Wychwood Barns

The Global Roots Garden begins at the start of spring to late fall in Barn #5. The public garden provides an ethnic oriented space for seniors and youth. Seniors and youth are provided with a garden to harvest vegetables and plants that are commonly grown in their ethnic culture while simultaneously educating one another. The Global Roots Garden enforces a sense of community. Ethnic gardens range from Tibetan, Italian, Filipino, Polish, Latino-American, South Asian, and Chinese while the youth are provided with their own garden space.[12]

The Brewery Market takes place on summer Sundays in Barn #4. The events are held in the Sheltered Garden of The Stop's Green Barn, which is partially covered and outdoors, making it a pleasant summertime spot for a beer. On each Brewery Market Sunday, one can sample beers from a different craft brewery, with a number of different beers available. Eleven breweries in total were featured in The Brewery Market's summer 2011 series. Partial proceeds from The Brewery Market help support The Stop's many healthy food initiatives, which include community kitchens and gardens programs, community advocacy, urban agriculture projects, sustainable food systems education and perinatal care programs.[13]

Music in the Barns, Studio 164 at the Artscape Wychwood Barns, is a nexus for exploring and creating new avenues in the advancement of classical music. Music in the Barns functions as performer, presenter, and educator, by presenting events, concerts and educational opportunities. Its resident ensemble, The Music in the Barns Chamber Ensemble is made up of 8 leading musicians, gathering some of the most interesting and creative classical musicians in North America.[14]

On Thursday August 4, 2011, the inaugural summer concert was performed, featuring works by J.S. Bach, W.A. Mozart, R.V. Williams and A. Piazzolla.[15]

In 1996, abandoned and deserted, Wychwood Barns future was not promising. Plans for demolition and sale were scheduled until Toronto Councilor Joe Mihevc proposed a heritage study for Wychwood Barns.[16] Formally declared a site of heritage for the city of Toronto, the abandoned street car building can no longer be used for its purpose it was built for. Due to by-laws against demolishing a heritage site, Wychwood Barns used the adaptive reuse approach to restoring the site. Other examples of adaptive reuse in Toronto can be found in the Distillery District and Brickworks.

Wychwood Barns has become an influential site of adaptive reuse in Toronto. The successful adaptive use of space can be seen in its multiple communal amenities created by the community and provided to the community and public. The quote by Jane Jacobs that states, "Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody" [17] is apparent in the infrastructure, amenities, and events held in Wychwood Barns.

Wychwood Open Door holds its annual Trivia Night Fundraiser at the Wychwood Barns. The event was first held on March 7, 2009 and has occurred every year since. The event attracts more than 300 people and typically sells out. Event organizers have called it Toronto's largest live trivia game. Teams of 10 compete against each other in a live trivia game similar to Trivial Pursuit. The event is a fundraiser for a neighbourhood charity called the Wychwood Open Door, which is a drop-in centre, providing free meals and other services for community members. Many people living with poverty, social isolation regularly go to the Wychwood Open Door. Trivia Night is the Wychwood Open Door's largest fundraising activity. Trivia Night was hosted by broadcaster Liza Fromer in 2016 and 2017. In 2018 it was hosted by CBC news anchor, Dwight Drummond. Other hosts have included Broadcasters, Kevin Sylvester and Gill Deacon.