10 Great Reasons to Live in or Visit Oshawa

Here are, in no particular order, the mayor’s 10 reasons to visit the city.

1.Robert McLaughlin Gallery. It’s the largest public art gallery in Durham Region, featuring an impressive permanent collection including works by the Group of Seven. It was funded by the McLauglin family, the crew behind such hits as the McLaughlin Carriage Company and the McLaughlin Motor Car Co., precursor to General Motors. “It’s available for weddings, too,” Henry says as he walks outside the gallery.

2. Oshawa Valley Botanical Gardens. They love peonies in Oshawa, and every year the peony festival at the downtown garden is a hit, with 300 varieties, live music, food and gardening seminars. The botanical gardens are an ongoing project. When completed, there will be an autumn garden for late-blooming plants, a butterfly garden and a memory garden, linked by trails.

3. General Motors Centre. A robust cross-section of celebrity, including Elton John, Alan Jackson and Selena Gomez have all played Oshawa, Henry explains. There are also professional sports teams, including the Oshawa Generals of the OHL, the Oshawa Power of the National Basketball League of Canada, and the Oshawa Machine and Durham TurfDogs of the Canadian Lacrosse League.

4. Big festivals. Oshawa’s version of the festival formerly known as Caribana is Fiesta Week. “We’re fairly diverse and multicultural,” Henry says, noting that the Italian, Greek, Portuguese, Caribbean, Ukrainian and German communities are just a few of those who set up pavilions and participate in the parade in June.

5. Museums. The Canadian Automotive Museum is located in Oshawa, given GM’s history in the area. There is also the Ontario Regiment Museum, which has the “largest collection of working antique military vehicles” in the country, Henry says. On the weekend, “Tank Saturdays” include live demonstrations.

6. Summer fun. Lakeview Park is one of the nicest this side of Lake Ontario, Henry says. In the summer, it’s home to an antique automobile show, Oshawa Ribfest, soccer fields and baseball diamonds. Memorial Park downtown has a bandshell with concerts every Wednesday in the summer. Last year, they featured country, soul, Elvis tunes, roots, children’s music, blues, progressive jams, Irish music and acoustic punk.

7. Parkwood Estate. The grand estate that belonged to General Motors founder R. Samuel McLaughlin invites guests to “step back in time and experience lifestyle of a Canadian auto baron during the interwar years.” While the tea in the historic gardens is delightful, it’s also a popular filming location, serving as the backdrop in The Kennedys miniseries, Chicago and Billy Madison, to name a few.

8. Cutting-edge collegiate excellence. Durham College, Trent University, Queen’s University and the University of Ontario Institute of Technology all have campuses in Oshawa. UOIT is home to the world’s largest climatic wind tunnel — and National Geographic recently stopped by to recreate the Quebec ice storm.

9.Your choice of whatever kind of restaurant you want. Downtown Oshawa has 52 restaurant options, Henry explains. Everything from Thai to Italian, one for every week of the year.

10. Sports. In addition to the GM Centre, the city has lots of arenas, including the four-rink Legends Centre. The Kinsmen Stadium in downtown Oshawa is the “Camden Yards” of Canada, Henry says. “It’s small, with not a lot of seating, but it’s a grass field and we get a lot of college baseball here.”

The Toronto Star
Katie Daubs      
Staff Reporter