450th Birthday of William Shakespeare -- activities in Stratford - upon - Avon -- April 26 - 27

from Shakespeares-Birthday dot-org dot- UK: 23 April 2014 will mark the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth and on the weekend of 26/27 April, Stratford-upon-Avon will be leading the world in celebrating and paying tribute to Britain’s most famous playwright and poet. Many thousands of visitors from around the globe are expected in Stratford-upon-Avon for the bumper weekend of family fun, which will include plenty of pageantry, pomp and performance. Crowds will be lining the streets of this Elizabethan market town to see actors, foreign diplomats and civic dignitaries lead the 1,000-strong grand Birthday Procession from 10:30am on Saturday 26 April. They will be followed by a lively community pageant, street entertainers and the Stratford Morris Men. Local people and visitors can join in too and walk with the pageant through the town to lay flowers on Shakespeare’s grave in the Holy Trinity Church. A splendid marquee in the Theatre Gardens will host the traditional Shakespeare Birthday Luncheon attended by eminent speakers and distinguished guests What’s more, throughout the day, the Shakespeare Birthplace trust and Royal Shakespeare Company are planning a full day of entertainment with something for everyone. There’ll be music, street entertainers, story telling, acting, stage combat and theatre make-up activities, tours of the Shakespeare houses, children’s parties, sonnet readings – and also the chance to spot the occasional famous actor.