July 9 to August 18 | Thursday to Tuesday
Botanical Gardens, Niagara Falls
A Short History of Niagara
Niagara Parks and the Shaw Festival Present: A Short History of Niagara
July 9 to August 18 | Thursday to Tuesday | 11:00 a.m. & 1:00 p.m.
This summer, Niagara Parks and the Shaw Festival invite you to discover A Short History of Niagara, a free outdoor theatrical experience for families at the Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens.
Created as a fast paced, imaginative 30‑minute wordless performance, it will bring more than 12,000 years of Niagara’s history to life using visual storytelling, movement, music and handcrafted puppets. With no spoken dialogue, the production is engaging, inclusive, and accessible for audiences of all ages, languages, and abilities.
Enjoy performances six days a week from Thursday to Tuesday. There are no shows on Wednesdays. Admission is complimentary for guests exploring the Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens. All performances are held under the tent next to the Butterfly Conservatory.
About the Artists
A Short History of Niagara has been created by artists Alexandra Montagnese (actor, writer, and curator of Toronto’s puppet theatre, Concrete Cabaret) and Mike Peterson (credited on numerous works for film and television including Labyrinth and Fraggle Rock). The show will be performed by Peterson and Niagara-based performer Katie Ryerson (seen on stage at the Shaw Festival in various productions and in Toronto in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child).
About Shaw Festival Theatre
One of the five largest charitable theatre companies in North America, and one of Niagara’s 20 largest employers, the Shaw Festival’s mission is to enrich and connect people’s lives through theatre. Based in beautiful Niagara-on-the-Lake, The Shaw’s 2026 productions include Funny Girl, One for the Pot, Amadeus, Sleuth, Jeeves & Wooster in Perfect Nonsense, A New Work in Progress by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, The Wind in the Willows, Heartbreak House and Ohio State Murders. The Shaw Festival’s Holiday Season includes A Year with Frog and Toad and Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella. Through its ‘All.Together.Now.’ campaign, The Shaw is creating new spaces and programs where people can build real human connections and rediscover their creativity. For more information visit shawfest.com.
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