Rosebud

This weekend took the Rosebud dinner theatre off my list. As luck would have it, I picked the most glorious weekend weatherwise and the drive to Rosebud, a tiny hamlet an hour and a half north east of Calgary was beautiful. The farmers had been busy and the crops were in, the trees were a stunning mix of green and gold and there wasn't a cloud in the sky.

Rosebud itself is situated in a small river valley and consists of about 6 streets, a handful of houses, several small gift shops and galleries, a couple of eating places, a tiny museum, the School of the Arts and the Rosebud Opera House and Mercantile - all as pretty as a picture and totally centred around the theatre. I had booked us into a local B and B which turned out to be a clean but tiny bedroom in someone's basement and we left before breakfast, but other than that, the visit was most enjoyable.

We spent a hot couple of hours walking around the village (30 minutes would have been enough!) and visiting the galleries and gift shops. Merv was seriously dragging after an hour so we spent the second hour on the patio of a little Bistro that served beer and wine, which was very pleasant. Several large Harleys bumbled through the village which is obviously a favourite destination for elderly bikers.

Finally it was time for dinner which turned out to be a better than passable buffet in a surprisingly large and busy restaurant in the Mercantile building and we were entertained by 3 young women with beautiful singing voices who also worked at the Opera House.

The play, "Queen Milli of Galt" was a gentle little story set in Galt, Ontario after the Great War about a young woman's supposed "affaire" with the Prince of Wales. It was well acted and professionally presented and the pretty little theatre was almost full of an interesting demographic mix of people, most of whom were obviously regulars and who laughed loudly and enthusiastically.

So, another item checked off my list and I now know that if I ever go back to Rosebud (and I may) I will do the matinee!