Agatha Christie’s hometown of Torquay on the southwest coast of England will again host the Agatha Christie Festival from September 12-19, 2010. This annual affair celebrates the life of the famed creator of the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot and village sleuth Jane Marple.
Over forty events have been planned to celebrate this 120th anniversary of Christie’s birth. A program containing all these can be found on the official Agatha Christie website.
Christie’s grandson, Mathew Prichard, will officially open the festival during the Agatha Christie Fete on September 12. Prichard will also join with John Curran, author of Agatha Christie’s Secret Notebooks, in a discussion of Christie’s legacy on September 13.
Festival participants can watch the Agatha Christie Theatre Company's presentation of Witness for the Prosecution nightly from September 13-19. They can also walk “The Agatha Christie Mile” with Blue Badge Guide Joan Nott on September 14 and September 17; go on a twilight tour of Greenway House, Christie’s summer home, on September 15; and take part in a “Garden Party to Die For” on September 16.
A special treasure hunt has also been designed for the festival. Exactly 120 red herrings have been hidden in Torquay and in the nearby towns of Paignton and Brixham. Whoever follows the clues to locate the most red herrings will receive a special prize.
Torquay, Paignton and Brixham are all located in the area of England that is known as the English Riviera because of its many beaches and mild climate. The Agatha Christie festival draws thousands of visitors there each year, as the YouTube video from the 2009 event that is embedded below indicates.
The English Riviera Tourist Board's website acknowledges the area’s indebtedness to Agatha Christie. Tourist Board Marketing Manager, Georgina Bowen, says, "Agatha Christie left us an amazing legacy, both in terms of literary heritage and tourism potential. ... Already thousands of fans from across the globe come to visit her hometown and the places that influenced and inspired her writing and the Agatha Christie Festival events are a great way of celebrating a writer whose books intrigued, puzzled and entertained so many."
For more information:
David Suchet to star in ITV adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express
Hercule Poirot steps out from behind the Curtain in new Strand Magazine short story
Masterpiece Mystery! begins a new summer season
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