Diverse communities share their culture, heritage at Doors Open Richmond
With tours of everything from a Buddhist monastery to a Persian restaurant, the annual Heritage Canada event goes online for 2021
Britannia Shipyards National Historic Site is one of the stops on the virtual Doors Open Richmond program.
Richmond Museum presents Doors Open Richmond, happening online from June 5 to 12.
WHEN HERITAGE CANADA Foundation first launched Doors Open Canada, the goal was to give people with the chance to visit buildings of architectural, cultural, or historic interest to their community. Doors Open Richmond is the longest-running Doors Open event in British Columbia, and this year’s virtual event aims to get people out, even if they decide to stay in.
“We’ve got 14 years of experience in throwing open the doors on heritage buildings, community organizations, and cultural sites for a week-long celebration, and for the second year in a row, we’ve gone virtual,” says Greg Walker, chair of the Richmond Museum Society, which organizes the annual grassroots event. “Doors Open is how the Richmond Museum helps make the history and culture of the City of Richmond engaging and accessible to Richmond residents and visitors alike. I’m proud that we didn’t let a pandemic cause us to skip a season of rich cultural experience and heritage learnings.”
People can tour destinations online (at richmondmuseum.ca or Doors Open), while original video content, photographs, and more will be published each day on the museum’s social media channels and uploaded to the museum website’s interactive map the following day. Participating partners will also be sharing content on their social-media platforms.
More than 30 organizations and venues are taking part this year, seven of them for the first time.
Among the new participants this year are Fairchild Radio AM1470 & FM96; Fairchild Television & Talentvision; Steveston Harbour Authority; Anar Persian Cuisine; and Connections Community Services, Indigenous Led Outreach & Support Program, which provides workshops, education, support, and kinship to urban Indigenous people.
Some of the sites have been part of the event since day one, like Gulf of Georgia Cannery Historic Site; the Lingyen Mountain Temple (Canada), a Mahayana Buddhist monastery; and the Steveston Museum.
Other highlights are Richmond Mosque, the first and largest mosque in B.C.; Steveston Buddhist Temple; London Heritage Farm; Az-Zahraa Islamic Centre; and Lulu Island Winery.
“I’m hoping people will get a first-hand, intercultural understanding developed through the unique opportunities and safe spaces created by Doors Open, an experience where Richmond’s diverse communities share their cultural heritage, traditions, and viewpoints,” Walker says.
For more information, see richmondmuseum.ca.
Connections Community Services, Indigenous Led Outreach & Support provides workshops, education, support, and kinship to urban Indigenous people.
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