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Heritage Toronto's 21st season of tours kicks off tomorrow, running through October 4th. The walking tours give locals and tourists alike the opportunity to explore the history of the city around them, and this year's season of programmed tours, sponsored by TD Bank Group, will even feature a few specifically tailored to sports fans, as a way to help celebrate the upcoming 2015 Pan Am / Parapan Am Games. The 2015 Heritage Toronto Tours season will feature several unique tours, and we have included a list of the highlights below.
"Sport Stadiums and Lakeside Leisure: Playing Along the Waterfront": Sports facilities like the former Hanlan's Point Stadium and Maple Leaf Stadium as well as the current Rogers Centre have been an important feature of Toronto’s central waterfront throughout its history. Learn more about Toronto's sporting history at this tour, which is offered as part of Doors Open Toronto on May 23 and 24.
"Creating Toronto: The Story of the City in Seven Stops": This walking tour celebrates the upcoming Pan Am games by being offered for the first time ever in Spanish and English. This will be appreciated by those visiting from the many spanish speaking countries participating in the games, as well as new residents, and locals looking to visit local landmarks and hear iabout Toronto's history. English tours run every Thursday starting at 6:30pm from July 9 to August 20. Spanish tours are offered at 6:30pm on July 16, 23, and August 13.
"West Don Lands: From Manufacturing to Medals" walking tour: This tour will take visitors through the West Don Lands, a formerly industrial area of the city that has been extensively built out in advance of its hosting of the Pan Am/Parapan Am Games athletes village. The cost of this tour will be covered by the Canary District, and is free to attend. Tours run August 23, 30 and September 26.
Asian Heritage Month walking tours will be held next month, including the a new follow up to last year's popular "Chinatown: Then and Now" walk, called "Toronto's First Chinatown: A Step Back in Time". This tour covers the neighbourhood that was home to much of Toronto's Chinese community before the area was redeveloped to make way for City Hall. This new tour will run alongside the already established "Chinatown: Then and Now" walk, as well as "Korea Town", and "St. James Town and the Filipino Community", which are being supported by Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
Cycling tours will also be offered as part of Heritage Toronto's Bike Month tours. Visitors can bring their own bike or pre-pay for a bike rental in advance from Community Bicycle Network Tours include "The Don Valley: Todmorden Mills to Lake Ontario" bike tour on June 20 and September 12, and "The Forts of Toronto" bike tour on June 27.
The "Music History on the Yonge Street Strip" walking tour will focus on Toronto's rich music history. Led by music journalist Nicholas Jennings, the tour will visit sites and tell stories about musicians like Oscar Peterson, Ronnie Hawkins, and Glenn Gould. The tour will run May 31, June 3, 17, July 15, 29, August 5, 19, and September 9.
The "Pride Walk: Discovering Toronto’s LGBTQ Heritage" walking tour is being presented in partnership with the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives. This tour will focus on Toronto's LGBTQ history, allowing participants to explore the LGBTQ community and learn about activists and historical events that helped shape it. This tour runs June 21 and 25 for Pride Week and once more on July 19 during the Pan Am Games.
On June 13, "Before Toronto: An Archaeological Bus Tour of Our City's First 13,000 Years" will take participants on a bus ride with archaeologist Dr. Ronald F. Williamson. This tour will highlight Toronto’s Aboriginal history, visiting important sites of archaeological digs.
"Heritage Toronto's fun and informative tours give citizens the chance to see Toronto's neighbourhoods in a way they never have before. Our tour leaders do extensive research to infuse the history of each area into their tours," said Francisco Alvarez, Executive Director at Heritage Toronto. "We've also been finding that tourists are looking for authentic ways to experience Toronto, and more and more have been 'doing as the locals do' by joining our tours."
You can learn more about Heritage Toronto's tours, as well as purchase tickets, by visiting www.HeritageToronto.org
