News Release For Immediate Release

Pickering Celebrates its Bicentennial with its First Doors Open Event!

Pickering, ON, May 4, 2011 - Experience 200 Years of Pickering History First Hand!

Pickering, ON:  On October 1 and 2, the City of Pickering is delighted to host its first Doors Open event. Pickering joins 55 other communities as part of Doors Open Ontario to showcase its most intriguing buildings, whether built within the past few decades or over a century and a half ago.  Doors Open Pickering is an ideal opportunity to acquaint the curious, both young and old, with accessible examples of our heritage.
 
Seventeen venues across Pickering will be open on October 1 from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.  You can start your tour at any site and visit as many sites as you wish throughout the day.  Maps complete with site photos and descriptions will be available at each site to entice you onward from your initial venue.  Or you can visit the Doors Open hub at Pickering City Hall, in the Civic Complex, for complete information.
 
Anyone who has travelled north on Pickering’s Brock Road has probably noticed two monumental places of worship, Devi Mandir and The Pickering Islamic Centre, and wondered what they looked like inside. Now is your chance to walk through their doors and sample food, entertainment and cultural activities.  The Altona Mennonite Meeting House, the Mount Zion United Church and St. Joseph of Arimathea Orthodox Church in Whitevale, all located in the hamlets of North Pickering, will also be offering fascinating glimpses of worship traditions, as practiced yesterday and today.
 
For those with a taste for the avant garde, the remarkable Cleeve Horne Home is a must see!  Built in the 1950s for one of Canada’s most recognized artists, it sits off the beaten path in a valley east of Claremont.
 
Activities at other sites on October 1 will include mid-19th century dance demonstrations by the Stepping in Tyme Dance Society at Brougham Hall;  hourly guided hikes at the Claremont Field Centre; a vignette performed by Backwoods Players at the Willson House, home of one of Pickering’s original families; and  behind the scenes tours of the Pickering Recreation Centre’s new energy efficient heating and cooling system.
 
Other sites include Thistle Ha’, a National Historic Site built in 1839 (exterior tour only); the Commercial House in Brougham, a hotel built in 1860 when Brougham was a full day’s journey from Toronto; Herongate Barn Theatre, with seats from Toronto’s Victory Burlesque Theatre; the Bentley House, arguably the most opulent historic house in Pickering;  the former Whitevale School House (exterior tour only) and Ontario Power Generation’s Pickering Nuclear Information Centre, in operation since 1971.
 
On October 2, visitors can step back in time at the Pickering Museum Village event,  Fall Family Festival, featuring threshing and hay baling, live music, tastes of heritage cooking and activities for children. While in the area, be sure to enjoy a guided walking tour of the historic hamlet of Greenwood.

The following Doors will be Open on Saturday, October 1, 2011:

The Altona Mennonite Meeting House
5475 Sideline 30, Altona
 
The Bentley House
3590 Brock Road, Brougham
 
Brougham Hall
3545 Brock Road, Brougham
 
City of Pickering – Civic Complex
One The Esplanade, Pickering
 
TRCA Claremont Field Centre
4290 Westney Road, Pickering
 
Cleeve Horne Home
1940-1950 Concession 8, Brougham
 
Commercial House
1709 Highway 7, Brougham
 
Devi Mandir
2590 Brock Road, Pickering
 
Herongate Barn Theatre
2885 Altona Road, Pickering
 
Masjid E Usman, The Pickering Islamic Centre
2065 Brock Road, Pickering
 
Mount Zion United Church
3000 Concession 8, Mount Zion
 
Ontario Power Generation, Pickering Nuclear Information Centre
1675 Montgomery Park Road, Pickering
 
Pickering Recreation Centre
1867 Valley Farm Road, Pickering
 
St Joseph of Arimathea Orthodox Church
510 Whitevale Road, Whitevale
 
Thistle Ha’ – Note:  Exterior Tour Only
1860 Concession 7, Claremont
 
Whitevale Schoolhouse – Note: Exterior Tour Only
3215 Sideline 28, Whitevale
 
The Willson House
1505 Whitevale Road

The following Doors will be Open on Sunday, October 2, 2011:

Pickering Museum Village (12:00 pm to 4:30 pm)
2365 Concession Road 6, Greenwood
 
Walking Tour Hamlet of Greenwood  (10:00 am to 4:00 pm)
Pickering Museum Village – Gate 2

It’s time for you and your family to experience everything past and present that makes Pickering such a unique and vibrant community!  For more information about Doors Open Pickering, contact Katrina Pyke at 905.683.8401 or kpyke@cityofpickering.com
 
Pickering’s Bicentennial Celebrations are sponsored by Enbridge, Signage Source, and many other strong community partners.  To view the complete list of sponsors, visit cityofpickering.com/bicentennial .

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As the gateway city to the east GTA, Pickering (population 94,000) is strategically located where Toronto, York and Durham Regions meet.  Pickering is an affluent community that is steeped in history, natural beauty and small town charm with all the amenities and services that a big city has to offer.  The City of Pickering is considered a municipal leader in fiscal management, service delivery, sustainability and the environment; and offers a wealth of sports, leisure and recreation opportunities to its residents.  Pickering has been recognized by Profit magazine as one of the ten best cities in Canada for growth companies and received the 2008 FCM-CH2M Hill Sustainable Community Planning Award.
 
Media Contact:
Name                 Katrina Pyke
Title                   Coordinator, Museum Operations
Email address    kpyke@cityofpickering.com
Phone number    905.683.8401 ext. 237
TTY                   905.420.1739