Get into Glasgow with.... Doors open Day

One of the best ways to see Glasgow, inside and out, this festival celebrates Glasgow, its buildings, streets, rivers, sculptures, squares,  and parks.  After 20 years the event, like Glasgow itself, grows and evolves with fresh new sights to see.    From Wednesday 16th through to Friday 18th September there are talks, seminars.  During the weekend of Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th September over 140 buildings will be open with FREE entry – 26 of which are new to the programme this year.

So, look through the brochure and decide how to make the most of the Festival and your city!  You should also visit our dedicated website, www.glasgowdoorsopenday.com where there is a wealth of information, last minute alterations and late additions.  Entry to the buildings and most of the events is free – a few might ask for a donation.  As usual there is a free shuttle bus service to Provan Hall and Carmunnock Conservation Village – via the spectacular Castlemilk Stables.  There is also an open topped City Sightseeing bus tour including 6 stops through the city – there is a charge for this, £3!

Some things, especially the walks, will be in great demand so please check to see if you have to book in advance.

Just a few of the highlights:

• Don’t miss the annual Buildings & Conservation exhibition at St Andrew’s in the Square, open 10-4 all weekend.
• We have added postcodes to help in the location of the buildings you want to visit – just go to www.google.com/maps  and enter the postcode. 
• 26 new buildings including the historic Fairfield Shipyard Offices – the finest of their kind in Britain.
• 27 Guided walks and one self-guided walk, including for the first time ‘Merchant City Women’s Heritage Walking Tour’.
• Launch of the East End Heritage Trail, developed by Glasgow City Council – a walking tour in two parts over two days!
• Unveiled for the first time is the all new Trongate 103, containing 8 arts based organisations under one roof, with tours and activities for all.
• A very special public art event – Andy Scott (of ‘The Heavy Horse’ on the M8 fame) is throwing open his studio in Maryhill.  A ‘not to be missed’ opportunity to hear him talk and see his workshop.
• The Mackintosh Experience Bus Tour – free over the Doors Open Day weekend only – the easiest way to get round the Mackintosh sites in this Year of Homecoming.
• The Stewart Memorial Fountain has been repaired and flows once more in Kelvingrove Park.
• Being unveiled for the first time is the all new Trongate 103, containing 8 arts based organisations under one roof, with tours and activities for all.
• Architecture and Built Heritage Thursday will feature Malcolm Fraser on the Scottish Ballet new base at the Tramway, Ian Manson will talk about Bridgeton Cross and from China, Rong Zhu will discuss the four key challenges faced by most traditional Chinese cities during the process of regeneration, Sarah MacKinnon will then discuss the challenges faced by building preservation trusts while they are engaged with saving buildings in Scotland.
• Glasgow Museums Resource Centre at Nitshill are opening for the weekend and offering guided tours of their vaults, a drop in course on research and an event for children.
• We are launching ‘Sustainability Friday’!  A whole day of seminars at St Andrew’s in the Square talking about building sustainability and sustainability of historic buildings.
• For all you film theatre bugs celebrate the 70th birthday of the Glasgow Film Theatre with a talk about Glasgow’s cinemas with Neil Baxter.
• The Lighthouse - Scotland’s Centre for Architecture, Design & the City – is offering up a cornucopia of events, including storytelling about the River Clyde, an afternoon of creative drawing and a screening of ‘The Great Ships.
• Want to know more about apprenticeships?  Then the open day at City Building’s Skills Centre may interest you!
• Also in celebration of our River, Clyde Waterfront partnership has organised a special boat trip up and ‘doon the water’ and an exhibition in the Pearce Institute at the heart of Govan – the newly produced Clyde Heritage exhibition.
• There will be a photography competition again, and this year we are partnering the Merchant City Festival and Street Level Photoworks (at Trongate 103), and asking for your photographic impressions of the city.
• Discounts and special offers on food and refreshments over the weekend – see the offers throughout the brochure.

This is the Year of Homecoming and where there is a Homecoming element we have added a Homecoming symbol.

So, grab a coffee, sit down and enjoy the brochure and then in due course the event!

If you would like to find out all about all the different Doors Open Days weekends across Scotland go to www.doorsopendays.org.uk where there is all the information you may need!