Durham’s Ultimate Women’s Show taking place on November 20 & 21 at the Durham College in the Recreation & Wellness Centre will be a truly femalelicious, sensational, entertaining and exciting weekend out for each and every woman visiting with over 75 exhibits.

This show presents the ideal opportunity to shop, learn, participate and enjoy! There will be interactive exhibits and companies that will appeal to all senses – showcasing products and services for women of all ages.

For exhibitor and visitor information visit www.ultimatewomensshow.com – Admission $5.00 at the door.

Join the Ladies Auxiliary for the Fall Fashion Show and Cocktail Party featuring NYGARD.

Date: Thursday October 21, 2010
Location: Royal Canadian Legion Hall – 471 Simcoe St. S. Oshawa

Doors open at 6:00 pm; Show starts at 7:00 pm.
There will be plenty of appetizing finger foods!

Door prizes $10.00 per person includes one complementary cocktail or glass of wine.

For more information call Eleanor at 905-576-7876 for tickets.

Culture Days is a movement across Canada to raise the awareness, accessibility, participation and engagement of all Canadians in the arts and cultural life of their communities. So what does this mean for Oshawa residents and tourists? It means you have a lot of fun activities you can attend and get involved with!

Oshawa Community Museum and Archives
Date: September 25 & 26, 2010
Location: 1450 Simcoe Street South, Oshawa, Ontario

This site will be open as part of Doors Open Oshawa on September 25 & 26, 2010. From April to October each year, communities across the province open the doors to some of their most intriguing and charming heritage sites – some of which have never been open to the public. The Ontario Heritage Trust invites you to experience these hidden treasures first-hand at one of this year’s 55 Doors Open Ontario events.

The Thomas Bouckley Collection at the Regent Theatre
Date: September 25 & 26, 2010
Location: 50 King Street Oshawa, Oshawa , Ontario

The Robert McLaughlin Gallery, in partnership with Heritage Oshawa, is pleased to showcase the Thomas Bouckley Collection of Historical Photographs at the recently renovated Regent Theatre in downtown Oshawa. The Regent is showing a film made by Ewart McLaughlin (son of George McLaughlin) highlighting various events in Oshawa between the years 1926-1929. McLaughlin used a 16 mm film, which has since been transferred to a DVD format, and has a running time of 26 minutes. Fans of local history, culture and architecture as well as film buffs and photography fans are encouraged to enjoy this event.

Glass Studio Open House
Date: September 25 & 26, 2010
Location: 839 Greystone Court, Oshawa, Oshawa, Ontario

Don is an artist whose primary medium is Kilnformed Glass. Don’s studio is a treat in itself to see. It is here that he creates his beautiful pieces of art much to the enjoyment of his many faithful followers. Don’s studio will be open from 10 am until 5 pm.

Robert Stuart Aeronautical Museum and Camp X Exhibit
Date: September 25 & 26, 2010
Location: 1000 Stevenson Road North, Oshawa, Ontario

This collection of military memorabilia, one of Canada’s most comprehensive, is housed in two huts erected in 1940. Originally used for a Second World War flight training program, they are now devoted to military history and genealogy. Don’t miss the display of authentic artifacts from Camp X, a secret Allied military school. Open Saturday and Sunday 12pm to 4pm.

Camp X
Location: Intrepid Park, Boundary Road, Oshawa, Ontario

Join renowned author Lynn Philip Hodgson for a 90-minute tour of Camp X at 1 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday. Meet at the monument to explore the remains of the former top-secret Second World War spy training school on the shores of Lake Ontario. Open Saturday and Sunday 1pm to 2:30pm.

According to statistics, a person in Canada is in need of blood every 60 seconds. In an effort to address that dire need, the City of Oshawa and Lakeridge Health are organizing a blood donation battle – the first of its kind in the city. The two factions will be competing against each other to see which side can draw in the most blood donations during the months of May and June.

It may be for a good cause, but both sides are taking this competition seriously.

Oshawa Mayor John Gray is apparently excited to get the ball rolling, and is busy making preparations for the event.

He and Lakeridge Health CEO and president Kevin Empey have a standing bet: if the City wins, Empey will be in charging of mowing grass at the city’s parks and city hall. Mayor Gray is so confident of winning that he even joked that Empey will have a lot of mowing to do, since he’ll make sure to locate the weediest parks for him.

If Lakeridge Health wins on the other hand, Empey will have the mayor and his staff serve meals to Lakeridge Health Oshawa’s patients. The hospital even has a dish cloth and scrubs with the mayor’s name on them, Empey taunted back.

Judy Compton, who works with the Canadian Blood Services, is excited to see both sides ready to pitch in for a worthy cause.

It’s that time of the year once again to pay tribute and celebrate our moms & motherhood in general. And doing just that is the Oshawa Community Museum, which will be busy serving tea to visitors on Mother’s Day, May 6.

The Mother’s Day event features a light lunch, with an in-depth tour of the museum taking place shortly afterwards. Admission is pegged at $10 for adults and $5 for kids ages 12-years-old and below. The fee covers the sandwiches, scones, and dessert along with an intimate tour of the museum’s new exhibit, “Lights, Cameras, Lenses”.

The first round of tea will be served at exactly 11:30 in the morning—right before lunch—with another sitting taking place at 1:30 in the afternoon.

For inquiries and reservations, call 905-436-7624 ext. 106 and look for Ashley or Jill. Be sure to call ahead since walk-ins during the event will not be entertained. Seats are limited, so grab this opportunity now! You can pay for your reservations via cash, debit, Visa, or Master Card.

If you’re looking to celebrate Mother’s Day with your mother or wife, then why not do something unique and join this event? It’s a Mother’s Day you’ll surely remember for many years to come.

Time: 7:30pm – 12:30am
Date: April 9th
Address: Oshawa Legion – 471 Simcoe St. S
Tickets: $15 in advance available from Rhythm Dynamix Dance till March 4th or $20 @ the door.

*** Singles and couples Public Dance

If you’re from the Oshawa area and have an eye and gift for drawing and arts, then here’s a contest that might pique your interest.

The City of Oshawa Public Libraries is encouraging teens in the community to let their creativity be known to others and share their talent. Officials from the OPL are looking for young visual artists, inviting them to pass any work of art—as long as it is original of course—as an entry to the 2010 Express Yourself Teen Art Contest, which is held yearly in Oshawa.

The Oshawa Public Libraries is calling out to teenagers from the 7^th to 12^th Grade to join the contest. The only requirement is to be from Oshawa, and to have an original work of art.

The entries will be separated into 2 categories, one from Grades 7 to 9, and the other from 10 to 12. Professionals and experts will be judging the contest, with the winners getting the opportunity to be recognized at this year’s Literary and Art Festival, which is taking place in May.

Interested teens can drop their entries off at any OPL branch until the 1^st of May.

Spread the word and join in on this fun event!

If you love music, and are in the Oshawa area a few weeks from now, then you might be interested in a concert taking place in the City of Oshawa later this month that will have a slight French flavor to it.

A Musical Winterlude, a winter concert by the Durham Philharmonic Choir, will be featuring music arranged and created by French composers. But the biggest moment of the night will be a rendition of Charles Gounod’s Mass of St. Cecilia for soloists, choir, and orchestra.

The evening’s soloists will be Giles Tomkins and Mary-Ruth Roadhouse, both natives from the Durham Region, and Martin Hautman from Toronto.

Meanwhile, Joanne Averill-Rocha on flute, and Kristen Theriault on harp, will be doing French secular instrumental music during the event.

And finally, renowned conductor Robert Phillips will be at the helm during this grand performance.

A Musical Winterlude, will be held this coming 21^st of February, 3 in the afternoon, at the St. George’s Anglican Church in Oshawa. You can score your tickets in advance for only $20, while tickets sold at the venue itself will be priced at $25. Tickets are sold at the

For more details and information on A Musical Winterlude, you can log on to www.durhamphilharmonic.ca.

Intermediate students from Pierre Elliott Trudeau Public School in Oshawa put their pencils and notebooks to rest and ditched class for an important cause on the 29^th of January.

Over 150 students from the 6^th to the 8^th grade each shelled out $3 to leave class and head to the school’s gymnasium to dance for Haiti. The fundraising event was organized to collect funds as well as donations for the Caribbean nation that was struck by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake on January 12.

Officials estimate the damages to be worth billions, and over 150,000 lives have been lost to the cataclysmic tragedy.

8^th Grade student Jeremy Mathews commented that it’s heartbreaking to see the effects of the earthquake. With Haiti’s motto “Union Makes Strength”, he and his friends thought it would only be right to bring everyone in the school together to raise money for those left with virtually nothing.

While the school in Oshawa has hosted dances numerous times in the past, this by far is the first time they’ve organized one for a cause.

The Oshawa elementary school has hosted dances in the past but this is the first to raise money.

A separated event dubbed “Hugs for Haiti” involved students who are too young to join the dance.

Residents from the City of Oshawa and the Town of Whitby are being invited by the Oshawa-Whitby branch of Big Brothers Big Sisters to dance the night away in style and enjoy ‘A Night to Remember.’ However, not only is the event a good excuse for people to party and have a fun night, it’s also for a noteworthy cause.

Proceeds of the event will be used by the local Big Brothers Big Sisters, an organization that encourages volunteers to mentor youths of all ages. The organization is the biggest child and youth assistance program in Canada today. A large chunk of the organization’s budget comes from donations, so any way for them to raise funds is crucial to the continuance of their offered services.

Back to the event this time, ‘A Night to Remember’ will take place on February 26 at the Jubilee Pavilion in Oshawa. Cocktails and wine tasting will kick off at around 5:30 in the afternoon, while dinner will begin at 6:30. And while guests are busy feasting on the sumptuous food, The Brian Rose Little Big Band will be providing musical entertainment.

So what’re you waiting for? Score your tickets by calling 905-579-2551, and look for Kelly Lloyd.