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.
Animal lovers can visit Forever Thyme Sanctuary, a peaceful refuge for retired horses, while music enthusiasts can stop by Harmony Hall, located in the former Vandorf Community Hall, for live acoustic performances by local musicians.
Additional stops include Holy Theotokos, a Greek Orthodox convent that follows the traditional order and also manufactures pure beeswax candles; Muddy York Brewing Co; and Willowgrove, where families can try bouldering in the century barn, explore the hayloft, enjoy wagon rides, and visit the animals.
Visitors can also tour the gardens and forests at Pickering College Blue & Silver Farm, enjoy miniature railway demonstrations with the Richmond Hill Live Steamers, and admire the stained-glass windows and newly acquired organ at Wesley United Church.
The Whitchurch-Stouffville Museum will feature the exhibition Beyond Words: Dictionaries and Indigenous Languages, on loan from the Canadian Language Museum.
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.
Visit doorsopen.ca for more information.
Photo: Whitchurch-Stouffville Museum & Community Centre. Photo by Valeria Mitsubata Photography and courtesy of the Town of Stouffville.