Doors Open on newest attractions
Annual Doors Open Waterloo features the cities’ newest architectural marvels.
Doors Open Waterloo is mixing old school with new school Sept. 17 with tours of new facilities and classic buildings.
Alongside historic gems like the Anglican Church of the Holy Saviour and the historic Seagram estate, will be the new Knox Presbyterian Church, Stephen Hawking Centre and the new Centre for International Governance Innovation campus.
Kevin Dias, communications specialist with CIGI, said visitor tours of the institute’s first home and new building would be representative of a transition from the old to the new.
“CIGI is just so important to the region,” Dias said. “We’re moving more from a traditional manufacturing economy to a knowledge economy.
“We think that people are going to get a better feeling of what we do.”
A local historical expert will be on hand to enrich the experience for visitors, and a short film broken into three chapters will explore the history of CIGI, he said.
The event kicks off CIGI’s weeklong 10th anniversary celebrations.
Internationally-acclaimed Somali-Canadian recording artist K’naan will perform at the CIGI opening for an invite-only crowd of 200 community leaders from the not-for-profit, public, academic, technology and business sectors. The performance will be webcast for the rest of the community.
At CIGI tours will run the 17th from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 57 and 67 Erb St. W.
Knox Presbyterian Church joins CIGI in going new school, with tours of its near-complete facility at 50 Erb St. W.
Linda Hedquist, congregation member, said the church is excited to showcase its new digs and progressive attitude.
“We wanted to stay (here) because we’re part of that new development in the core and we want to show the progress of our church to stay up with what’s happening and show that we’re progressive,” Hedquist said.
The church considered changing locations for the rebuild but wanted to stay true to its congregation and roots.
“We wanted to be in the heart of Waterloo because we see ourselves as a downtown church,” Hedquist said.
The church broke ground in November 2009, and with the transition near complete to the new building in the former parking lot, the old building will soon be demolished and become the new parking lot, Hedquist said.
Tours will be given from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and there will also be live music showcasing the acoustics of the new building.
Nowhere will the theme of progress be more evident than at the Perimeter Institute.
It’s joining the Doors Open initiative in conjunction with the opening of the new Stephen Hawking Centre to be held Sept. 18.
Neil Turok, director of Perimeter Institute, lauded Hawking, who will make a video appearance during the opening.
“Stephen Hawking is an inspirational figure for his scientific research, his mentorship of young physicists and his unequalled communication of a love for scientific discovery to the world over,” Turok said in a press release.
Hawking is a pioneer in the field of fundamental theoretical physics and has made several extraordinary contributions especially in establishing the classical and quantum properties of black holes and in building quantum gravitational theories of the origin of the universe and structures within it.
From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., tours of the new 55,000 sq. ft. facility at 55 Caroline St. N. will be offered to the public, with opportunities to meet the scientists and architects.
A special film about Hawking, entitled The Power of Ideas, will be broadcast live on TVO at 8 p.m.
Guest lectures at the facility will be broadcast on TVO starting at 10 a.m.
After the tour, there will be science wonders at Physica Phantastica, a series of interactive exhibits for kids and adults alike.
On Sept. 17 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. tours of PI’s first home in the old post office uptown at 35 King St. N. will be available as part of Doors Open.
Since its launch in 2002, Doors Open Ontario has grown from 17 events to 56, incorporating hundreds of communities.
The program has generated more than four million visits to 4,500 separate sites across the province.
For more Doors Open sites visit www.regionofwaterloo.ca/doorsopen
For information on CIGI anniversary events visit www.cigionline.org
For information on Perimeter Instiute events visit www.perimeterinstitute.ca/Events/Grand_Opening/Events_Schedule/
