Centre Wellington residents and visitors will again have an opportunity June 20 to explore during the annual Doors Open Fergus-Elora celebration of heritage, architecture, parks and culture.
The second annual event follows Fergus’ 175 birthday celebration.
This year will feature several public, commercial, private, and not for profit structures that are part of what shapes the fabric of the community’s past. Parks, places of worship, fun, creativity, and recreation are part of the event featuring 15 sites.
All sites, will be guided or have volunteers on hand to show visitors all properties. Sites will be open from 10am to 4pm. Art Walk will run in Fergus for its second year and Elora is featuring its first such event.
Along with the downtown artistic displays, the Fergus curling club established in 1834 will be on display. It is one of the oldest continuously operated curling clubs in Ontario. It is celebrating its 175 anniversary with old mementos, curling stones, photographs, and banners.
Thomson Funeral Home in downtown Fergus was built as a residence in 1861 and converted to a funeral home in 1932. Mary Thomson, one of Ontario’s first funeral directors continued the family tradition until 1988. Historical signs, and an old fashioned horse drawn hearse will be a few of the sights to see there.
Two rural properties and a farmers market will be featured this year. The Elora Farmers market will be open featuring recipes, special taste treats, and local food fair on the banks of the Grand River.
The Wellington County Museum will be a featured site again, this time focusing on the heritage farming equipment, century barn and the annual Herb Fair held each year.
New to Doors Open, will be a contemporary farm built in 1984. The farm will have a special open house for the Paso Fino Horse, with horsemanship clinics, open stable and equine demonstrations through out the day.
Along with many of Fergus and Elora’s beautiful parks such as Victoria Park in Elora, the new BT Corners and Templin Gardens, enjoy a visit to Belsyde Cemetery and participate in a self guided proposed cultural heritage neighbourhood in Elora. New to everyone, will be the newly re-opened Wellington County library’s Elora branch, newly restored and opening its doors again the day before Doors Open.
The event might finish at 4pm but there is more. Participate in the inaugural Belsyde Cemetery Spirit Walk at twilight. At approximately 9:30pm join the guided re-enactment tour featuring the spirits of many historically significant and colourful people with intriguing stories they want to share. The tour is free with a donation to the CT Scanner Fund for Groves Hospital Foundation.
A joint undertaking of Heritage Centre Wellington, Wellington County Museum and Archives and Elora Fergus Tourism, Doors Open Fergus Elora is also part of Doors Open Ontario an Ontario Heritage Foundation province-wide initiative to celebrate community heritage.
