Centre Wellington hosted its annual Doors Open event on June 16, as part of a province-wide celebration of community heritage.
Designed to create access, awareness and excitement about local heritage, Doors Open provides residents and visitors with a unique opportunity to explore and enjoy sometimes hidden but always interesting places and spaces, organizes note.
Preliminary counts indicate more than 2,000 visits were made throughout the nine locations.
Each site was unique and went above and beyond to provide an experience that visitors would not soon forget, organizers state. The featured sites included Wellington County Museum and Archives, Elora Centre for the Arts, Net Zero House, Craighead House presented by Heritage Centre Wellington, Melville United Church, Marshall Block, Almost Anything Wood, the Wellington Advertiser and downtown Fergus. Guided walking tours, a pre-loved art and craft sale and National Fudge Day celebrations rounded out the day.
Response to the event was “incredibly positive” as visitors happily participated in informative tours, engaging storytelling and the opportunity to be immersed in a unique space for one day only, organizers state.
Visitors enjoyed experiences including:
- – getting up close to local artifacts in the attic at the Wellington County Museum;
- – ringing the church bells at Melville United;
- – watching salvaged heritage trees become art with demonstrations at Almost Anything Wood;
- – reading tales of the past and partaking in special activities in downtown Fergus;
- – last chance to tour the Net Zero House with complete off the grid capabilities;
- – meeting the ghost of Anne Boyle in the galleries at the Elora Centre for the arts; and so much more.
A passport outlining site details, special events, as well as other locations of interest guided visitors through their day. Visitors collected stamps at each site for a chance to win tickets to local events including the Elora Festival, Fergus Scottish Festival or Riverfest Elora.
“A heartfelt thank you goes out to the locations who shared their space with visitors, all of the amazing volunteers and those who contributed in ways big and small to help make this year’s event a huge success,” state organizers, who also thanked visitors.
