Doors Open Waterloo Region 2020

What’s it like to live in a museum or to work in a crematorium? How do you conserve a 500-year-old canoe? Who decided to film the Handmaid’s Tale in Cambridge? How does a dam in Centre Wellington protect Waterloo Region? What’s a living sculpture and how did the world’s largest one find its way to Cambridge? How did two local farms reframe their family operations to create hit niche products? Find out the answers to these questions and so much more by tuning in to Doors Open Waterloo Region's 2020 video episodes.

Eight of the 15 episodes will be released on September 19 (the traditional Doors Open Waterloo Region date, the third Saturday in September). The first eight episodes will be released on the Region of Waterloo’s YouTube Channel at 10 a.m. EST on the following dates:

August 22
Episode 1: Parkview Crematorium: Survival In A Changing Death Industry
Episode 2: Shand Dam: Protecting Waterloo Region’s Water

August 29
Episode 3: The Curatorial Centre at the Ken Seiling Waterloo Region Museum: Safekeeping Stories Big & Small
Episode 4: Brubacher House: Living & Working In The Museum

September 5
Episode 5: Tapestry Hall: Old Bones & New Skin
Episode 6: The Timeless Material Co.: The Spirit Of Salvage

September 12
Episode 7: Martin's Family Fruit Farm
Episode 8: Eby Manor: Seizing a Golden (Guernsey) Opportunity On The Family Farm

September 19

The final episodes will launch!

Visit:

SPECTRUM - Waterloo Region's First Rainbow Community Space
Cambridge Butterfly Conservatory
Clearpath Robotics
The Handmaid's Tale - film locations in Cambridge
Region of Waterloo International Airport

AMONG OTHERS!

Episode 1: Parkview Crematorium: Survival In A Changing Death Industry

The death industry is changing and Parkview Crematorium in Waterloo is one of just a handful of crematoriums still owned and operated by municipalities in Ontario. In 2019, it seemed Parkview might also close amidst competition from private operators. But the community rose to save it from the ashes.

Episode 2 - Shand Dam: Protecting Waterloo Region’s Water

Despite its location in the neighbouring municipality of Centre Wellington, the Shand Dam has been vital to the health and wellbeing of Waterloo Region ever since its historic opening in 1942. In this episode, the Grand River Conservation Authority provides viewers exclusive access throughout the dam’s super structure, explaining the marvelous war-time feats of engineering which created it, and the balance of technology and human knowledge required to maintain it.

Episode 3 - The Curatorial Centre at the Ken Seiling Waterloo Region Museum: Safekeeping Stories Big and Small

With nearly 50,000 items capturing life in the Region Of Waterloo, the collection at the Ken Seiling Waterloo Region Museum is the most comprehensive of any local museum in Canada. These artifacts’ origins range from the 1500s to themodern era and are lovingly obtained by and preserved in the museum’s state-of-the-art Curatorial Centre. The acquisition and safekeeping of these items provides a comprehensive visual history of the region and its stories. But the effort to preserve the past also serves the community in understanding the present and navigating the future.

Episode 4 - Brubacher House: Living and Working In The Museum

Laura & Josh Enns live in a museum — a Mennonite farmhouse built in 1850 which is located smack-dab in the middle of the University of Waterloo tech park. For the past four years, the young couple have called Brubacher House their home, living in modern accommodations on the 2nd Floor as they promote and manage the museum and its grounds. They're also working to update the narrative of the land to reflect its origins as territory belonging to the Attawandaron, Huron-Wendat, Anishnaabeg and Haudenosaunee peoples.

Episode 5 - Tapestry Hall: Old Bones and New Skin

Tapestry Hall is a new skin on old, strong bones. From its foundry roots of 1847 to today's reinvention as a premier event venue in Galt's burgeoning Gaslight District, this new, chic space is a warm embrace with storied limestone bricks, beaten wooden beams, and smooth concrete. Voluptuous windows spill light throughout the hall, taproom and onsite brewery as the world's largest living sculpture, Meander, draws from the ceiling to greet and guide visitors throughout this historic masterpiece.

Episode 6 - The Timeless Material Co.: The Spirit Of Salvage

Since its inception in 2002, The Timeless Material Co. has operated in the true spirit of salvage. While preserving and repurposing wood and other building products from historic and iconic local structures, the Waterloo family business has simultaneously diverted tons of quality material from the landfill. Working with its sister company Kieswetter Demolition, The Timeless Material Co. promotes and facilitates a modern afterlife for the building components of our past.

Episode 7 - Martin’s Family Fruit Farm: Core Values & Fresh Ideas

Seven generations have farmed the land in Woolwich Township which is home to Martin’s Family Fruit Farm — now one of the largest apple growers, packers and shippers in Canada. While the business has blossomed with innovation and expansion in the past decade, each one of the orchards’ millions of apples are still picked carefully by hand and locals continue to buy apples in the onsite Orchard Market. With the help of up to 300 employees, The Martins still run the family business, and they do so according to their core values which support their mission of growing for healthy communities.

Episode 8 - Eby Manor: Seizing a Golden (Guernsey) Opportunity on the Family Farm

For all but 10 days of his entire life, Jim Eby has lived on the dairy farm in Woolwich now known as Eby Manor Ltd. You'll be moo-ved by his story of the family operation that seized a Golden (Guernsey) opportunity to create something truly special in the new niche milk market. Denoted by its unique, creamy texture and iconic glass bottles, Eby Manor and its small herd boasts an avid following.

Episode 9 - SPECTRUM: The Struggle for Safe Space

SPECTRUM is Waterloo Region’s first ever LGBTQ / Rainbow community space. The small-but-mighty haven created by Spectrum is currently located in the historic Boehmer Box building in Kitchener. This poignant episode explores the rainbow community's long struggle to establish safe gathering spaces within Waterloo Region and includes a walking tour hosted by Spectrum's President, Cait Glasson.