Call for Ideas

• February 6: Submission deadline: Submit Doors Open California ideas, including descriptions, photos, and access details.
• March 6: Early access registration for Doors Open California Programs offered to CPF Members and Partners.
• March 27: Doors Open California Public registration opens to the general public.
• September 9 – 10, 2023: Doors Open California Tours & Programs (across the state)

Doors Open California Partners are critical to making this event creative, inclusive, and compelling. Partners could be nonprofit organizations, firms, local governments, educational institutions, museums, property owners, or anyone interested in sharing a special, unique place in their community that is worth recognizing and protecting.

Partners tap into CPF’s international audience of more than 25,000 supporters and followers. 

We are looking for behind-the-scenes or special access to unique, threatened, and/or preserved buildings or sites in your community. Doors Open could include walking tours, visits to the hidden vaults of local museums, access to the behind-the-scenes areas of historic buildings. As part of the tour, Partners may delve into the uniquely Californian history of places in your community, such as the history of neon lighting, social justice movements, food histories, art histories, and more.

Being a Doors Open California partner is simple. You just open the doors to the public and show visitors a special place, tell an untold story, or show your visitors why this place, your place, matters. You will need to have a staff member, volunteer, or local expert available to lead your Doors Open site for the date of your experience. We can help connect you with a volunteer if you need extra support.

Experiences could include:

1. Guided walking tours of a specific historic building, site, or neighborhood.
2. Access “behind the scenes” – a unique look at architecture, landscapes, or infrastructure from a different perspective.
3. Unique experiences at places that typically charge an admission fee – consider waiving the admission fee for this Doors Open California day.
4. Self-guided tours (curated by paper guide, phone application, or podcast)

At the Experience location, additional programming could include:

1. Special informal lectures on unique topics
2. Community watch party of a documentary or feature film, followed by a panel discussion or Q&A.

Open Doors

You will arrange a time with CPF to be available at your location and CPF will promote it to its partners and network. You can choose to be available on one day or both days of the Doors Open California event. 

Special Access

If there are constraints on the number of people you can accommodate, or if you require attendees to pre-register and reserve a spot for your event, then Special Access allows you to limit the size of your group. CPF will handle all registration – you will simply arrange for your on-site expert to lead or monitor the registered attendees.

Self Guided Adventure

You will need to create or provide CPF with a paper guide, phone app, or podcast (or distribute hard copy guides at the beginning of your Doors Open California event). These self-guided programs are ideal if you are highlighting a larger area or cultural landscape that must be explored on foot, bike, or other modes of transportation.

Virtual Passport

Virtual passport programs allow a much larger audience to see what makes your community or historic place special. CPF has a 15-year history of providing virtual/online programming and can make available any completed or already produced online programming you would like to share, such as virtual or pre-recorded tours.

Sample events can be found at our First Annual Doors Open California page, which may help inspire your ideas. A full listing of last year’s Doors Open events can also be found at: https://californiapreservation.org/files/DoorsOpenDescriptions.pdf

2021 Doors Open included more than 40 distinct events held across the state, including…

• SoMa LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District Tour
• Special Access to the Warnecke Architectural Archives
• Filoli Mansion and Grounds – Special Behind-the-Scenes Greenhouse Tour and Museum Access
• Stockton Gurdwara: The First Sikh Institution in the United States
• Chew Kee Store Museum & Home – A Century-long Legacy Frozen in time – Tour and Tea Drinking Experience
• Backstage Tour of the Ebell Woman’s Club

Our partner guide (available at: https://californiapreservation.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/2023DOCA_PartnerInformation.pdf) should answer all of your questions. You will also find it below:

If your proposal is accepted, you will receive an invitation to our Live online informational session, scheduled for February 13, 2023 where all of your questions can be answered about COVID-19 protocols, volunteers, and more.