Weathering Doors Open at Guild Park

Unseasonal May weather didn't dampen the spirits of the more than 200 Doors Open participants who learned why Toronto's Guild Park & Gardens is the playground for the arts.

Doors Open participants at Guild Park's Neighbourhood Tour (May 24, 2025) do some creative choreography on-stage at the park's historic Greek Theatre, thanks to Guild Festival Theatre

Despite a weekend of cool, windy and wet condtions, visitors on the Doors Open Neighbour Tours got to see the park's unique architectural artifacts, hear about the personalities who shaped the Guild and touch the on-site artistic works created on-site.

About half the people who enjoyed Guild Park May 24 - 25, were first-time visitors. Some coming from as far away as Ottawa, Vancouver, New York City and Mauritius. Everyone heard about how in 1932 philanthropists, Rosa and Spencer Clark created Canada's first artists' community at their home, site of today's Guild Park.

The Greek Theatre is part of Guild Park's "creative playground" explored during Doors Open 2025

The series of Doors Open walks this weekend #DO25, hosted by members of Friends of Guild Park, opened the eyes and minds of those unfamilar with the arts legacy of the 88-acre site along the Scaborough Bluffs.

Friends of Guild Park members led Doors Open participants through the "creative playground" at Guild Park & Gardens, site of the historic Guild of All Arts.ear the Scarborough Bluffs.

Among the Canadian creators featured on this Doors Open outdoor walk were the works or images of sculptors E.B. Cox and Sorel Etrog. musician Sir Ernest MacMillan and architect Ron Thom. All of them used Guild Park for inspiration or a place to display their creativity.

To demonstrate the innate creativity of all of us, members of Guild Festival Theatre were on hand during each tour and invited Doors Open participants to become performers by reciting a few well-known lines from a classic Shakespeare play. Those attending three of these Doors Open walking tours took to the stage of Guild Park's landmark Greek Theatre.

Rain during the weekend's final tour meant the impromptu public performace took place in the shelter of the Sculptor's Cabin. Regardless of the venue, Doors Open participants got a taste of artistic play at Guild Park. Thanks to our colleagues from Guild Festival Theatre for turning unsuspecting park tourists into performance thespians!

When the rain came to Guild Park, the Doors Open Neighbourhood Tours continued inside Sculpto's Cabin - a creative sanctuary for generations of artists.

The bonus Doors Open attraction at Guild Park had the Clark Centre for the Arts welcome visitors with artist demonstrations, exhibitions and spectacular third-floor views of the adjacent Carolinian forest.

Appreciation goes to the City of Toronto for organizing more than 150 Doors Open experiences in 2025. The Doors Open Neighbourhood Walks at Guild Park also benefited from the two Doors Open volunteers, Fahad and Peter, who helped guide visitors as they explored the artistic playground at Guild Park.

Doors Open volunteers, Friends of Guild Park members and local community residents welcomed hundreds of people to Guild Park's Neighbourhood Tours, May 24-25, 2025