I've been hearing about this play for nearly 20 years and it's been part of my plan to get to see it for a number of years. But I didn't search very hard. I'm sure I could have found a production of it while in the Maritimes in 2025, but last summer was all about "Anne". This year, I wanted to see Come From Away after hearing it was playing in Vancouver (but I do anything to keep from driving to Vancouver). An extra performance in Gander was announced at some point in early August and I looked online early enough to be able to get two tickets for the matinee performance that had been added to the roster on Sept. 12/26. This was the day after all the "dignitaries" had come to Gander to celebrate the huge world events of September 11, 2001. I did love the performance (we saw it at the Joey Smallwood Theatre in Gander, NL) and it also seemed special to be watching it in the place where a good part of the story actually happened. The performance had a very "homey" feel to it and I enjoyed meeting my seated neighbours who had come up to Gander from St. John's to see the play. Before our arrival in Gander, we stopped in Appledore which we'd heard about on the CBC TV news covering the Sept 11th events of 2026. Here is located the largest beam recovered from the Twin Towers, given to the town for its part in welcoming so many citizens to the town in 2001.
Visiting the Gander airport is rather fun. It's not a very active airport any longer but played a significant role in aviation in Canada. And I was surprised to learn that the Beatles stopped in Gander on their first trip to the US because Gander was the refueling spot for basically everyone coming from Europe. The folks at the airport have done a good job of hyping the celebrities who were here in years past and of honouring its role in 9/11.
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