Doors Open Waterloo Region

Plan your travels during Doors Open Waterloo Region using our Google Map.

Coming soon.

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. Coming soon.

Event Guide

The 2025 Event Guide will provide complete event information, site listings and fun tidbits to help you plan your #dayofdiscovery! Coming soon.

Volunteer opportunities are available for individuals to:

• lead tours of the featured buildings
• greet visitors.
• count the total number of visitors
• photograph the event
• animate a site with music, theatre or children's activities

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.

Be a photographer, blogger, social media or podcast journalist for Doors Open Waterloo Region!

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!

Why blog/podcast/tweet/photograph for Doors Open?

• advance access to normally-closed-to-the-public, 'secret' Doors Open sites
• exclusive interviews with our Doors Open site owners/operators
• link to Doors Open Ontario's province-wide website
• meet other bloggers/podcast journalists/photographers in real time at our Doors Open networking event
• connect with journalists working in traditional media in Waterloo Region
• tell the world about the stories that make our 'secret' Doors Open sites interesting!
• Your podcasts/photos/blog entries would be featured prominently on our Doors Open blog (with links from our Facebook page).
• Following the event, some of your photos/podcast entries/blog entries would be featured on the Region of Waterloo's Doors Open blog and Facebook page.
• Your photos/podcasts could be forwarded to the Ontario Heritage Trust, to be used in their province-wide publication (distributed in the Globe & Mail), or used on the Doors Open Ontario website.

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!

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.

 Dig deeper - Learn more

 Useful links

• Architectural Conservancy of Ontario
• Doors Open Ontario
• Grand Valley Society of Architects
• Heritage Canada Foundation
• Kitchener Public Library - Grace Schmidt Room of Local History
• Ontario Association of Architects
• Region of Waterloo Archives
• Waterloo Regional Tourism Marketing Corporation