2025 Great River Shakespeare Festival in Winona

It's summer, and that means it's time for my favorite theater vacay in Minnesota - Great River Shakespeare Festival in lovely riverside Winona. For over 20 years, GRSF has been producing excellent theater, primarily but not exclusively Shakespeare, within a festival that includes community engagement events, making it all feel like a fun, welcoming, theater camp. With two shows performing in rep with an acting company of nine, you could make the two-hour drive down along the river and see both shows in one day (Friday or Saturday), or stay in Winona one night and get back home to continue your weekend, or stay several nights and enjoy all of the nature and activities that are to be found in Winona. This was my 7th year attending the festival and it was once again a fun, relaxing, engaging weekend. Now in the post-season pre-Fringe lull in #TCTheater is a great time to get out of town, enjoy summer in Minnesota, and experience theater in the festival setting! Shows continue for two more week/ends, so make your plans now!

2024 Great River Shakespeare Festival in Winona

Last weekend was my favorite Minnesota theater vacay of the year - the Great River Shakespeare Festival in Winona. I first attended the festival in 2018 with some of my Twin Cities Theater Blogger friends, and have been back every year since (not counting 2020 - the year that doesn't count), with those same friends, or different friends, or sometimes by myself. This is a smallest festival since I've been attending - only two shows with a company of nine actors, compared to twice that size pre-pan, but what's not smaller is the quality of the theater, the thought and care put into it by the entire team, and the community feeling of being at the festival. Two shows is better than none, and it makes it even easier to see everything in a short weekend trip. Or extend the trip by a few days and enjoy the lovely city of Winona, about a two-hour drive from the Twin Cities, with its ample opportunities for hiking, water sports, museums, shopping, restaurants, and other activities. The festival continues through July 28, so make your plans now for a quintessential Minnesota theater vacation!

2023 Great River Shakespeare Festival in Winona

I just returned from a whirlwind 28 hours in Winona attending the Great River Shakespeare Festival (GRSF) for the 5th time. It's become a summer tradition for me and some of my fellow Twin Cities Theater Bloggers (TCTB), and one that I hope will never end. Seeing multiple plays in rep performed by a company of talented actors from around the country in one weekend, in a location away from your home and daily life, allows for a unique and immersive theater experience, and one that's unique in the state of Minnesota. Winona is such a lovely town with plenty of other activities that we vowed to stay longer next year so we could enjoy the many restaurants and shops (which are often closed on Sunday), outdoor activities, museums, and more. GRSF is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, and for more on the history, present, and future of the festival listen to the 4th episode of TCTB's new podcast "Twin Cities Theater Chat," in which we interview Artistic Director Doug Scholz-Carlson and Co-Associate Artistic Director Melissa Maxwell (available here or wherever you listen to podcasts). GRSF runs through the end of July, so you still have time to plan a mini-vacay and enjoy all that the festival, and the city of Winona, has to offer.

2022 Great River Shakespeare Festival in Winona

For the first time in three long years, Great River Shakespeare Festival is back inside the DuFresne Performing Arts Center on the Winona State University Campus. After their 2020 season was cancelled due the pandemic, they produced a wonderful and entirely outdoor festival in 2021 in a lovely space right on the river. But this feels like a return to festivals of old, complete with other events like discussions, ice cream socials, and pre-show entertainment. I never went to theater camp (although I did go to band camp), but GRSF feels like what theater camp might be like - an immersive theater experience with other theater nerds, plus fun summer activities. It continues for three more weekends and is just an easy and gorgeous two-hour drive from the Twin Cities, with lots to do in Winona including shopping, eating and drinking, arts and culture, and various outdoor activities. You can find all of the relevant information and purchase tickets on their website.

2021 Summer Outdoor #TCTheater and More!

photo taken by me in the BWCA (no filter, it's just that gorgeous)

Updated July 17

I've long believed that one of the best things about a Minnesota summer (besides lakes, like the one at left in the BWCA) is the opportunity for watching outdoor performances. Every summer there are many great options, from music to plays and more. But this year, when outdoors feels like the safest place to be, and we're starved for live in-person entertainment after a year (and counting) of theater closures due to the pandemic, outdoor performances are absolutely necessary to get us through to that joyous day when we can return to the theater indoors. Below is a list of outdoor shows in #TCTheater (and beyond) planned for this spring/summer/fall. I'll continue to update this list as I hear of more, and please let me know via email (cherryandspoon@gmail.com), the comment section below, or social media if there are any I've missed.

2021 Great River Shakespeare Festival in Winona

A true sign that our performing arts are back and stronger than ever, Great River Shakespeare Festival returns for its 17th season this summer, after taking a hiatus in 2020. It's a bit of an abbreviated festival this year, with only three shows instead of the usual four, all performed outdoors*, and no in-person additional events, conversations, or presentations. But it's still such a hopeful indicator that normal life is returning. I saw all three shows on a rare Minnesota July weekend that saw high temps only in the '70s, and it could not have been better. In a way, doing Shakespeare outdoors on the banks of the Great River is what this festival always should have been (although I don't think anyone will complain about a return to climate-controlled bug-free theater next year). And as we've seen so many theater companies do in the last 16 months or so, GRSF has taken the limitations presented to them in this situation and creatively used them to better the work. Perhaps even more so this year than ever before, a weekend vacation to beautiful riverside Winona (just a two-hour drive from the Twin Cities) to see some great theater is a wonderful idea for a getaway**.

2019 Great River Shakespeare Festival in Winona

Last weekend I attended the Great River Shakespeare Festival in Winona for the second year in a row. I had such a great time with my fellow bloggers from Minnesota Theater Love and Twin Cities Stages last year that we decided to go again this year. If you're looking for a fun Minnesota theater vacation, GRSF is it. Winona is a charming river town that's just a two-hour drive from the Twin Cities, with lots of hotels, restaurants, shops, outdoor activities, and an impressive art museum. And for those of us who love theater, there's truly nothing better that getting away from daily obligations to immerse yourself in theater for a few days. Especially when the theater is so well done, so thoughtful, so inclusive, and so engaging, like it is at GRSF. I don't recall another theater experience where the Managing (Aaron Young) and Artistic (Doug Scholz-Carlson) Directors of the theater can be seen mingling with the audience before, during, and after every performance, and where there are so many opportunities to interact with the artists through various programs and events. It really feels like a fun, festive, community event celebrating theater (mostly but not exclusively written by the Bard). Ticket prices are quite reasonable, with four-show passes ranging from $85 to $140 ($21 to $35 per show). The festival runs through August 4, so you still have time to visit this year. See the GRSF website for all the details, and check out VisitWinona.com for all of the other activities available (if you can tear yourself away from the theater).

Great River Shakespeare Festival in Winona

Last weekend I took a road trip to Winona with my fellow Twin Cities Theater Bloggers, Laura from Twin Cities Stages and Julie and Carol from Minnesota Theater Love. It was my first visit to the Great River Shakespeare Festival, which is celebrating its 15th anniversary season this year. I had a great experience, and it will definitely not be my last trip to Winona. Not only is the theater entertaining, engaging, relevant, and well done, but the festival is well organized and provides many other opportunities for entertainment and engagement throughout the charming river town of Winona. A theater festival is a pretty unique experience in the state of Minnesota, one I didn't even realize I was missing. GRSF runs through August 5 so there's still time for a road trip theater vacation this summer. What's better than that?!