Posts Tagged Doors Open

Canada’s military has quite a distinguished history. From victory in the War of 1812 to its participation in Afghanistan, Canada has earned some hefty and significant battle honours. Canadians shocked the South Africans in the Boer War with their courage, were feared by the Germans in the Great War for their strength and ability to adapt to extreme conditions and earned the respect of many nations for its peacekeeping efforts in the Cold War. For its mere population compared to the powerhouse nations of the United States and Britain, Canada’s valour is quite extraordinary. Citizens of Cambridge and the surrounding areas had a chance to explore a local piece of that military history when the Royal Highland Fusiliers of Canada opened their doors during this past weekend’s Doors Open event for the Waterloo Region. (more…)

He was not welcome to some, laughed at by a few, yet in the end was  revered by many. William Lyon Mackenzie King, Canada’s tenth and longest serving Prime Minister, with just three simple words uttered on September 3, 1939 would help raise Canada up from Dominion status to full autonomous nationhood. He also created a vast Canadian based Air Training Program that same year which has never been surpassed by any nation since. Yet, at the heart of Mackenzie King there was a country boy who loved the wilderness, a roaring fire, gardening and fishing. He had the pleasure of being able to do these things on his Kingsmere Estate in the Gatineau Hills of Quebec while he was Prime Minister. However, he wrote in his diary that the home with the fondest memories for him was the King family residence in Berlin, Ontario called Woodside. This home is now a National Historic Site and is beautifully maintained and operated by Parks Canada. Woodside was open this weekend for the Doors Open Waterloo Region event and hundreds of people came out to take a glimpse into the young life of one of this country’s greatest Prime Ministers.

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This weekend was a great opportunity to get out and enjoy a Doors Open event across many parts of Ontario. From Ajax to Mississauga, from Barrie to Sudbury and from London to Waterloo, there was something for everyone to see and enjoy. Since I was in the Waterloo Region this weekend, I decided to take advantage of what the Tri-Cities area had to offer. There were a few places I visited including the Sun Life Financial building in downtown Waterloo.  (more…)

Despite the heavy rains that came on June 6, the Doors Open Ottawa weekend was a great success. Nearly 60,000 people came out on June 5 and 6 to visit the 119 cultural and historic venues all around the city and surrounding area. As a historian who loves anything to do with heritage, I decided to sign up as a volunteer and really get involved. On June 5, I was at the Parks Canada Conservation Laboratories on Walkley Rd, and boy what a great day that was! If you thought Parks Canada was just about parks and good looking uniformed rangers politely telling you to put your campfire out, than think again and read on! (more…)

One of the great things for me having relocated to the National Capital Region is the closeness to what’s going on in the heritage sector. Think about it, all the political history here in Ottawa is fabulous, Quebec is a hop-skip-and-a-jump away, Kingston is just down the road, and I’m only a few hours from the GTA and all the history and heritage down there. What could be better? So when I heard about Doors Open Ottawa, I was curious, because very few places out west have similar events. (more…)