BURST
Two fans of the 1990s television show Road to Avonlea are bringing a convention dedicated to the program to P.E.I. this summer.
Road to Avonlea ran on CBC in the 1990s, featuring characters from Lucy Maud Montgomery’s novels, revolving around Sara Stanley, who was played by a young Sarah Polley.
The setting was Prince Edward Island, and some of the exterior shots were filmed in P.E.I., including the Dalvay by the Sea property standing in for the White Sands Hotel.
While Polley is not among the cast members expected to take part in the reunion, many others will be panellists in the first Road to Avonlea convention in 20 years, and the first in the province where Montgomery’s stories first took shape.
The organizers said many of the show’s actors who are coming for the convention have never been to P.E.I.
‘Dream come true’
The convention is being organized by Edward Lemon of Britain and his wife, Eve, who hails from Atlanta, Ga. The couple now resides in Washington, D.C.
“This is my dream come true,” Eve Lemon said in a telephone interview with The Guardian on Jan. 2.
“This is something I’ve wanted to do for years and years. It’s not that we’re bringing Road to Avonlea to Prince Edward Island. We want fans to come to the Island to see it. This is all about our love of the Island as well.”
Eve has been visiting P.E.I. every summer since 1989 when she first fell in love with the province.
“I love the scenery, the ocean, the beach (and) the food. I love staying in the same place every year that is familiar to me,” she said, referring to Shaw’s Hotel and Cottages in Brackley Beach.
Edward said he and Eve met over their mutual passion for Lucy Maud Montgomery.
Mutual Montgomery love
Edward said Road to Avonlea was not shown in Britain, so he watched the show on reruns. He had watched the Anne of Green Gables movies with Megan Follows on VHS tapes.
“I only started watching (Road to Avonlea) when I was dating my wife and we bonded over our mutual love of Anne of Green Gables and then we started watching the show,” Edward Lemon said.
The couple would marry and spend their honeymoon in P.E.I.
Did you know?
- Edward and Eve Lemon said the per-episode budget for Road to Avonlea was greater than the per-episode budget for Downton Abbey when adjusted for inflation.
For the past four years, the couple has been organizing book and literary fairs around the United States.
“We’re fans of that period drama,” Edward said. “We’re both readers. I loved the (Lucy Maud Montgomery) books growing up. I guess we were drawn to the rural beauty, family-friendly storylines and the romantic element.
“There’s something about the books, about the shows and movies that appeals to a broad range of people.”
Edward said the couple were Facebook friends with a Hungarian man who organized the previous two Road to Avonlea conventions, who was helpful in getting the couple in touch with the cast members.
About the convention
Edward said fans will be coming from Belgium, Japan, Hungary, the U.S. and Canada to take part in the convention.
The couple was in P.E.I. scouting locations for the conventions and came up with the Haviland Club on Haviland Street in Charlottetown and the Charlottetown Library Learning Centre.
“We wanted something more intimate for the people who wanted to meet the cast … not make it (big) like a Comicon.”
At a glance
Following is which cast members will be taking part in the Road to Avonlea convention.
- Maja Ardal, who played Clara Potts.
- Zachary Bennett, who played Felix King.
- Lally Cadeau, who played Janet King.
- Ian D. Clark, who played Simon Tremayne.
- John Friesen, who played Archie Gillis.
- Kyle Labine, who played Davey Keith.
- James O’Regan, who played Abner Jeffries.
The convention will feature panels with the actors and crew from the television series, as well as experts and family members of the Lucy Maud Montgomery family. Fans will have the chance to meet and mingle with the guests at a VIP reception on Aug. 7.
A special dinner will be held at Dalvay by the Sea.
Some ticket holders will also tour filming locations from the show and have an exclusive tour of Montgomery’s home.
If you go
Following is additional information about the Road to Avonlea convention.
- There will be a book fair at the Charlottetown Library Learning Centre, Aug. 7-8:
- Tickets for the fair are $10 and guest speakers include an expert on the Royal Family and a descendant of Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States.
- Tickets for the full convention range from $200 to $1,200.
- More details available online.
Dave Stewart is a reporter for The Guardian in Prince Edward Island. He can be reached at dstewart@postmedia.com and followed on X at @DveStewart.