Ashland Attractions - Oregon Shakespeare Festival Hotels

Ashland Attractions:

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival

The raison d'être of Ashland, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival is an internationally acclaimed theater festival with a season that stretches from February to October. The season typically includes four works by Shakespeare plus eight other classic or contemporary plays. These plays are performed in repertory, with as many as four staged on any given day.

The festival complex, often referred to as "the bricks" because of its brick courtyard, is in the center of town and contains three theaters. The visually impressive outdoor Elizabethan Theatre, modeled after England's 17th-century Fortune Theatre, is used only in the summer and early fall. The Angus Bowmer Theatre is the festival's largest indoor theater. The festival's newest theater, known simply as the New Theatre, is a small state-of-the-art venue used primarily for contemporary and experimental plays.

In addition to the plays, there are backstage tours (tickets are $11 for adults and $8.25 for children). Throughout the festival season there are also talks and special performances. The opening of the Elizabethan Theatre is celebrated each June in Lithia Park with the elaborate Feast of Will.

For more information and upcoming schedules, contact the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, 15 S. Pioneer St. (P.O. Box 158), Ashland, OR 97520 (tel. 541/482-4331). Ticket prices range from $33 to $63; children's and preview tickets are less expensive. In spring and fall, all ticket prices are discounted 20% to 25%.

Exploring Ashland and its Surroundings

The Schneider Museum of Art, 1250 Siskiyou Blvd. (tel. 541/552-6245), on the campus of the Southern Oregon University, mounts art exhibits of a quality you'd expect in a museum in a major city. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10am to 4pm (until 7pm on first Fri of each month). Admission is by $2 suggested donation.

Ashland's first claim to fame was its healing mineral waters, and today you can still relax and be pampered at one of the city's day spas. Ashland Springs Spa & Boutique, 236 E. Main St. (tel. 541/552-0144), The Phoenix, 2425 Siskiyou Blvd. (tel. 541/488-1281), and The Blue Giraffe, 51 Water St. (tel. 541/488-3335), all offer various body treatments, skin care, and massages.

If you happen to have the kids along, you may want to schedule time for a visit to the Science Works Hands-On Museum, 1500 E. Main St. (tel. 541/482-6767), which is filled with fun interactive science exhibits. In summer, the museum is open Thursday through Sunday from 11am to 5pm; other months it's open Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 4pm and admission is $7.50 for adults and $5 for children ages 2 to 12.