Festivals in
Oshawa and Ajax, Ontario
     

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April 12 - 23
THE 39th ANNUAL OSHAWA-WHITBY KIWANIS MUSIC FESTIVAL
Oshawa, Whitby and Courtice

The 2010 Festival runs from Monday, April 12th through Friday April 23rd at ten different locations in Oshawa, Whitby and Courtice.

The Syllabus is on line, entries and payment may be made on line, from Dec 28th 2009 until Feb. 5th 2010.

There are four separate Free Concerts and Award Ceremonies featuring the final choices of the adjudicators and this year's Award Winners. The caliber of performances is outstanding.

Come and join us as we celebrate the successes of this year's students at the final playoffs.

For more information or to volunteer please contact Festival Coordinator, Tina-Marie Schaaf – 905-430-1455 or email: info@oshawawhitbykifest.ca

Children can explore their creativity and enjoy participating in a great variety of "artsy" activities! Activities include arts and crafts, drama, an Anime workshop and much more!

Celebrate the arts with entertainment, an Artisan's marketplace and delicious food and beverages. If you wish to apply to be considered as a vendor for the Artisans/Crafters Marketplace, please complete and submit the Vendor Application Form. For more information contact Lisa Warth at lisa.warth@townofajax.com.

Don't miss this great night celebrating Latin culture! Entertainment includes a live Cuban Band, Salsa dance lessons & a Latin DJ. Enjoy a mouth watering authentic Tapas menu including a special offering for the Ajax Festival of the Arts. For more information call (905) 426-1616, visit www.southrestaurant.ca or email info@southrestaurant.ca.

• Juke Box Jive - Following in the steps of Rock n' Roll Drive In, Juke box Jive will wisk you back to the fun-filled lifesyle of the 50's and 60's. Relive those fabulous years through the wonderful music and dances featured in this incredible musical revue.
• Dating by the Book - Total chaos ensues when a divorced woman puts all her trust in a book on dating etiquette to assist her smooth re-entry into the world of roamnce.
• The Music Man - The ever popular broadway Musical about a fast talking salesman who cons the people of an Iowa town into forming a band thatvdoesn't exist.

Call the Box Office at 800.434.5092 or 905.885.1071 or purchase online

Our goal is to provide high quality entertainment in an environment that offers the BEST customer service anywhere. We want you to keep coming back.
Remember: the best seats in the house are yours.

We hope you will visit us often and enjoy all that Port Hope Festival Theatre and the Capitol Theatre has to offer.

June 11 - 12 from 2pm-Midnight!
Pickering Village Jazz Festival
Presented by The Pickering Village BIA. Old Kingston Road, Pickering Village.

2 Stages! Our great line up of 8 exciting jazz bands. Visit our website www.pickeringvillagejazzfestival.com for the list of your favorite bands. Bring along your lawn chair and catch all the shows! Good Music! Good Fun! Good Eats! Contact Shirley Huck at shirleyhucks@yahoo.ca for more info. Also visit the BIA website at www.pickeringvillage.ca

A one day event, celebrates established and emerging Durham Region / GTA writers, poets, readers, story tellers, script writers; screen writers; songwriters. Just as musicians need listeners, so do our poets and writers. Something for everyone! We are not a book fair in which the primary objective is to sell books. This is a celebration/festival for everyone in the community in an informal atmosphere encouraging discussion and conversation among all of those in attendance. No Entry Fee.

For more information contact, Stella Ducker at 905-721-2232 or by email at stella@stellarliteraryfestival.com.

June 12 - 13
Peony Festival
Oshawa Botanical Gardens

A celebration of Canada’s largest contemporary peony collection. The festival times are 10:00 am - 4:00 pm on both days. Admission is free and don't forget to bring your camera.  

June 20 - 26
Fiesta Week

Fiesta Week could simply be described as "A TASTE OF DURHAM". It's an annual week-long Multicultural Family Festival that gives the residents of Durham Region the opportunity to experience European, Asian and Caribbean cultures and foods without having to get on a plane.

Fiesta Week starts each year on Father's Day with the Fiesta Parade (starting at 12:30 p.m.), immediately followed by the Fiesta Concert in Memorial Park. The rest of the week you can sample the food and entertainment at the various pavilions located around Oshawa.

Ajax residents and visitors are invited to "Celebrate Ajax" at 4 different venues across the beautiful waterfront. As part of the event, the Town will host a Movie in the Park down the road at Rotary Park.

Stay tuned for updates!

For more information, contact Lisa Warth at 905-619-2529, ext. 7243 or lisa.warth@townofajax.com.

August
Oshawa Jazz and Blues Festival
Various Locations In Oshawa

7th Oshawa Jazz and Blues Festival features the best of Canadian Jazz and Blues performers, local artisans, children’s entertainment, food vendors, and much more. Clear your schedule from August 4th - 10th and join us for a week of music, culture and community in the heart of Downtown Oshawa at the 2009 Oshawa Jazz and Blues Festival, Durham Regions premiere summer festival.

August
Durham Vegetarian Festival
Lakeview Park, Oshawa

Join many Oshawa volunteers, residents and guests for Durham's first Vegetarian Festival. Enjoy expert speakers, restaurant samples, displays from food stores, lifestyle and health outlets, and musical performances. The renown Isshin Daiko Japanese Drummers will be onstage at 3:30pm.

Contact Name: Durham Lakeside Vegetarians
Email: vegfest2009@hotmail.com
URL: www.veg.ca/festival

September
Oshawa Rotary Ribfest
Lakeview Park

Come to Durham’s originial, largest and most successful Ribfest, the 8th annual Oshawa Rotary Ribfest hosted by the Rotary Club of Oshawa. All proceeds from Ribfest are used by the Rotary Club of Oshawa to support children and youth activities and services in our community.

Cost: Free

Doors Open Ajax welcomes residents and visitors to tour and explore heritage and other sites of interest, hear local stories, view collections and experience a history they often never knew before. No pre-registration or tickets are required and admission is FREE. Many of the participating sites are normally closed to the public, making your visit a rare treat. Site listings will be posted on the Town Web site soon.

For more information, contact Sharlene Melnike at 905-619-2529, ext. 7232 or email sharlene.melnike@townofajax.com.

Doors Open is a province-wide celebration of community heritage designed to create access, awareness and excitement about our heritage. Doors Open provides residents and visitors with a unique opportunity to explore and enjoy sometimes hidden and always interesting places and spaces in our cities, towns and villages - all free of charge! Call 905.436.5636 x 2108 for more info.

Confirmed Sites for 2010

• Airmen Park
  1000 Stevenson Road North
  Airmen Park's focal point is a war surplus Sabre aircraft. The Park also contains plaques and other commemorative relics.

• Camp X Tours
  Intrepid Park, Boundary Road
  Year Built: 1941
  Tour at 1:00 pm each day
  Join renowned author Lynn Phillip Hodgson for an hour and a half long tour of Camp X at 1:00 both Saturday and Sunday. Meet at the monument and explore the former top secret WWII spy training school on the shores of Lake Ontario.

• Canadian Automotive Museum
  99 Simcoe Street South
  Year Built: c. 1920 
  Established in 1961 and housed in a 1920's car dealership, the museum showcases the development of the automobile with approximately 65 vehicles dating from 1898 to 1981. The building has an original freight elevator and other historical items relating to the periods of the cars.

• Cowan House
  39 Athol Street West
  Year Built: 1858
  Cowan House is a Georgian style dwelling with Italianate properties- seen in the bracketed eaves and portico elements. It was home to businessman and Mayor W. F. Cowan and his family. Today, it serves as offices and meeting rooms for St. George's Memorial Church.

• Oshawa Community Church
  71 Simcoe Street South
  Year Built: 1899
  Architect: John Wilson Siddall
  *Saturday Noon - 4*
  Built as the Presbyterian Church in 1899, the building was known as St. Andrew’s United until 1999. Now the Oshawa Community Church, this low slung Romanesque Revival gem is an asymmetrical delight. The interior space is impressive. Tours every half hour.

• Oshawa Community Museum
  1450 Simcoe Street South
  Year Built: 1846
  Guy House and Henry House are two of the three designated historic houses that comprise the museum. Located in beautiful Lakeview Park, these buildings stand on their original foundations and represent different architectural styles. The museum and archives provide visitors with a good understanding of the lives of Oshawa's early inhabitants.

• Oshawa Masonic Temple
  91 Centre Street South
  Year Built: 1928
  Architect: C.C.Stenhouse
  Constructed in the Art Deco style, the building is now home to four lodges and two concordant bodies. Shrouded in symbolism, here’s a unique chance to view the Lodge Room and Library.

• Portraits by Goguen
  191 Centre Street South
  Year Built: 1900
  An excellent example of adaptive reuse, this delightful Second Empire was built as a residence and is now used as a commercial art gallery. Note the Mansard roof, ornate porch, dormer and cupola. One of only two Second Empire houses in Oshawa.

• St. Gregory the Great Roman Catholic Church
  194 Simcoe Street North
  Year Built: 1892
  *Sunday Only 1 - 4*
  Built at the end of the 19th century in the French Romanesque style, this impressive structure sits across the road from Parkwood, the R.S. McLaughlin Estate. The interior was recently restored, much of it made locally at the William Piano Works.

• The Robert McLaughlin Gallery
  72 Queen Street
  Year Built: 1969
  Expansion 1987
  Architect: Arthur Erickson (1987)
  This remarkable building, designed by noted Canadian architect Arthur Erickson, houses varied collections and celebrates the vitality of Canadian art. View works by the Group of Seven, Emily Carr, Painters Eleven and others. Of special local interest is The Thomas Bouckley Collection and a Smith Potteries display.

• The Robert Stuart Aeronautical Collection & Camp X Exhibit
  1000 Stevenson Road North
  Year Built: 1940
  Part of a collection of buildings devoted to military history and situated on the South Field of the Oshawa Airport, this collection of military memorabilia is one of Canada's most comprehensive. Housed in two original Second World War huts, there is also a 1,000 sq. ft. display of authentic Camp-X artifacts- a significant allied wartime military secret.

• Thornton-Dundee Community Centre
  210 Thornton Road North
  Year Built: c. 1880
  Oshawa's oldest remaining schoolhouse, Union School No. 5, operated here until 1954. Second Empire in style, it is richly decorated with dichromatic brick, large wooden brackets and capped by double chimneys with an oculus design. Designated in 1999.

• Simcoe Street United Church
  66 Simcoe Street South
  Year Built: 1867-68
  Architect: Gundy & Langley
  *Saturday Only*
  Built in the year of Confederation for a Methodist congregation, this church is a fine example of the Gothic Revival style. Lancet-arched openings and a polygonal spire with pinnacles and dormers embellish the exterior. A Casavant organ, 36' ornamental timber arches and a pressed-tin ceiling dominate the interior.

• St. George's Memorial Church
  51 Centre Street South
  Year Built: 1924
  Architect: Eden Smith
  St. George's opened in the same year that Oshawa became a city. Constructed of Credit Valley sandstone in the old English Gothic-revival style, this Eden Smith designed church was considered by him to be his finest work. The buttresses and Gothic tracery are noteworthy. The tower supports a 15-bell carillon.

Admission is FREE!

Take pride in our community, embrace our diversity, and celebrate with us at the Ajax Unity Festival! The event will take place at Lion's Point, located along Lake Driveway, on September 26, from noon to 4 p.m. Don't miss "A Taste of Ajax," activities from around the world, entertainment, art displays, crafts and more!

For more information, contact Lisa Warth at 905-619-2529, ext. 7243 or e-mail lisa.warth@townofajax.com.

There will be nominal fees for some activities, pumpkins, food and beverages. Don't miss out on Pumpkinville. An annual event hosted by the Town of Ajax (Recreation & Culture). There are lots of exciting activities for the whole family, including:

• Activities & Crafts (Hosted by the Ontario Early Years Centre)
• Face Painting
• Food and Beverages at the Pumpkinville Grill
• Haunted House
• Inflatable Rides
• KenJen Petting Zoo
• Marshmallow Roast
• Pumpkin Patch and Pumpkin Carving Contest
• Spooky Science Experiments (Hosted by Girls Inc.)
• The Librarians have gone batty at Pumpkinville! Visit the Ajax Library tent to create your own bat or spider bracelet
• And don't miss the West Coast Lumberjack Show (Showtimes: Noon and 3 p.m.)
• More to be announced

Contact: Lisa Warth, 905-619-2529, ext. 7243 or lisa.warth@townofajax.com.