100 Years of ‘Anne of Green Gables’: Super Fans Swarm PEI
Travel Blog • Valerie Conners • 08.04.08 | 4:15 PM ET
I fancied myself pretty darn literary at age 10 when the spunky exploits of L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables sparked my imagination, and I hungrily read the series’ eight novels in under a year. Apparently, oodles of Anne fans more inspired than myself took that challenge further over the years, traveling to Prince Edward Island—the setting for Anne’s tales—to pay homage to the author and her characters.
In so doing, they transformed many locales into unexpected tourism hot spots filled with curiously obsessed fans. (Think destination weddings at gravesites.)
As the books’ 100th anniversary draws near, USA Today reports that multiple events are planned and islanders are girding themselves for an onslaught of visitors.
Email to friend
Twitter
del.icio.us
Digg
Facebook
Furl
Ma.gnolia
Mixx
Reddit
StumbleUpon
Yahoo! Buzz
Valerie Conners is the senior producer and editor at World Hum.
Suzanne 08.04.08 | 6:00 PM ET
How nice to see a mention of Anne’s 100th Anniversary on World Hum! As another Anne fan, I have already ordered and received the lovely Canadian stamps and coin honoring the occasion. The official first day cover even has a postmark from “Avonlea”, the fictional town featured in Montgomery’s Anne stories.
Kelly Amabile 08.05.08 | 10:16 AM ET
Hi Val,
That onslaught will include me! I leave on Saturday for a road trip to PEI, where I will spend a week with my family. We planned the trip over a year ago, not knowing about the anniversary, but we are now looking forward to taking in some of the Green Gables celebrations.
I never read Anne as a child (My heros were Laura Ingalls Wilder and Pipi Longstocking) but I recently read the first of the 8 Montgomery stories and can see why folks get hooked on Anne’s incredible spirit and imagination. I’ll be reading more while up there, while doing my best to steer clear of tour buses while hiding out at our secluded cottage by the sea!
Larry Bleiberg 08.05.08 | 1:18 PM ET
Not that I have anything against Anne, but that sweet, pig-tailed lass has long threatened to take over the island.
For an Anne-free trip to PEI, check out this dated, but still instructive, story from the Washington Post.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2003/08/10/AR2005041501515.html