Roundup: Q in Oshawa Campaign

With just an hour or so to go in the Q in Oshawa campaign, we thought now would be a good time to reflect on what we’ve achieved in an incredibly short window of time. Oshawa’s spirit for arts and culture is electric and we’re thrilled to be part of it. Here’s some links to things that have been suggested as reasons for Q to come to Oshawa. Win or lose, we’ve had so much fun working on this campaign and we are so proud of all of the supporters and friends we’ve made along the way.

Thanks Oshawa!

Q_in_oshawa

The Durham Theatre Festival is “in the queue to get Q to Oshawa!”

Our friends in Whitby the Station Gallery offered their vote of support. Thanks SG!

The Durham Shoestring Performers community theatre group.

The Get Bent Records Summer Solstice concert series

Oshawa saxophonist Matthew James

Our very own collection of works by Painters Eleven, the largest in the world.

The Ontario Philharmonic, based out of the historic Regent Theatre, Oshawa

Patrick Dorie‘s Hope in High Places kept us motivated….

World’s Collide Spiderman Comic Cover!

Isabella’s Chocolate Cafe loves Jian

Mad Cafe loves Jian (and so does Momma Mad Cafe!)

The Patty Shack offered Jian his very own namesake burger…

The Geek Freaks, Oshawa’s award-winning hip-hop dance crew, two time OUCH champs!

Fiesta Week, the best week-long multicultural festival in Ontario

The Oshawa Express printed a story about the campaign 

OCVI alumni ...Shalom Harlow, Ed Broadbent, John Donabie & Olympic figure skater Donald Jackson and Isla Craig, among many others…

Neil Pashrica, author of 1000 Awesome Things grew up here.

Forest City Lovers supported the campaign, and offered to sing back up for The Stellas if they got to perform this:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1l0M4TsgsE?wmode=transparent]

The Oshawa Art Association would love it if Jian came!

Durham College Journalism Students created this roundup of Arts & Culture stories students have collected!! How awesome is it? Super awesome. SHWASOME.

We collected Q Portraits at First Fridays!

Durham Tourism jumped on board…and shared through their Art of Transition campaign

Randy Boyagoda was born and raised here, wouldn’t he be an interesting guest?

Will McGuirk’s love for Star Records, Oshawa’s independant vinyl shop shone through

We’d love to hear supporters Cuff the Duke and The Stables play together again…an ode to Oshawa, “Rossland Square”

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Jq5qnmOQZg?wmode=transparent]

Andrew Nicholls and Darrell Vickers, writers for the CBC and the Tonight Show heard about the campaign all the way in Los Angeles!

Durham College/UOIT Campus’ famous O became a Q!

Uo

The Ontario Association of Art Galleries tweeted us with support, thanks OAAG!

We found out that Moxy Früvous once played the Moon Room. Thanks Kerri!!

Steppenwolf? Two members, totally from Oshawa. Born to be Wild!

Our popular blog post “Top Ten Reasons Jian should visit Oshawa” helped get things rolling.

Oshawhat Magazine, a new alternative publication set to launch jumped on board the first day.

Oshawa’s Mayor John Henry was the first notable to offer his support. Thanks John and the City of Oshawa for all of your support!

The Facebook page continues to buzz with posts as we type this. We’ve probably missed some friends and supporters! 

Our storied institutions Parkwood Estate, Oshawa Community Museums, the Canadian Automotive Museum, UOIT, Durham College, Trent University Oshawa, and of course all of us here at the RMG look forward to welcoming you to Oshawa Jian!

The Stellas support the Q in Oshawa Campaign with a Song

Friday night the RMG played host to a buzzing crowd for First Fridays. On the 4th floor committee members from the Art of Transition mingled, on the main floor the Gillian Margot Trio performed, while Marina Osmond snapped pictures in a photobooth. Artist Susan Dobson was in attendance, having travelled from Guelph to welcome Oshawa’s crowd to see her exhibition By Design. On the lower level the AIDS Committee of Durham Region hosted POZitive Portrayals, an exhibition of works by HIV positive artists from the region. The atmosphere was electric, and so many people took photos with our big red Q in support of the Q Live in Oshawa Campaign! We’re excited to share those with you in the morning.

The event had the kind of eclectic crowd you might expect, with mohawked teens seated next to seniors, mothers with babies in arms next to twenty-somethings on dates. Art has a way of bringing people of all stripes together. It is always a joy to see. February is the one year anniversary of First Fridays and so we think it would be a great time for Jian Ghomeshi and his show Q to come and check out Oshawa and see what we’re all about.

Tonight, country/pop duo and hometown favourites The Stellas posted this video to show their support of the campaign! Thanks you two! We are honoured to have your support in this competition, which gets to be more fun with each passing day.  Learn more about The Stellas on their website www.thestellasmusic.com and be sure to ‘like’ the Q Live in Oshawa Campaign on facebook.

 

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1l0M4TsgsE?wmode=transparent]