Doors Open Waterloo Region
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Doors Open Waterloo Region 2026
Doors Open Waterloo Region returns as an in-person event in 2026 on Saturday, September 19 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. A day of discovery: tour local destinations including noteworthy buildings, interesting places & heritage sites. Admission to all Doors Open sites is always free.
Doors Open Waterloo Region creates meaningful qualitative experiences, delivered through storytelling, in celebration of our diverse community culture, heritage and architecture.
Questions? Email us!
| Receive updates |
| Join our mailing list to receive updates and notifications about this year’s event. Mailing list members are eligible to win great, exclusive prizes throughout August and September. |
| Doors Open Ontario |
| For complete details about this year’s participating sites, visit Doors Open Ontario. |
| Map |
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Plan your travels during Doors Open Waterloo Region using our Google Map. |
| 2025 Brochure/Passport |
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Download the 2025 Doors Open Waterloo Region brochure. |
| Kids’ Activity Guide |
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Our Kids' Activity Guide is designed to engage and educate youngsters, with charming illustrations of each Doors Open site created by local artist Della vanDokkumburg that are perfect for colouring. Fun puzzles and activities challenge kids to apply what they've learned. 2025 edition available here. |
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Event Guide |
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The 2025 Event Guide will provide complete event information, site listings and fun tidbits to help you plan your #dayofdiscovery! 2025 edition available here. |
Could your site participate in Doors Open?
If you are interested in becoming involved with Doors Open Waterloo Region as a participating site, please contact us through email.
Digital Doors Open Waterloo Region 2020 - 2022
Digital Doors Open Waterloo Region 2020 - 2022 was an entirely virtual experience. Our 2020 and 2021 programs delivered fascinating stories via video episodes; the entire collection of episodes can be viewed at our YouTube Playlist.
Get Involved
| Volunteer |
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Volunteer opportunities are available for individuals to:
Free training and orientation, including information on the history of your assigned building, is provided. We require a four-hour commitment on the day of the event. And if you are a member of a local arts, heritage or service organization, consider volunteering as a group. We will do our best to place your group at one location, or at locations close to each other. Contact Doors Open coordinators for information on volunteering. |
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Be a photographer, blogger, social media or podcast journalist for Doors Open Waterloo Region! |
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Introduce people to your favourite Doors Open site, on or before Doors Open. Scope out any sites you would like to photograph/capture in a podcast/write about in your blog/tweet about. Pick which sites you would like to cover, and let us know. If you are free on the third Saturday of September, we would love it if you could also capture images/footage of visitors enjoying Doors Open sites!
If you are interested in being a volunteer photographer/blogger/podcast journalist with Doors Open Waterloo Region, email us. Thank you for your interest in Doors Open Waterloo Region! |
| Call for arts and heritage organizations! Get involved with Doors Open Waterloo Region! |
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Doors Open Waterloo Region, a free heritage and architecture tour, is looking for arts and heritage organizations to provide programming at various sites across Waterloo Region for Doors Open. We are looking for music, drama performances, crafts for children, workshops/lectures, information displays, etc. that will enrich our visitors' experience during Doors Open. Doors Open sites are located all across Waterloo Region (but a few of the sites are better suited to host live performances). Our event takes place on the third Saturday of September (most of our sites will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) As Doors Open is a free event, the performance must be presented gratis; however, you are free to sell tickets to upcoming shows, memberships, etc. before or after your performance. If you are interested, please email by July 15, and we will match your organization with a Doors Open site. |
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Dig deeper - Learn more |
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Useful links |
Connect With Us
Follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook for sneak peeks leading up to the launch of each episode.
Join our mailing list to receive updates and notifications when episodes are released. Mailing list members are eligible to win great, exclusive prizes throughout August and September.
About Doors Open
Doors Open Waterloo Region is part of Doors Open Ontario, a province wide initiative of the Ontario Heritage Trust to celebrate community heritage and architecture.
Depending on the community, Doors Open events take place any time from April to October. Doors Open is free, and many participating properties either normally charge an entrance fee or are not usually open to the public. In most cases, no tickets or advance registration is required for the event.
https://www.doorsopenontario.on.ca/pages/events/waterloo-region
Contact Us
Doors Open Coordinators
150 Frederick Street, 8/F
Kitchener, ON N2G 4J3
TTY. 519-575-4608
email to Doors Open Coordinators
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