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Village Squire, 1979-08, Page 14Peaceful picnics The view from the island: boats, swans and peace. Probably the most popular picnic area in Western Ontario is the Lake Victoria shoreline in Stratford around the Stratford Festival. One of the greatest benefits the Festival has brought to Stratford for the ordinary citizen may be the shoreline parkland that provides acres and acres of beautiful green space. Every day during the Festival season hundreds of people can be found taking advantage of the parkland to have an outdoor dinner. The highest concentration of these is usually right below the Festival along the Avon. It's convenient to the theatre but with a busy roadway and a narrow green space between the river and the roadway and thousands of people, one can sometimes get the feeling of picnicking on the median strip of the 401. It takes only a slight detour however to find peace among the crowds. From this side of the river you can cross the bridge to Tom Paterson Island, the little island in the middle of the river named for the man who had the vision of a Shakespearean 12 Village Squire, August 1979 festival for Stratford. It's a small island and only has a couple of picnic tables so you may have trouble getting one. If you do, however, you have the opportunity of separating yourself from the bustle antfbustle of the mainland. Here you can look at the Festival theatre and the crowds from the safe, soothing distance across the water. More room can be found on the other side of the river off William Street. There's a wide greenbelt here and William Street is not so busy a street anyway and so it's more peaceful. There's a wide variety of picnic spots available including another small elongated island that provides a beautiful view across Lake Victoria at the arched bridge of highway 8 and the county court house. Also on this side of the river is a participark for those who want to get some exercise. If you don't want to pack a picnic lunch Stratford provides many places that will sell a picnic lunch. Some of these can be f Th V i.