Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development
June 14, 2016

Cultural Industries Continue to Promote Province�s Identityh

Provincial Government Funding Supports the 2016 Gros Morne Theatre Festival

The Gros Morne Theatre Festival kicked-off its 2016 season last week in Cow Head with the assistance of $75,000 in funding from the Provincial Government. With eight performances composing this year�s festival, the 21st annual theatre festival features exceptional and poignant performances including the return of the popular dinner theatre, S.S. Ethie, and the world premiere of Fanny by Berni Stapleton. The Honourable Gerry Byrne, Minister of Advanced Education and Skills, announced the support at the opening performances and gala in Cow Head on Saturday, June 11.

�Newfoundland and Labrador boasts a culture that is rich in creative and theatrical talent. Congratulations to Theatre Newfoundland and Labrador and everyone involved in this year�s festival, I am confident that the 2016 line-up will be a memorable and successful one. As a government, we understand how important it is to foster artistic and theatrical production and how festivals like we have in Gros Morne are the foundation for promoting the province�s identity in a creative and imaginative way.�
- The Honourable Christopher Mitchelmore, Minister of Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development

The Gros Morne Theatre Festival is a major Canadian theatre festival based in Cow Head, in the Gros Morne National Park. Offering a full professional 16-week summer repertory season that includes eight plays this year, the festival also offers a visiting artist series and a workshop development week. The Provincial Government is committed to promoting and developing cultural events throughout the province such as the Gros Morne Theatre Festival.

�On behalf of the dozens of Newfoundland and Labrador artists working at the 2016 Gros Morne Theatre Festival, the thousands of patrons who will see our plays in Cow Head and the entire region who will benefit economically and culturally from having the four-month long professional repertory theatre festival in their midst, I thank the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. This year�s festival will feature six plays that celebrate our province�s culture, history, heroes and heroines. It�s a season of comedy, drama, music and dinner theatre � each production telling a story of this wonderful province.�
- Gaylene Buckle, General Manager, Theatre Newfoundland Labrador

Each year, the Gros Morne Theatre Festival showcases numerous outstanding performances that entertain audiences filled with local residents and tourists alike. This year�s festival runs from June 4 through September 24. Additional information on the Gros Morne Theatre Festival, show times, and ticket sales can be found by visiting: www.theatrenewfoundland.com.

QUICK FACTS

• The Gros Morne Theatre Festival began its 21st season in Cow Head on June 4. The Provincial Government contributed $75,000 to this year�s festival.
• The 2016 Gros Morne Theatre Festival runs until September 24.
• Information on the Gros Morne Theatre Festival can be found by visiting: www.theatrenewfoundland.com.

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Media contacts:

Tansy Mundon Director of Communications Department of Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development 709-729-4570, 693-1865 tansymundon@gov.nl.ca

Gaylene Buckle General Manager Theatre Newfoundland Labrador 709-639-7238 tnl@theatrenewfoundland.com

2016 06 14                             9:30 a.m.