> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.fromdurham.ca/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Week of September 14–20, 2026 - URL: https://www.fromdurham.ca/week-of-september-14-20-2026/ - Published: 2026-09-17T12:30:39.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-08T14:48:33.000Z - Description: Durham Region this week: Oshawa's brand-new festival wins a provincial award before its second run, Port Perry's arena turns 50, and a free Mr. Dress-Up exhibit counts down its last days in Pickering. - Author: Arina Kharlamova - Tags: Things to Do, Ajax, Clarington, Oshawa, Pickering, Scugog, Whitby, Region Wide Hey neighbour, Two weeks into the school year and the backpacks have officially lost that new-backpack smell. A little depressing, but September's paying us back this week β€” Oshawa's brand-new music and art festival just won a provincial award before it's even had its second run, Port Perry's arena is throwing itself a 50th birthday party, and there's a free CBC-nostalgia exhibit in Pickering quietly counting down its final days. Fair season's officially done (RIP, Uxbridge and Orono) β€” festival season's just getting started. Here's what's on. --- ## πŸ—“οΈ This week in Durham **Ajax** - πŸ’Ό Wed, Sept 16, 8:30am–3:30pm β€” [Ontario Business Summit & Expo](https://ajaxpickering.ca/events?ref=fromdurham.ca) β€” Computek College, $35. - 🎀 Thurs, Sept 17, 8:30pm β€” [Ajax Comedy Club: Habib Siam](https://www.ajaxcomedyclub.ca/?ref=fromdurham.ca) β€” Lumbini Restaurant's banquet hall, 60 Randall Dr. Next up after this one: [Ben Albert](https://www.ajaxcomedyclub.ca/?ref=fromdurham.ca) (Sept 24). - πŸ₯ž Ontario's first combined Applebee's/IHOP just opened at 155 Kingston Rd E β€” free pancakes for the first 100 customers at the ribbon-cutting, and a partnership with Feed the Need Durham, per [WhatNow](https://whatnow.com/toronto/restaurants/ontarios-first-integrated-applebees-and-ihop-opening-in-ajax/?ref=fromdurham.ca) and [Insauga](https://www.insauga.com/ontarios-first-dual-applebees-ihop-restaurant-opening-east-of-toronto/?ref=fromdurham.ca). **Clarington** - 🧠 Thursdays β€” trivia β€” [The Royal Crown](https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/thursday-night-trivia-at-the-royal-crown-in-bowmanville-tickets-1989796501901?ref=fromdurham.ca), Bowmanville, weekly. - 🐘 Sat–Sun, Sept 19–20 β€” [Claringtoncha Raja](https://www.teamcac.org/?ref=fromdurham.ca), a Ganesh Chaturthi celebration β€” Bowmanville, free with registration. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/97/41/97410f95-6cd0-4d8b-891b-bcd80ad956dd/content/images/2026/09/Screenshot-2026-09-17-at-8.33.45---AM.png) From the Cultural Association of Clarington's website **Oshawa** - 🎨 Sat–Sun, Sept 19–20 β€” [Convergence](https://www.oshawa.ca/news/posts/oshawa-s-events-win-big-at-2026-feo-awards/?ref=fromdurham.ca) β€” downtown Oshawa, free entry β€” just won Festival & Events Ontario's "Best New Festival" award for 2026\. Sunday brings the Mix Lab Stage to Ontario St (between King & Bond) β€” six hours of back-to-back DJs, 1–7pm. - 🎸 Fri–Sat, Sept 18–19 β€” [live music at Atria Bar & Grill](https://www.bandsintown.com/v/10002301-atria-bar-and-grill?ref=fromdurham.ca) (19+) β€” Autopilot on the 18th, Thunder Glove on the 19th. - πŸ’ Sun, Sept 20 β€” [Oshawa Generals](https://www.genstickets.com/?ref=fromdurham.ca) home opener vs. North Bay IceDogs β€” Tribute Communities Centre. **Pickering** - πŸ‘» Thursdays through October, 9:15–10:15pm β€” [Paranormal Waterfront Tours](https://anc.ca.apm.activecommunities.com/cityofpickering/activity/search/detail/57598?onlineSiteId=0&from%5Foriginal%5Fcui=true&ref=fromdurham.ca) β€” Millennium Square, $25.52\. Next one's the 17th. - πŸ“ More on Pickering below β€” don't miss the Local Gem. **Scugog** - πŸŽ‰ Sat, Sept 19 β€” [Scugog Community Recreation Centre's 50th Anniversary](https://www.scugog.ca/parks-recreation-culture/events/?ref=fromdurham.ca) β€” Port Perry β€” open house and dance marking five decades of the arena. - 🎨 Sat–Sun, Sept 19–20 β€” [Culture Days Scugog](https://www.sideroadsofscugog.ca/events-1?ref=fromdurham.ca) β€” free arts and culture programming, township-wide. - πŸ₯• Thurs, Sept 17, 12:30–2pm β€” [Scugog Mobile Food Market](https://www.communitycaredurham.on.ca/mobile-food-market/?ref=fromdurham.ca) β€” Township office, Port Perry β€” last stop at this location, so swing by if you use it. **Uxbridge** - 🎨 Sat–Sun, Sept 19–20, 10am–6pm Sat / 10am–5pm Sun β€” [Uxbridge Studio Tour](https://www.uxbridgestudiotour.com/site/about-artists-tour-ontario?ref=fromdurham.ca) β€” free, self-guided tour through 21 working studios across town and the surrounding countryside, 50+ artists working in painting, sculpture, ceramics, metalwork, textiles and woodworking. No set route (but some recommended ones at the link) β€” go wherever looks good. If my kids and I aren't wiped from back-to-back weddings this weekend, this is where we'll be. **Whitby** - 🧽 Invest Whitby's September business of the month: [RotoStatic Durham](https://rotostaticdurham.ca/?ref=fromdurham.ca) β€” a 37-year-old local cleaning franchise, now under owner Aaron Brooks. - 🧠 Tuesdays β€” trivia β€” [Kings Tavern](https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/tuesday-night-trivia-at-kings-tavern-in-whitby-tickets-1984227186930?ref=fromdurham.ca), weekly. --- ## πŸ“ Local gem: Mr. Dress-Up exhibit (Pickering) Free, and quietly on its way out: the [Dorsay Community & Heritage Centre](https://www.pickering.ca/parks-recreation-culture/dorsay-community-heritage-centre/?ref=fromdurham.ca) has a [Mr. Dress-Up exhibit](https://www.insauga.com/legacy-of-pickerings-favourite-adopted-son-honoured-with-mr-dressup-exhibit/?ref=fromdurham.ca) up through September 25, then it's gone for good. No admission, no gimmick β€” just a genuine piece of Canadian childhood tucked into a heritage centre most people drive past without a second look. If you grew up on Ernie Coombs pulling something unexpected out of the Tickle Trunk, it's worth the twenty minutes. If you've got a kid who's never heard of it, even better β€” this is basically the show that invented CBC children's TV, and it holds up. Worth calling ahead to check the centre's hours before you go, since it's a small venue and I don't have posted times to confirm. πŸ’š **Why it's worth the drive:** it's free, it's disappearing in ten days, and Durham Region doesn't get many chances to send you somewhere this specifically nostalgic. --- ## πŸ‘¨β€πŸ‘©β€πŸ‘§ This weekend, with littles - 🎨 Sat–Sun, Sept 19–20 β€” [Convergence](https://www.oshawa.ca/news/posts/oshawa-s-events-win-big-at-2026-feo-awards/?ref=fromdurham.ca), Oshawa β€” free, all-ages, downtown, and it just won an actual award. - πŸŽ‰ Sat, Sept 19 β€” Scugog Community Recreation Centre's 50th Anniversary, Port Perry β€” open house and dance. - 🎨 Sat–Sun, Sept 19–20 β€” Culture Days Scugog β€” free, township-wide. - 🐘 Sat–Sun, Sept 19–20 β€” Claringtoncha Raja, Bowmanville β€” free with registration. - πŸ’ Sun, Sept 20 β€” Oshawa Generals home opener, Tribute Communities Centre. --- Know a hidden gem (or just an obvious, but well-loved rock) in Durham Region I should feature, profile, or talk to? [Submit your Durham gems](https://tally.so/r/lb20yX?ref=fromdurham.ca) Talk soon, Arina from Whitby