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Boone Mall Merchants Association Celebrates Shakespeare’s 450th Birthday with Bard Birthday Bash April 23

by Madison V. Fisler

April 21, 2014. After an entire month of Shakespeare-related performances, activities and excitement, the Boone Mall Merchants Association will host the Bard Birthday Bash on April 23 in the atrium in the Boone Mall to celebrate William Shakespeare’s 450th birthday!

bardFrom 5-6:30 p.m. merchants will provide food, refreshments, birthday cake and more, while performance groups will perform excerpts of various Shakespeare plays to add to the festive atmosphere. The entire event is family friendly, free and open to the public to enjoy, and Shakespearean dress is encouraged!

“Paying homage to the immortal Bard on the exact date of his birth in 1564 is something that the members of the High Country Theatre League wanted to do together,” said Keith Martin, High Country Theatre League founder and chair of the celebration in a press release. 

“Everyone felt that the birthday party should be held in a public place, and Boone Mall graciously offered to host the event.”  

The Boone Mall is located at 1180 Blowing Rock Road in Boone.

The schedule of events for the Birthday Bash is as follows: 

  • 5 p.m. – Welcome and introductions by event chair Bettie Bond, host Meredith Golden and Emcee Keith Martin
  • 5:05 p.m. – “Brush Up Your Shakespeare” from Appalachian’s “Kiss Me, Kate!”
  • 5:10 p.m. – ASU Theatre presents Acting III Shakespeare Scene 1
  • 5:15 p.m. – Wilkes Playmakers Presents “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Abridged”
  • 5:20 p.m. – Appalachian Women’s Theatre Troupe Presets: “A Part Equal”
  • 5:25 p.m. – ASU Theatre Presents: Shakespeare Scene #2
  • 5:30 p.m. – ASU Belk Library Presents: “The To and Fro”
  • 5:35 p.m. – Wilkes Playmakers Presents: “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Abridged”
  • 5:40 p.m. – ASU Theatre presents: Class Shakespeare Scene #3
  • 5:45 p.m. – In/Visible Theatre presents “Kill Will”
  • 5:50 p.m. – Ensemble Stage Promotion of “MacBeth: A Radio Drama”
  • 5:55 p.m. – “The Hokey Pokey” as written by William Shakespeare
  • 6:00 p.m. – Cutting of the birthday cake
  • 6:05 p.m. – Audubon Society, SAHA, Daniel Boone Botanical Gardens present “Birds of the Bard”
  • 6:10 p.m. – Blue Ridge Community Theatre Presents “Sonnet Slam”
  • 6:15 p.m. – Appalachian Women’s Theatre Troupe presents “A Part Equal”
  • 6:20 p.m. – ASU Theatre Presents: Class Shakespeare Scene #4
  • 6:25 p.m. – ASU Belk Library Presents “The To and Fro”
  • 6:30 p.m. – Closing remarks

Other non-performing groups participating in the Shakespeare Celebration will also be present to preview their activities.  The Southern Appalachian Historical Association (SAHA), and the Audubon Society, for example, will be on hand to detail plans for their “Birds of the Bard,” slated for Saturday, April 26 at the Daniel Boone Gardens in association with the App State Department of Biology.