Jane’s Walk weekend a chance to explore our cities
It’s hyperlocal, global and distinctly Canadian
It’s Jane’s Walk weekend, the 12th annual return of this “festival of free, citizen-led walking conversations inspired by Jane Jacobs.”
It’s local — hyperlocal, in fact — exploring neighbourhoods, discovering “hidden stories” around the communities we live in. It’s also global: last year, some 1,700 walks were presented in 225 cities representing 37 countries over six continents.
And distinctly Canadian: the project office is in Toronto. Almost a quarter of those 200-plus participating cities are in Canada.
At the time of writing, there were 28 walks in the works for this year.
A few happened Friday, including an introductory “Downtown Kitchener is Walker’s Paradise,” and one I think could be adapted to good ends by the arts community: a “Newcomer Welcome Stroll” in Cambridge.
Even though this is last-minute notice, I thought that writing something about the arts, culture and heritage aspects of this year’s Jane’s Walks offering might be suitable. Examples include:
• “Walking the Ideas of Robert Sawyer,” i.e., the ideas of science fiction writer Robert J. Sawyer, whose “Wake/Watch/Wonder” trilogy is set in Waterloo with emphasis on the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics (Saturday, 10 a.m.);
• “Public Art in Downtown Kitchener” led by visual artist Michelle Purchase (Saturday, 11 a.m.);
• Two sketching tours in Kitchener: “In Situ — Sketching Victoria Park” with Mila Wiggins and Elyn Lin (Saturday, 2 p.m.); and “Perspectives on Development through Sketching” with Trent Bauman (Sunday, 1:30 p.m.);
• “Kitchener’s Industrial Heritage” led by visual artist Nicholas Rees (Sunday, 3 p.m.); and
• “A Handmaid’s Tale,” a guided walk covering the locations used for filming the award-winning television series (Cambridge; Sunday, 2 p.m.).
Offerings touching on the culinary arts include a “Craft Beer Cycle Tour” in Waterloo (Saturday, 11 a.m.) and “It’s a Brewtiful Day” covering independent coffee shops in downtown Kitchener (Sunday, 9:30 a.m.).
Besides Rees’s walk, the portion of the program related to architecture and heritage is too extensive to summarize: “Growing Up in West Galt” (Saturday, 1 p.m.); “Heritage Tour of Bridgeport West” (Saturday, 2 p.m.); “Mary Allen Stories” (Waterloo, Saturday, 1:30 p.m.); “Differently, We Are the Same” (spiritual buildings in Up Town Waterloo Saturday, 1:30 p.m.); “History of Rockway Gardens” (Kitchener, Sunday, 2 p.m.).
Which segues into horticulture and beyond that, forests, landforms and such: “Green Connections” (about greenbelts in Waterloo’s Beechwood neighbourhood, Saturday, 10 a.m.); “Living Levee Trail” (Cambridge, Sunday, 1 p.m.); “Victoria Park Forest” (Cambridge, Sunday, 3:30 p.m.).
This covers almost the entire Jane’s Walks Waterloo Region program for 2018.
Does it make sense to separate out the arts, culture and heritage aspects of Jane’s Walk Waterloo Region? I’m not sure, just as I’m not sure if this is entertainment or something altogether different, or where it fits in the “live, work, play” spectrum.
The guided walk is a distinct form — an art form, perhaps. It is part of a broader category that includes talks, lectures, workshops, discussions, colloquia, seminars, courses and so forth. This kind of offering certainly belongs in the “what’s on” listings, but there is more here than just entertainment or play.
Let’s just say that the Jane’s Walks happening this weekend are about being alive here in our cities.
As a post script, it’s worth mentioning that ACO (Architectural Conservancy Ontario) Cambridge & North Dumfries is presenting what could be described as a Jane’s Walk fringe event this afternoon. They’re launching a new “Heritage Matters Here” speaker series with a lecture titled “Carlos Ventin: The Bright Future of the Past.” The speaker is architect and planner Paul Sapounzi.
It’s a talk, not a walk, and it’s not free unless you’re an ACO member. It starts at 2 p.m. today at the David Durward Centre, second floor activity centre (enter through Cambridge Centre for the Arts — fully accessible). The cost is $8 at the door; everyone is welcome. janeswalks.org janeswalkwr.wordpress.com www.arconserv.ca