemesis.  She loves playing the malevolent Josie, although (true fact) she does get kicked a lot by kids who don't like her being mean to Anne.

But last week, the actor who played Anne all summer went back to University in Ontario, so there was a new red-head in town ...

... and how lucky were we that - as it turned out - Anne was celebrating a birthday the day we went to Avonlea.

And what a coincidence:  later that night, we had a family dinner to celebrate Allison's birthday, too! 22 years old and she plays a 14 year-old.  No wonder she still gets carded at pubs.

Comments

[Gora_Kagaz]

that's so cool--i've always wanted to read the book but i never got around to it--i guess here's my incentive :)

[shari]

OMG -- my daughter is going to FLIP! She HAS red hair, naturally, and has read the whole series innumerable times, identifying with Anne perhaps a bit too closely! I'm going to show her this, and in a few years, you'll probably have to house her for the summer when she comes to play the part. What? That's not what you were offering? ;)

[wordgirl]

I've read the whole series and LOVED every word. I should mention that my mother-in-law's mother was a schoolteacher and loved the series as well. So much,in fact, that she named her daughter (my MIL)after the character.

Your daughter makes an enchanting Anne.

[nadia]

*sniff* That first picture of yours brought back some very precious memories. i miss all of Atlantic Canada. Calgary's nice and all, but -- i really do miss the Atlantic ocean and the sincere friendliness of some Maritime folks.

[MrsDoF]

The Anne books were amongst my favorites when I was in grade school.
Then I expected my sons to watch with me when the series was on PBS-tv.
Now I have a whole new reason to be enamoured with the little red-haired girl.

Happy Birthday, Allie!
You look like a fine Anne, and a great fiddle player.
~~love and Huggs, Diane
ps: I got carded at bars until I was 26 years old, so you are in good company.

[Lowa]

This was awesome! I have not read the books in years, but I need to get my kids interested. I remember watching it in TV years ago. Was it Megan Follows who played her??? That name comes to mind.

I want to check out the link soon and find out more about the area. It looks BEAUTIFUL!!

Your daughter looks so cute like that and she must have a blast doing it! HOW FUN! Most easterly I have been is Toronto, I would love to check out all of Eastern Canada one day. My parents always talked of it when we were kids, but it never happened.

On another topic, I wondered Nils, since you are a writer, if you would be interested in knowing that one of my brothers has his second published work coming out. He is getting quite excited! It is called "All this Town Remembers" and is about a small town in Saskatchewan. His first was a collection of short stories, this is his first novel. If you google that or his name (Sean Johnston) you can find out more, if you so desire. Forgive me if I have mentioned this already, I am just incredibly proud and love to brag about him:) I wondered what you may think, if you ever had time to read it.

[Sara Sue]

I have goose bumps! I was and still am a huge fan of Anne's and of course I've been a fan of that kid of yours for years too - ever since "The Truth About Daughters". I can only imagine the pride you must feel, congratulations to you all! Wonderful, just wonderful!

[CircusKelli]

Wow! That's funny you should mention this... Punkin received a couple fo DVDs as gifts from my Mom a little while ago, and she was just watching them last weekend -- "Anne of Green Gables" and "Tales from Avonlea".

We haven't gotten to the "Anne of Green Gables" one yet, but as soon as I heard some reference to Prince Edward Island, I thought of you!

I've never read the books, but perhaps I'll find them for Punkin.

[Ortizzle]

Anne of G.G. was right up there with my faves as a kid, and I was an avid reader.

When the TV series came out (about 20 years ago, I think), I watched it enthralled. And I was living in Spain at the time, so it was dubbed in Spanish. You really gotta love something like that when you can sit through the dubbed version of "Ana de las Tejas Verdes"...

Wish I could have seen your daughter in the stage version. I'm sure it was a smashing performance, if the photos are any indication. Yet another thing you can be very proud of (in addition, of course, to your talent for making garlic bread and dressing well :-))

[cat]

Oooh! I've ALWAYS wanted to visit P.E.I., and this is of course due to my love of all things Anne of Green Gables.

Honestly. "My life is a perfect graveyard of buried hopes" is still one of my favoritest lines EVER.

Well, that and "Mrs. Hammond told me that God made my hair red on purpose and I've never cared for Him since."

Heh.

[Nils]

My personal favourite line - and I use this a lot - comes when people ask me how I'm doing today. "I am well in body but considerably rumpled in spirit, thank you," is often the perfect answer.

[Sara Sue]

"You'd find it easier to be bad than good if you had red hair," said Anne reproachfully. "People who haven't red hair don't know what trouble is."

[Effie]

I LOVE that musical! And the books. And the movies (except the last sequel). And the "Road to Avonlea" series. I almost had my hubby convinced to buy me the red-pigtails & hat combo when we visited PEI.

I have to say though, I never knew that Anne played the fiddle!

[Effie]

My sister was in the musical version as one of the chorus--one of the songs still runs through my head:
"Where is Matthew going and why is he going there? Matthew Cuthbert never, never goes any where..."

[Squirl]

Your daughter makes an adorable Anne. You have so many reasons to be so proud.

[Bucky Four-Eyes]

I must confess that I've never read any of the Anne books. After seeing this and reading some favo(u)rite lines, I may just have to visit yon library and change that.

Happy belated birthday, Allie!

[Katherine]

Absolutely loved the A of GG series growing up. So wished I had red hair! I notice a lot of those cows were laying down - did you have rain? I'd say it's an old wives' tale, but whenever I see the majority of cows laying down, we do seem to get rain...there, more than you needed to know!

[Nils]

We just have lazy, lazy cows.

[tony]

With just a small add-on that first picture could be in the Hill Country in Central Texas!

http://otownhandyman.com/near_new_glasgow_pei_or_tex.jpg

[kalki]

Happy (belated) birthday, Allie!