Walk straight into arts, culture and heritage at Doors Open Richmond 2014

Richmond, BC – The seventh annual Doors Open offers Richmond residents and visitors exclusive access to numerous arts, culture and heritage sites in the city free of cost. The highly anticipated event welcomes everyone on Saturday, June 7 and Sunday, June 8 at over 40 sites in Richmond, with an opening celebration on Friday evening, June 6 at 7 p.m.

“Doors Open invites people to become explorers and learners, as each site has a special offering to its visitors, and often opens doors to areas the public can’t normally go,” says Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie. “To have the opportunity to take a behind-the-scenes peek of unique and exclusive places in the city is an authentically Richmond experience and can satisfy curious, growing minds.”

Arts, cultural and heritage sites this year include first-time participants, Vancouver International Airport, Neon Salon, Kwantlen Polytechnic University and the newly restored Branscombe House. Places of interest include religious and spiritual temples, artist studios, civic facilities and more. Many of the sites will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on both days and visitors are highly encouraged to check the brochures and the website to confirm the hours of each site.

The Doors Open Richmond weekend will start with an opening celebration held at London Heritage Farm (6511 Dyke Road) on Friday, June 6 from 7 to 9 p.m. Live jazz and bagpipe music, Morris dancing demonstrations, children’s craft activities and tours of the historic farmhouse will keep visitors entertained and thrilled about the weekend. Parking is limited and is available at the former Steveston Secondary School site (10440 No. 2 Road). Starting at 6:30 p.m. free buses (for safety reasons, the buses cannot accommodate children under 40 pounds) will shuttle visitors from there to London Farm.

During the weekend, the themes of nature, faith, family and history are explored through four bus trips that will visit various Doors Open sites across Richmond. All ages are welcome. Seats are $5.00 per person and buses will leave at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. from the Richmond Cultural Centre (7700 Minoru Gate). As space is limited to 20 people per bus trip, those interested are recommended to register at 604-276-4300 or www.richmond.ca/register before Sunday, June 1. Please use the following program numbers for tour registration: Nature: #643308, Faith: #643208, Family: #643258 and History: #643358.

Doors Open map brochures will be available starting May 10 at City facilities, including pools, arenas, community centres, and heritage sites, Richmond Nature Park, Richmond Cultural Centre and Richmond City Hall. A PDF map and complete listing of participating sites can also be downloaded at www.richmond.ca/doorsopen.

Doors Open Richmond is made possible through the generous support of the City of Richmond, Richmond Museum Society, British Columbia Arts Council, Richmond Heritage Commission, Richmond Diversity Services and Richmond Public Art and Murrick Insurance Services Limited.

Doors Open is part of Richmond Days of Summer, a summer-long series of fun, family events across the city. Richmond Days of Summer is presented by Vancouver Airport Authority. Community partners are Port Metro Vancouver and Coast Capital Savings. Media sponsors include CTV, QM-FM, 24 Hours and the Richmond Review. Visit richmonddaysofsummer.ca for details on more great events all summer long.