The Great River Shakespeare Festival in Winona, MN was founded in 2005, featuring several Shakespeare productions running simultaneously alongside cutting-edge, thought-provoking plays that often share similar themes presented in the Shakespeare plays.
It’s a great way to celebrate and enjoy the summer months in this historic river town and a cultural gem on the upper Mississippi River. And it’s a beautiful experience being in Winona: you look west and see the magnificent Garvin Heights bluffs. You look east from the levee riverfront and there’s the Mississippi, broad and wide right before your eyes. I spent a weekend there last summer attending several of the plays during the festival, including Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. It was a full immersion experience for three days.
By William Grosvenor Neil