Blyth Festival

Founded in 1975 by James Roy, a Blyth native and graduate from York University’s theatre program, the Blyth Festival has established itself as one of the leading summer theatre festivals in Canada. Roy joined forces with his wife and playwright, Anne Chislett as well as Keith Roulston, the editor of The Citizen, Blyth’s newspaper, to create a festival with an exclusively Canadian mandate. The Blyth festival has featured, premiered and produced more than 200 Canadian plays. Originally, the Blyth Festival was aimed at the local commnuity, but the audience has since grown substantially. Theatre lovers from across Canada and into the United States frequently cause the 491 seats available in the theatre to sell out. The theatre hosts between 40,000 and 50,000 patrons every year. In addition to the theatre, the Blyth Centre for the Arts also includes the Blyth Festival Art Gallery, Blyth Festival Orchestra, and Blyth Festival Singers.  

The fonds consists of administrative files containing financial and grant application details, minutes and reports, construction of Memorial Hall, fundraising, resumes, general business communications, various promotional materials such as advertising and marketing, souvenir programs and press releases. There are also materials relating to performances, including prompt scripts, house programs, reviews and articles, photos, and audio and visual recordings. Oversized material consists of technical drawings.