Bard Bard In medieval Gaelic and British culture, a bard was a professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or noble), to commemorate one or more of the patron's ancestors and to praise the patron's own activities. Originally a specific, lower class of poet, contrasting with the higher rank known as "fili" in Ireland and Highland Scotland, with the decline of living bardic tradition in the modern period the term "bard" acquired generic meanings of an author or minstrel, especially a famous one. For example, William Shakespeare, and Rabindranath Tagore,
Bard on the Beach Bard on the Beach Bard on the Beach is Western Canada's largest professional Shakespeare festival. The theatre Festival runs annually from early June through September in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The Festival is produced by Bard on the Beach Theatre Society whose mission is to perform, explore and celebrate the works of William Shakespeare. In addition to the annual summer festival, the Society runs a number of year-round theatre education and outreach programs under the umbrella of Bard Education. Bard on the Beach celebrated its 25th anniversary season in 2014. Bard on the Beach began as an Equity Co-op in