Huron County's Historic Gaol is looking for volunteers for this summer's Behind the Bars event.
Behind the Bars Coordinator Kyra Lewis says they usually have about twenty five volunteers that are twelve years old or older.
“We provide them with a profile of all of the information that we have in our records, in our jail registry. And then it's actually really exciting, they get to delve into that material and do their best to recreate what that person would have been like when they were spending time at the jail," explained Lewis.
The volunteers become the person they've researched, and Lewis says they then interact with visitors and answer questions as if they were that person.
“It's a great way for us to humanize our history, to have these people portray people who really existed in our county's past. It's really neat to have this information and also interpret in a way that really allows the public to understand the people that actually built the community," Lewis added.
Lewis says visitors are invited to ask as many questions as they like and it's a very interesting experience for the visitors and the volunteers.
Behind the Bars tours run every Tuesday and Thursday evening through July and August, and Lewis says she'd like to have spoken with all of her volunteers by the first week in June. Anyone interested in becoming a volunteer can email her at klewis@huroncounty.ca.
