Free Shakespeare in Buffalo, NY

Our friend Robin Y. saw a great King Lear for free at a Buffalo, NY park last week. This annual Shakespeare festival in Buffalo that started in 1976 is free to the public and draws crowds second only to New York City's Central Park Shakespeare in the Park free festival. The Buffalo, NY event has something else in common with New York's festival -- the park where the Buffalo festival is held was designed by Frederick Law Olmstead, just as Central Park was an Olmstead design. In fact, Robin says Buffalo boasts several Olmstead parks. Their Shakespeare festival takes place in the Olmstead design called Deleware Park, in Buffalo, NY. Here is what they say about the venue on their Shakespeare in Deleware Park website:

Our festival takes place in a historic park designed by Frederick Law
Olmsted, father of landscape architecture, and the nation's foremost parkmaker. Behind the Park's rose garden stands our grand Tudor-Style stage on a sweeping hill of green. In this beautiful setting under the stars, Shakepeare's stories live on to explore the truths of the human heart; tragedy, jealousy, foolishness, passion, laughter, and love.

King Lear is onstage Thursdays - Sundays through July 13; Merry Wives of Windsor runs July 24 - August 17.

P.S. The Buffalo Olmstead Parks Conservancy will hold an Olmstead Gala on July 18.

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