It’s taken a year to prepare. It was a lot of work. COVID didn’t help.

Now, despite all the challenges, they’re ready to go!

Organizers of this year’s Burlington Heritage Week celebrations have rolled out a week-long series of events to promote local history.

Between Joseph Brant Day, on Monday, August 2, and Sunday, August 8, Burlington residents can celebrate the winding down of COVID restrictions by participating in a history-themed bike tour, a pub crawl, walking tours, and much more.

Heritage Week is sponsored by the Burlington Heritage Committee in cooperation with a variety of community partners.

Aldershot resident Don Thorpe is chairman of this year’s committee. One of the events, the West Aldershot Bike Tour, is close to Thorpe’s heart and home. His narrated bike tour, on Tuesday, August 3 at 6:30 p.m., will start from the Loyalist Cemetery, eventually get to LaSalle Park, including the Joseph Brant Heritage Tree, and much more.

“We will hit all the heritage homes along the way. Not all of them are designated heritage homes, but they were owned by people important to the development of Aldershot and Burlington,” said Thorpe during a recent interview.

There are more tours.

On Thursday, August 5 at 7 p.m. there will be an hour-long walking tour of Burlington Heights.

“The southern portion [of the Heights] was designated a historic site back in 1929, because of its military history. It’s kind of neat that Burlington is attached to it and that it comes into the RBG grounds.”

Thorpe is particularly interested in the Burlington Heights tour because it includes Dundurn Castle, where his great-grandfather worked as a gardener after immigrating to Canada.

For those interested in the downtown, there will be a walking tour of Brant Street on Friday, August 6 at 6:30 p.m. It will be led by Alan Harrington of the Burlington Historical Society. It starts at the Tourism Burlington office.

The menu of tours also includes historic Kilbride. That tour, on Sunday, August 8 at 2 p.m., will touch on significant sites around the village.

For those wanting some bubbly as part of their heritage learning experience, there’s a pub crawl downtown, starting at Civic Square on Thursday, August 5 at 6:30 p.m.

Other highlights of Heritage Week include: an online hearth demonstration at Ireland House, a Royal Botanical Gardens tour of Burlington’s Honour Roll of Trees, a virtual presentation focusing on Black history, a behind-the-scenes look at the collection vault at the Art Gallery of Burlington and a virtual Doors Open event targeting local businesses.

Complementing the plans for Heritage Week is the work of another Aldershot resident.

History buff David Craig, who is also a member of the Heritage Week organizing committee, has a special talent for collecting and restoring old photos of Burlington. In cooperation with the Burlington Historical Society, Craig has prepared a series of ten different posters celebrating Burlington’s history.

“History gives us a sense of community and also shows us where we’ve come from and where we’re going. If you don’t look at the past, you don’t understand the present and the future.” said Craig.

One of David Craig’s posters.

Craig didn’t stop there. He has prepared a series of short “Burlington History Moments” on video. They can be seen on YouTube and are frequently broadcast on Cogeco’s Your TV. Topics include Burlington churches, the Brant Inn, business on Brant Street, Port Nelson, and farming history.

“I like doing the videos. There’s a sense of satisfaction that I’ve educated people and stimulated some interest.”

Craig originally trained in image art at university, but now uses modern computer systems to retouch the old photos. He is the magic behind the utility box displays along Plains Road in Aldershot.

Other partners in the Heritage Week program are the Burlington Historical Society, the Royal Botanical Gardens, the Burlington Public Library, Museums of Burlington, the United Empire Loyalists’ Association, Freeman Station, the Halton Black History Awareness Society, and Halton Region.

Here’s where you can find more information: