It’s official. Heritage Centre Wellington and Elora Fergus Tourism will join forces again for their third annual Doors Open Fergus and Elora 2010.
Doors Open is a unique one day heritage event that opens spaces throughout the community. The event is free and is an opportunity for visitors and residents to explore community buildings, private homes, and heritage sites. The event can feature public, commercial, private and not for profit structures that are part of what weaves and shapes the fabric of the community’s past.
Parks, places of worship, places for fun, creativity, and recreation will all be part of the Doors Open sites in Elora, Fergus, and rural Centre Wellington.
Visits to all Doors Open Fergus-Elora sites, will be guided or have volunteers to show visitors surroundings and all properties. In 2009, 15 sites were featured including the Elora library celebrating its 100 anniversary, Thomson Funeral Homes, the Elora Centre for the Arts, and a crowd favourite – the Elora Mill Inn. Rural properties were also featured such as Forest Gait Farms and Lynwood Gardens – the home of the Ashbee Family.
The organizing committee is recruiting sites for the 2010 program. Each is coordinated with the committee and an easy check list is provided to ensure each site has the necessary resources to make its experience with Doors Open a positive and rewarding one.
For an organization either private or public that may be interested, the committee would be happy to provide information and a consultation if interested readers would like to consider participating.
Already five participating sites have registered for the 2010 program, registration has been applied for and plans are under way to complete the site list by Jan. 5.
“In order to be included in the printed Doors Open program, site selection, photos, and descriptions need to be in place by mid-January,” said Deb Dalziel, “Our committee is at work gathering necessary information for the January provincial deadline.”
A joint undertaking of Heritage Centre Wellington, Wellington County Museum and Archives, and Elora Fergus Tourism, Doors Open Fergus and Elora is also part of Doors Open Ontario an Ontario Heritage Foundation province-wide initiative to celebrate community heritage.
