Confederation Centre of the Arts

The Confederation Centre of the Arts opened in 1964 as a national memorial to Confederation, built on the centenary of the Charlottetown Conference. It occupies an entire block in the heart of downtown and includes a main theatre, a studio theatre, an art gallery, a library, and a public plaza. Architecturally it is brutalist concrete from a moment when Canada was feeling confident about its cultural ambitions.

The art gallery holds a strong collection of Canadian work, with a particular emphasis on Robert Harris, the Charlottetown-born painter known for his monumental canvas of the Confederation delegates. The theatre hosts the Charlottetown Festival from late May through October, anchored by the Anne of Green Gables musical. Even if you have no interest in Anne, the Festival stage also produces new Canadian musicals that are sometimes genuinely excellent.

things to do sight museum
A story
The Anne of Green Gables musical has played at the Confederation Centre every summer without interruption since 1965. It is the longest-running annual musical theatre production in the world. The story of the red-haired orphan from PEI has been performed in a dozen languages on six continents, but Charlottetown is where you see it in its intended context — the island itself as the backdrop.