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History

2000 - Hermione Presents

In 2000,  a collective of professional performing and creative artists, began working on the creation and production of concert, educational, corporate and festival programming in Stratford and for touring. They amalgamated under the name “Hermione Presents”. Individual, independent  artists/creators have sheltered under this umbrella, sharing administrative, production, funding,  grant support, coming and going over the years.

2005 - Festival Gems

The Festival Gems I CD - Artists Alan Laing with Eileen Smith, Marion Day, and Christina Gordon, researched, arranged and performed-   Hermione Presents produced  this collection which shares original text and song created by Canadian composers for the Stratford Festival.

2007 - Summer Programming

By 2007, summer seasonal programming in Stratford reached a series offering of 48 performances of 8 different programs including song, dance, spoken word, guest artists, chamber music and mask. Hermione Presents also expanded into integrated arts exploration and programming, adding a much stronger focus on education and community collaborative work.

2007 - Have We Forgotten?: The Hope Project

Funded by Canada Council for the Arts, Have We Forgotten?: The Hope Project connected six professional artists with more than 50 high school students. The 90th anniversary of Vimy Ridge acted as a springboard for a collaborative, interdisciplinary and intergenerational arts exploration. With mentorship from the professional artists, students created, promoted and managed three days of presentations including a 45 minute performance, a multi-media arts installation and a trade show with regional NGOs, community service organizations, first nations drum dancing, period food, dance demonstrations and a radio play. The event brought together veterans from WWII, Baghdad and Afghanistan, and more than 500 audience attendees. 

2008 - Enough Already Project

With funding from the Ministry of Energy, Hermione Presents created the Enough Already Project as a way to explore and develop a community energy conservation initiative. Integrated arts activities on the subject were created, including a series of 11 regional conservation fairs and workshops, an eco-arts summer camp, a song competition and a fully-produced CD. These songs, written and composed by Huron Perth county school children were performed both with professional artists from the Stratford Festival .

2009 - The Back Home Initiative

The Back Home Initiative connected students with Perth County success stories funded by Ontario’s Rural Economic Development Program and the Federal Department of Labour. The initiative consisted of workshops, panels and tours to connect youth with local entrepreneurs, alternative energy providers and innovative farmers. There were also video and song writing competitions throughout the county and performance production of the winning songs.

2009 - Perth Arts Connect

Hermione Presents, with several arts organizations (The Stratford Perth and St Marys Museums, Gallery Stratford and the Stratford Symphony Orchestra to name a few) was instrumental in the creation of Perth Arts Connect, a member driven alliance of many of the not-for-profit arts, culture and heritage organizations and independent artists in Stratford and Perth County.

2010 - Incorporated as a Not-for-Profit

In the summer of 2010, Hermione Presents incorporated as a not-for-profit arts organization and officially became Hermione Presents Interdisciplinary Arts Productions Inc.

2010 - Culture Days

As part of the national Culture Days movement, Hermione Presents partnered with Perth County and Perth Arts Connect to produce the first Culture Days Festival: “A Celebration of Culture in Stratford and Perth County”. It is now an annual festival that includes a wide variety of regional activities, coordinated by Hermione Presents and Perth Arts Connect. Stratford and Perth County have placed in the top 10 in Canada for communities under 50,000 each year since the festival’s inception.

2011 - SpringWorks

In May 2011, Hermione Presents produced the inaugural season of the SpringWorks: indie theatre & arts festival  excellence in theatre, music, dance and the arts.  New and used works were presented in a Victorian Factory in Stratford, a theatrical setting with lights and stage, where established and emerging artists shared their work. The season aimed to celebrate local excellence in theatre, music, dance and the arts.

2013 - Registered Charity

In 2013, Hermione Presents Interdisciplinary Arts Productions Inc incorporated as a registered charity. 

2017

In 2017, SpringWorks Festival chose to “spring into fall”, shifting their festival season from the spring to the fall. This allowed patrons to enjoy the festival programming at the same time as Stratford and Perth County’s Culture Days Festival, as well as offering added value to visitors in the Stratford Festival fall “shoulder season”.

2018

In the summer of 2018, Hermione Presents mounted the first official freestanding Puppet Mini-Fest. The festival included a variety of family puppet shows in the Stratford City Hall auditorium, some adult puppet theatre, and free and fun programming for everyone outside in Market Square. 

2020

Due to Covid-19, Hermione Presents and SpringWorks Festivals joined the many artistic organizations, large and small around the world, in announcing their 2020 season programming would be moving to 2021. The ShortWorks Festival is set for April & May, PuppetWorks! for August, and DanceWorks & NewWorks in September & October.

2021

When the Ontario government lifted certain restrictions, SpringWorks Festivals brought back in person performances under the new health and safety guidelines. PuppetWorks 2021 featured original works in both French and English in a safe environment for all ages to enjoy. 

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