Doors Open Whitchurch-Stouffville returns

Explore some of the town’s oldest and most unique buildings during Doors Open Whitchurch-Stouffville, which returns for its 22nd year.

The event takes place on June 6 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Sites include the Bill Fisch Forest Stewardship and Education Centre, the hub for York Region Forestry’s educational programming. Built using local and recycled materials, the building became the first LEED Platinum-certified building in Canada in 2018. Discover the Nature Centre at Bruce’s Mill Conservation Park, while learning about nature, visiting the exploration table, taking a self-guided tour of the property and participating in a scavenger hunt.

Forever Thyme Sanctuary provides a safe, peaceful home for retired horses. You’re invited to visit the horses and tour the farm. Harmony Hall, located within the former Vandorf Community Hall constructed in 1921, is a modern live-music and cultural venue. Enjoy live acoustic performances by local musicians and perform your own song.

Holy Theotokos is a Greek Orthodox convent that follows the traditional order and manufactures pure beeswax candles. Tour the chapel and candle shop. The Lemonville School was constructed in 1923, closed in 1969 and reopened as the Lemonville Community Centre in 1972. It won the 2023 Whitchurch-Stouffville Heritage Award.

Muddy York Brewing Co. was founded in 2013 and has called Stouffville home since 2024. Pickering College Blue & Silver Farm was established in 1860 and was donated in 2021 to Pickering College. Tour the gardens, greenhouses, forests and outdoor kitchens. Visit the Richmond Hill Live Steamers to experience miniature railway demonstrations.

Built in 1881, Wesley United Church features beautiful stained-glass windows. Wesley’s Minister of Music will be performing on the church’s newly acquired organ. Visit the Whitchurch-Stouffville Museum to engage with a special featured exhibition, Beyond Words: Dictionaries and Indigenous Languages, on loan from the Canadian Language Museum. Willowgrove is a day camp and education centre where you can try bouldering in the century barn, explore the hayloft, enjoy wagon rides, visit the animals and more.

Doors Open Whitchurch-Stouffville is part of Doors Open Ontario, a provincewide heritage tourism program that gives the public free access to heritage properties across the province. It showcases the buildings, natural spaces, infrastructure and cultural landscapes that shape and define communities.

Photo: Whitchurch-Stouffville Museum & Community Centre. Photo by Valeria Mitsubata Photography and courtesy of the Town of Stouffville.