Why this year's Jane's Walk wants to focus on diverse histories

Community, diversity and history is the focus for this year's Windsor-Essex Jane's Walk. 

The annual walking festival, named after writer and activist Jane Jacobs, encourages residents to learn about the history and communities of their city.

The Windsor-Essex edition is being held over two weekends. The first took place from April 28 to April 30, with a variety of walks in Leamington, Amherstburg, Kingsville, McGregor and Colchester. The second weekend will take place in Windsor-Tecumseh and will run until May 5.

"This is an opportunity every year for people to come together with whatever project, area, neighbourhood they're interested in and it's an opportunity to share," Windsor-Essex Jane's Walk festival organizer Sarah Morris told CBC News.

"Jane Jacobs believed cities are for people ... Being able to go and talk to your neighbours and be part of a community is really important." 

"We're an incredibly diverse and historic place," Morris said. "One important part of Jane's Walk every year is to highlight different communities within our larger community...Every year is a different opportunity to bring focus to different parts of the community."

Over this weekend, Morris says that walks will take place that highlight the Black history of the McDougall Street corridor, as well as a walk dedicated to LGBTQ culture. 

One walking tour that is taking place is entitled "Greatest Steel Town That Never Existed: History of Ojibway." The walk is guided by local museum worker and radio station manager Walter Petrichyn, and takes attendees through the history of Ojibway — where a U.S. Steel Corporation proposal to start a plant on the land never came to fruition.

"The reason why I chose Black Oak is, if you look at historical maps, the place where Black Oak park is right now, that would have been the the actual location of the ... plant," Petrichyn said. "It's funny because there's not really going to be any buildings I'm going to point out,  it's really the significance of of being in the park, and that it is a park in the 2023." 

The tour will take place in Black Oak Heritage Park on Sunday morning. 

"I think a lot of folks in our region really deeply care about these urban parks ... But I think with this information they might have a greater sense of appreciation for it."