Moncton - Arts and Culture

Arts and Culture

Moncton's Capitol Theatre, an 800-seat restored 1920s-era vaudeville house on Main Street, is the main centre for cultural entertainment for the city. The theatre hosts a performing arts series and provides a venue for various theatrical performances as well as Symphony New Brunswick and the Atlantic Ballet Theatre of Canada. The adjacent Empress Theatre offers space for smaller performances and recitals.

The Moncton-based Atlantic Ballet Theatre tours mainly in Atlantic Canada but also tours nationally and internationally on occasion. Théâtre l'Escaouette is a Francophone live theatre company which has its own auditorium and performance space on Botsford Street. The Anglophone Live Bait Theatre is based in the nearby university town of Sackville. There are several private dance and music academies in the metropolitan area, including the Capitol Theatre's own performing arts school. The Canadian Poetry Association national headquarters is located in Moncton.

The Aberdeen Cultural Centre is a major Acadian cultural cooperative containing multiple studios and galleries. Among other tenants, the Centre houses the Galerie Sans Nom, the principal private art gallery in the city.

The city's two main museums are the Moncton Museum on Mountain Road and the Musée Acadien at Université de Moncton. The city has several recognized historical sites. The Free Meeting House was built in 1821 and is a New England-style meeting house located adjacent to the Moncton Museum. The Thomas Williams House, a former home of a city industrialist built in 1883, is now maintained in period style and serves as a genealogical research centre and is also home to several multicultural organizations. The Treitz Haus is located on the riverfront adjacent to Bore View Park and has been dated to 1769 both by architectural style and by dendrochronology. It is the only surviving building from the Pennsylvania Dutch era and now serves as the city's principle tourist information centre.

Moncton is home to the Frye Festival, an annual bilingual literary celebration held in honour of world renowned literary critic and favorite son Northrop Frye. This event attracts noted writers and poets from around the world and takes place in the month of April.

The Atlantic Nationals Automotive Extravaganza, held each July, is the largest annual gathering of classic cars in Canada. Other notable events include The Atlantic Seafood Festival in August, and The HubCap Comedy Festival and the World Wine Festival, both held in the spring.