Prince Edward Island prepares to celebrate centennial of Anne of Green Gables

Photo courtesty of Tourism Prince Edward Island.

Poor Prince Edward Island. Like many of Canada's eastern provinces, they are shivering more than their timbers right now. And with seven weeks of winter still on the calendar, spring and summer seem like a distant dream.

But 2008 marks the centennial of one of its most famous residents, Anne of Green Gables. Lucy Maud Montgomery's red-haired orphan has charmed millions of readers all over the world.

PEI is hosting a series of ceilidhs and kitchen parties, country fairs, concerts, picnics, barn dances and firelight story-telling sessions throughout the year. In June, this pastoral island in the Canadian Maritimes will begin its non-stop open-air summer festival.

Nearly 1.37 million people visited PEI in 2007 to see the sights made famous by the beloved novel. The book was an immediate best seller in 1908, telling the story of a precocious orphan girl who is adopted by PEI farmers. The novel has been translated into 36 languages with more than 50 million copies sold worldwide.

To celebrate the anniversary, G.P. Putnam's Sons is publishing the only officially authorized prequel, Before Green Gables, written by Maritime author Budget Wilson. There will also be a special anniversary edition of Anne of Green Gables released. Bookstores will host a series of events to promote the books beginning this month. For more information, visit the official Anne of Green Gables website.