DOORS OPEN ONTARIO-2013 PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY -PART ONE

                                  Baxter Community Center-Bloomfield Ontario CAN

PART ONE

  Well readers spring has finally arrived in Ontario. An event that marks the beginning of the season is Doors Open Ontario. From April to October, towns from all over Ontario Canada open their doors to the public. The buildings could be historical, cultural, places of worship and other interesting heritage sites. Each year there is a theme to the event. This year the theme is Cultural expressions. It encourages people to embrace the creative culture of their communities. This weekend took us to Prince Edward County. Each venue had a one of a kind door that was created (eg painted on) by local artist. Our first stop was in Bloomfield ON. We went to the Don Baxter Building (Bloomfield Centre for Creativity) located on 3 Stanley St. this building once housed the cafeteria for the cannery workers after the Second World War. Through the dedication of community volunteers, this building was preserved and redone to be a creative arts centre. The building is now the venue for visual, dramatic, music and many other creative activities. Visitors received a warm greeting when they entered the building. There were many people there to discuss the history of the building and the new life it has been given. An interesting invitation extended to the guests. Visitors were encouraged to paint on doors that were placed around the interior of the room. This place took the idea of the painted doors and allowed the visitors to become a part of the cultural expressions. There was a door for sale to the highest bidder (as were at all the venues) but the organizers extended this idea. If you participated in contributing to a door of many expressions, you couldn't help but feel that you were expressing something of yourself as well contributing to a creative history. Our next stop was the Macauley House located in Picton ON. This seventeenth house was built by the Reverend William Macauley. He inherited this land from his father and Thomas Markland which they purchased for 300 pounds. This land is part of modern day Picton. He served as an Anglican Minister and built the original St. Mary Magdalene Church and was appointed its rector in 1827. In 1830 he built the house next door to the church. It was unusual for a man of the cloth to be financially endowed however Reverend Macauley was quite well off. His home depicts this fact. The rooms of the house are lavishly furnished. One can't help but notice the marble fireplace in the parlour. There is also a piano that caught my mother's interest. The upper back of the instrument was decorated with pleated materials in a rosy pink colour. She had not seen a piano with such an accessory. Visitors are welcome to go upstairs to where the bedrooms were located. These rooms allowed the guest to peek into what the personal lives of the residences were like. The guides and volunteers of the home are dressed in the appropriate century apparel.

Contributor -Melissa Richardson

Photography- Enjoy the View by Melissa

                                            Melissa trying her hand at painting

                                                                        Ta- Da