You'll visit several points of interest related to the Stratford Festival in order to assemble the facts needed to locate the final stage. We live nearby and often visit this area not just for the excellent live theatre but also because it is a pretty spot.
It can be quite busy here, particularly during theatre season (mid-April to early November), so the first three stages are virtual. There is no shortage of plaques, monuments and other commemorative items in this neighborhood! The final stage is located in as secluded a spot as we could find, but even so, discretion will be required as muggles abound. The terrain at the final stage is rugged in comparison to the previous stages.
Although the cache container is somewhat winter-friendly, Stage 3 is sometimes inaccessible during the winter and early spring. As a result, the Stage 3 quote is in the hints, if you need it.
There is plenty of municipal metered parking near the Stage 1 coordinates. There are many picnic spots, restaurants and other points of interest in the area, too. A couple of particularly nice spots that are not far off the cache route can be found at:
- N43 22.479 W80 57.817
- N43 22.318 W80 59.129
About the Stratford Festival
The Stratford Festival of Canada is the largest classical repertory theatre festival in North America, and is permanently located in Stratford, Ontario, Canada. Its mission is to produce, to the highest standards possible, the best works of theatre in the classical and contemporary repertoire, with special emphasis on the works of William Shakespeare.
And so, with no further ado about anything, on to Stage 1!
Stage 1
To begin, the first stage of your journey takes you to N43 22.151, W80 58.876.
At this location, there used to be a plaque containing a quote from The Tempest, this plaque is no longer on the wall! There is another plaque on the ground very close by that contains the name of an actress whose first name starts with a K. For the purposes of determining the location of Stage 2:
- a = the number of words after the actress' full name still in the star
- b = the first digit in the year on the plaque.
- c = b times 2
Substitute the corresponding values for a, b and c below, add the corresponding offsets, and you're off to Stage 2.
N43 bb.ca0 + 0.000 = N43 ___ ___ . ___ ___ ___
W80 5c.acc + 4.341 = W80 ___ ___ . ___ ___ ___
Stage 2
If things are going well, you can see the Avon river to the north, and maybe even a few swans, while the new Tom Patterson theatre is just to the south. There is a bench here; what is the group number and the year shown the bench's plaque? (No offset addition this time!)
Group Number: ___ ___ ___
d e f
Year: ___ ___ ___ ___
g h i j
N43 22.cbd = N43 ___ ___ . ___ ___ ___
W80 58.g0g = W80 ___ ___ . ___ ___ ___
Stage 3
Lots of plaques here! A quote from another Shakespearean play can be found at this location and is identified from being from Act m, Scene n. (Confirmation hint: this quote contains 9 words). Substitute m, n and other values from the previous stages, add the offsets and you should be off to the final location.
N43 nb.m0n + 0.180 = N43 ___ ___ . ___ ___ ___
W80 5m.hbe + 2.940 = W80 ___ ___ . ___ ___ ___
Again, a reminder -- please remain alert for non-geocaching theatre-goers and other park denizens at the final location.