Experience 'Scents in the City' and other Windsor history through Jane's Walks
Take a walk through the smells of downtown Windsor — good, bad, and yeasty.
The "Scents in the City" tour is one 19 Jane's Walks being held around the city this coming weekend, and you're invited to check them out.
"It is something that, throughout the pandemic, we became very interested in — the idea that... when you lose your sense of smell, what do you lose in experiencing the world?" said Sarah Morris, a Jane's Walk organizer and leader of the "Scents in the City" tour.
"I started thinking about, how do we experience the city? How do we connect to the past, how do we think about the environment? All through the idea of our nose."
According to Morris, there's plenty to smell downtown — from the aromas of great food, to the yeasty odours of breweries and the Hiram Walker distillery,
Jane's Walk Windsor-Essex organizer Sarah Morris is shown in a file photo. (Stacey Janzer/CBC)
More than 30 Jane's Walks have been planned for 2024. A dozen were held in Essex County last weekend, with a successful response.
Chris Carter led a tour of the village of Olinda — described as "Essex's only ghost town."
The village area at one time accounted for two-thirds of Essex County's population. Participating Jane's Walkers were able to tour a block of the formerly bustling mining and manufacturing community.
LISTEN: Olinda — Essex County's only ghost town
There's more to experience in Windsor this weekend, May 3 to 5, Morris said.
Available tours include some that are familiar to locals, such as a stroll through Sandwich Town and an exploration of labour history in Ford City. But there are also new walks, such as a visit to Maidstone Museum.
"This year, for our Windsor-Tecumseh weekend, we're really expanding into new neighborhoods and new topics... really bringing our community to life through these different topics and these different guided walking tours," Morris said.
"It's an opportunity to really to get a sampler throughout the weekend of all of these different groups and organizations that maybe you haven't heard of before."
Jane's Walks are named after famed American-Canadian urban activist and theorist Jane Jacobs. The first events were held in Toronto in 2007. Today, Jane's Walks take place in more than 300 cities.
While many of the tours are walking tours, Morris said there are several that are self-guided and suitable for people with mobility concerns.
The purpose of Jane's Walks, Morris said, is to "explore somewhere familiar."
"You know, when people travel around the world, whether they're going to Paris or New York, one of the big things that people love to do is go on walking tours," she said.
"But how cool is it to learn about where you live, and to really dig deeper in the places that maybe you're driving by every day, or maybe you've never been to, in the region?
"I find that, right now, so many of our interactions are behind screens. This is an opportunity — for free — to get out, meet your neighbours, come together, and really experience the city, in real life."
All walks are free to attend and no registration is required. Walks take place rain or shine, except during dangerous weather conditions such as lightning or high winds.
Visit windsorjaneswalk.ca to examine the schedule and starting points for various walks. All walks end at the location where they start, and the route is usually completed in 60 minutes.
