A series of Jane's Walks will be held throughout Huron County this weekend as part of the global festival that runs May 2 to 4.
This will be Huron County's second year in a row partaking in the festival.
Amy Zoethout, Marketing and Branding Coordinator with Huron Cultural Services, explains where the idea came from.
"Jane's Walk events have been happening worldwide for several years," she said. "They're inspired by Jane Jacobs, a Canadian-American writer, urbanist, and activist who really championed community-based approach to city-building, so these walks are a celebration of her work."
Zoethout says, in the past, there were walks organized by individuals before Huron County Cultural Services started organizing them in 2024.
"It's just a way to encourage people to get out in their communities, meet their neighbours,and learn more about the communities that they live in," she said.
This weekend's five walks will all offer something new compared to last year's.
"These are new walks this year and there's great representation from across the county," said Zoethout. "There's a little something for everybody, whether you're a history buff or just want to get out and get active, it's going to be a great weekend to do that."
Walks taking place throughout the weekend include a wellness walk on the Storytime Trail in Exeter on Friday at 10:30 a.m.
On Saturday, there will be a tour of the Colborne Cemetery at 1 p.m. and an archival tour of Bayfield’s Heritage Main Street at 11 a.m.
Zoethout says that tour will show off a new app developed by University of Waterloo graduate student Ben Woodward.
"That's an exciting one because they're going to be testing out a new app they have that augments reality of the history of the Main Street and shows images and the history of the buildings along the way, so that's a cool one," she said.
Finally, there will be a guided walk around the Square to learn about the commercial block buildings in Goderich by architect John Rutledge taking place Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m., and a walk that shares how the Huron Historic Gaol was saved on Sunday at 11 a.m.
All walks are free to take part in and will go ahead this weekend rain or shine. To find out more about the walks, visit Huron County's website.
