100th ANNIVERSARY - ANNE OF GREEN GABLES

Story and photos by Barb & Ron Kroll

In 2008, art and cultural events celebrate the 100th anniversary of the publication of Anne of Green Gables.

Anne of Green Gables doll. Green Gables Gift shop. Cavendish, Prince Edward Island.

Photo © Barb & Ron Kroll

Centennial events celebrate the power of creativity, imagination, optimism and determination in the character of Anne Shirley and the beauty of Prince Edward Island and its culture that Montgomery's book made famous.

Besides theater productions, Anne 2008 features numerous literary, cultural and educational events, as well as scrapbook workshops, reading circles and traditional and on-line book club events. Some will be held in places described in the novel.

Lucy Maud Montgomery's Birthplace. Clifton Corner, New London.

Photo © Barb & Ron Kroll

An Anne Textile Showcase, with a Kindred Spaces theme, is part of Anne 2008. The quilting project was developed with the Yokohama International Quilt Exhibition and Patchwork Quilt Tsushin Magazine from Japan. Winning quilts from this show will be exhibited in Yokohama in November 2008. Japanese winners' quilts will be displayed in Prince Edward Island in 2009.

Special events

Special events include the first Anne of Green Gables Parade at the Avonlea Village Country Fair, an Anne of Green Gables look-alike contest and a L.M. Montgomery photography exhibit.

Talks and tours by L.M. Montgomery's great-grandson, John MacNeill, and his wife Jennie, take place at the Cavendish Home National Historic Site, in Cavendish, where Lucy Maud's MacNeill grandparents raised her. Campfire programs at Green Gables Heritage Place, in Cavendish, feature stories, music and hot chocolate.

Visitors can enjoy baked beans, corn on the cob and dancing to fiddle music at Matthew and Marilla's Cuthbert Kitchen Party and Reunion, on August 17 at The Shipyard in Summerside. Admission is free for anyone dressed in period costume. Until late September, visitors can also take a horse-drawn carriage tour and have their photos taken with Anne and Marilla under the Summerside Train Station sign.

Anne 2008 events end on November 30, with a birthday party for L.M. Montgomery at Green Gables, in Prince Edward Island National Park, in Cavendish. A time capsule will be filled with memorabilia from the 100th anniversary celebrations.

Anne of Green Gables look-alikes.

Photo © Barb & Ron Kroll

Kings Playhouse, in Georgetown, showcases a new musical, The Nine Lives of L.M. Montgomery, which covers 60 years in L.M. Montgomery's life, from the first poem she wrote at age nine to six years after her death, when she was declared a Canadian of National Importance.

Postage Stamps

Canada Post has issued two commemorative Anne of Green Gables stamps to celebrate the centennial. In addition, The Royal Canadian Mint created a limited edition color 25 cent Anne of Green Gables coin (cost $19.95).

Penguin Group (Canada) has published a collectible 100th anniversary edition of Anne of Green Gables, with the original cover art of M.A. Claus and W.A.J. Claus, and an introduction by two of Montgomery's grandchildren.

Penguin Group is also publishing an official prequel, Before Green Gables, and Imagining Anne: The Scrapbooks of L.M. Montgomery. The prequel, written by Budge Wilson, tells the story of Anne's early life in foster homes and in an orphanage in Nova Scotia.

For visitors celebrating Anne's 100th anniversary in PEI, the Anne 2008 website describes vacation packages that combine hotels, inns and bed & breakfast lodgings with theater, sightseeing and dining.

TRAVEL INFORMATION

Prince Edward Island Visitors Guide: www.gov.pe.ca/visitorsguide

Anne 2008 Events: www.Anne2008.com

More things to see and do in PEI:

Prince Edward Island Tour for Anne of Green Gables Fans

Meetings and Incentives in Prince Edward Island

PEI Lobster Dinners, Church Suppers and Seafood Outlets