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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPSD-047-15 Clarftwn Planning Services Report If this information is required in an alternate accessible format, please contact the Municipal Clerk at 905-623-3379 ext. 2102. Report To: Planning and Development Committee Date of Meeting: September 14, 2015 Report Number: PSD-047-15 Resolutions Number: File Number: PLN 34.6.13 By-law Number: Report Subject: Clarington Heritage Week 2015 Recommendations: 1. That Report PSD-047-15 be received for information. Municipality of Clarington Report PSD-047-15 Page 2 Report Overview The Clarington Heritage Week Committee has been hosting Heritage Week events since 2013. In previous years the events were held in February, coinciding with Ontario Heritage Week; however, this year the events were moved to August to explore more ways to engage residents. Clarington Heritage Week has grown each year since 2013 and continued this year, including branding the event with a logo. Heritage Week 2015 focused on guided walking tours of Bowmanville, Newcastle, Orono, Tyrone and Newtonville. Self-guided walking tours were created in the five communities and brochures for the self-guided tours can be picked up at the Clarington Museum and Clarington Tourism. 1 . Background In 1985, the Ontario government declared the third week in February Heritage Week province wide. Since that time many organizations within Clarington have used the week to stimulate awareness of heritage resources and heritage-related issues within the Municipality. While many different events were occurring during this week they were often independent of other organizations events and there was a lack of unity between the events throughout the week. In 2012, a number of organizations in Clarington came together to create the Clarington Heritage Week Committee. The Committee included representatives from the Clarington Heritage Committee, Clarington Museum and Archives, Visual Arts Centre of Clarington, Clarington branch of the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario, the Newcastle Village and District Historical Society, Clarington Older Adults Association, and the Bowmanville Business Improvement Area. The Clarington Heritage Committee put on Heritage Week events in 2013, 2014, and again in 2015. In 2013 and 2014 the Committee kept Heritage Week in February, coinciding with Heritage Week province wide. While the events in 2013 and 2014 were successful, there was a limit to the type of events that could occur due to the often harsh winter weather during February. In 2015, the committee decided to move Clarington Heritage Week to August 10 to 16. In addition to the change in the timing of the event a new organization, Clarington Tourism, joined the committee. 2. Heritage Week 2015 For the 2015 events a logo was created by the Heritage Week Committee in an attempt to brand the event, helping residents and businesses identify the event for years to come. Branding the event will hopefully encourage other organizations to join and contribute to Heritage Week in the future. Municipality of Clarington Report PSD-047-15 Page 3 Figure 1: Heritage Week Logo HERITAGE WEEK AUGUST 10 - 16, 2015 The main events in Heritage Week 2015 were guided walking tours in five of the communities in Clarington; Bowmanville, Newcastle, Orono, Tyrone, and Newtonville. The guided tours were led by local experts Charles Taws, Kim Vaneyk, Myno Van Dyke, Erla Jose, Sher Leetooze, and Charles Crowther. The guided walking tours were offered on the same evenings as concert in the park events in the respective communities in an attempt to cross promote and engage residents in multiple events. The Clarington Museum presented a theatrical production to 175 attendees, running the entire week using the Bowmanville Museum, The Jury House, a designated heritage building as the setting. In addition, Eric Bowman's art work of historical buildings in Clarington is on display for the month of August in the mezzanine of the Clarington Library. To add to the momentum and support of Heritage Week 2015 the committee created self- guided historical tour brochures in four of the communities featured during Heritage Week. The Newcastle Village and District Historical Society had previously created a brochure for Newcastle. These brochures will allow residents and visitors to discover the history of these communities on their own time at later dates. The brochures will be available for residents and visitors to pick up at the Clarington Tourism office and at the Sarah Jane Williams Heritage Centre. The brochures have been provided to Council members (under separate cover). Heritage Week was promoted in Clarington and Oshawa This Week, The Orono Times, through rack cards, banners and posters and through social media (Twitter and Facebook). The event was sponsored by Ontario Power Generation. The Committee is exploring the next steps of putting the self-guided tours in an accessible format so they can be posted to the Clarington Tourism and Clarington Heritage websites, allowing users to access the self-guided tours on their mobile devices. Municipality of Clarington Report PSD-047-15 Page 4 The guided walking tours saw approximately 120 participants, an average of 20 participants per tour, over the six tours (Newcastle held two tours). Bowmanville saw the largest tour with 30 participants. Some participants were non-residents however, the majority were local residents interested in learning more about the communities in Clarington. Many participants attended multiple tours and indicated they would like to see more opportunities to engage in these type of activities in the community. In addition to looking for more opportunities of this kind, participants commented on how much they learned and discovered about Clarington's many communities throughout the week of events. The committee looks forward to continuing to grow Clarington Heritage Week, engaging more organizations and residents, while providing tourism opportunities, as they promote and celebrate Clarington's rich built, cultural and natural heritage. 3. Conclusion Clarington Heritage Week 2015 was the first time that Heritage Week was hosted outside of February. Moving the events into the summer months allowed for the walking tours to be the main focus. In addition, for 2015 the events were held in multiple communities within Clarington. This was a great success as it made Heritage Week 2015 truly Clarington Heritage Week and allowed people to discover areas of the Municipality that they may not often travel to. The self-guided brochures are a legacy of Clarington Heritage Week 2015 that the Heritage Week Committee hopes will lead to more of these initiatives and provides another way to engage residents in Clarington's heritage. The Committee is hoping that branding the event will provide for more support and recognition in future years and allow the event to continue to grow. 4. Strategic Plan Application Heritage Week helps to showcase our agriculture and "small town" feel. Submitted by: Reviewed b — f J. Crome, MCIP, RPP Franklin Wu, Director of Planning Services Chief Administrative Officer Staff Contact: Brandon Weiler, Planner, 905-623-3379 ext. 2424 or bweiler @clarington.net There are no interested parties to be notified of Council's decision. BW/FL/df