Durham Tourism
Industry
Report
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Connecting, engaging and informing Durham Tourism's valued stakeholders
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Greetings from Durham Tourism
Summer will soon make way for fall–one of our four favourite seasons here in Durham Region! There is so much activity taking place this month! We’ve got the goods on new venues, exciting events coming to Durham, learning opportunities and well-deserved awards.
Our partner Central Counties Tourism, recently launched its Fall Road Trips website on
September 12. Visit
YorkDurhamHeadwaters.ca to see what hidden gems and haunted sites are a must stop this fall.
Remember to submit your upcoming events to our free,
online events calendar; and follow and tag us on our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter channels.
We hope you enjoy this issue, it’s jam-packed with content!
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Tourism Industry Highlights
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Ontario Tourism Summit
Tourism matters! From
October 28 to 30 join fellow Tourism Industry Association of Ontario (TIAO) members, industry colleagues and tourism leaders to network, gain new insights, and explore trending topics at the 2019 Ontario Tourism Summit. Celebrate excellence when the winners are announced at the Ontario Tourism Awards of Excellence Gala on
October 30. This year the summit takes place at Blue Mountain Resort in Collingwood.
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Durham College to host Global Cyberlympics Finals
Durham College (DC) in partnership with The Regional Municipality of Durham will be co-hosting the
Global Cyberlympics
Finals on
October 26
at the college’s Oshawa campus. Organized by EC-Council and SiberX, this will be the first time that the highly competitive event will be held in Canada.
The Global Cyberlympics is an ethical hacking and cyber security competition that pits teams from all over the world against each other to compete in a series of challenges; in areas such as digital forensics, malware analysis and cryptography. Following a 12-hour online elimination round on
September 7
, finalists will compete for the winning title during the in-person Finals competition at DC. The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony, to be held in Ajax, after the competition.
“Durham Region is a hotbed of innovative thinking; a place where a diverse and inclusive workforce drives innovation and creativity,” said John Henry, Regional Chair and Chief Executive Officer for Durham Region. “Durham College plays a strong role within this innovative ecosystem—offering collaborative research, leading-edge innovation, and market-driven academic programming that is transforming our communities. We look forward to an engaging series of events, coming to Durham Region this fall.”
Since its inception in 2012, the Cyberlympics have seen more than 2,100 participants from 500 teams and 75 countries compete.
Photo (above):
Dr. Elaine Popp, Durham College Vice-President, Academic; John Henry, Regional Chair and CEO; and Debbie McKee Demczyk, Dean Research Services, Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the media launch for the Global Cyberlympics.
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Gates Open returns to Durham this October
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After being on hiatus for close to a decade, the popular Gates Open festival is returning to Durham Region on
October 5, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eight featured farms are opening their gates just for you! See what life on the farm is like, get hands-on experience with fun farm activities, and discover one of Durham’s largest industries through this unique self-guided tour.
Visitors will learn about agriculture, build an appreciation for Durham’s bountiful local food, and meet the passionate, dedicated people who produce it. Admission is free.
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Last chance to register for Culture Days!
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There is still time to register for the 2019 Culture Days weekend! Durham Region is excited to once again be a part of the three-day celebration, running from
September 27 to 29. The final deadline to register your event is
September 16 at 11:59 p.m. Register your event now on both
CultureDays.ca/on and
DurhamTourism.ca!
Celebrating its 10th year in 2019, Culture Days is a creative showcase that invites the public to explore, participate and share in vibrant arts and culture events in every community across the country.
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Ontario Regiment RCAC Museum receives international award
The Ontario Regiment RCAC Museum in Oshawa has been awarded the 2019 Jacques Littlefield Award for Preservation and Education Excellence from the Military Vehicle Preservation Association (MVPA). The honour is bestowed annually on an institution or organization whose efforts significantly raise the understanding and appreciation of historic military vehicles.
“We are very pleased to be awarded the Littlefield Award by the MVPA and be recognized at this level,” said Jeremy Neal Blowers, Executive Director of the Museum. “Our museum volunteers spend countless hours restoring, maintaining, and operating our fleet of historic military vehicles. Being recognized beyond our borders and by the international military vehicle community is a testament to their hard work and effort.”
The Ontario Regiment RCAC Museum is an accredited Canadian Armed Forces Museum housing Canada’s largest collection of operational military vehicles. The museum’s collection includes tanks, artillery, and military artifacts; in addition to several special events held throughout the year including battle re-enactments and demonstrations, Tank Saturday, and the Aquino Tank Weekend. The museum is located at the Oshawa Executive Airport.
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Catch three days of amazing films at DRIFF
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Experience hand-picked short films, features, documentaries and animations that will engage and expand the imagination.
Tickets are on sale now!
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Central Counties Funding Workshop
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Central Counties Tourism is holding a funding workshop on
October 8 at the Markham Pan Am Centre in Unionville. Learn about funding project readiness as the key to securing funding and the available sources of government funding programs for 2020. Federal, provincial and regional funding organizations are invited to highlight their programs for tourism, arts and culture. Attendees will also have an opportunity to network with funding organizations and region stakeholders. The cost for this workshop is $30.
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New hotels and conference centre coming to Oshawa
Marriott Hotels is bringing two of its brands, TownePlace Suites by Marriott and Courtyard by Marriott, to Oshawa this October. Both facilities, which are connected by a shared lobby, are located at 1011 Bloor Street East, in Oshawa, with easy access to Highway 401.
The new state-of-the-art
Courtyard Oshawa provides greater flexibility and choices for guests. The Bistro is the on-site destination for a great breakfast, or drinks and dinner during the evening. Guests will enjoy inviting, flexible spaces where they can work or relax, with free Wi-Fi throughout and easy access to the latest news, weather and airport conditions via Marriott’s GoBoard technology. A well-equipped fitness centre and indoor pool will help guests stay refreshed and energized. The Courtyard Oshawa has 115 rooms, as well as three meeting rooms–a total of 7,448 square feet of meeting space. Key amenities include: a business centre; high-speed internet; and on-site parking.
TownePlace Suites Oshawa is an extended-stay hotel where guests can balance work and life as they like, while relaxing and feeling at home with a fully equipped kitchen and high-speed internet access in both studio and one-bedroom suites. The three-floor hotel has 96 suites and four meeting rooms. The largest space has a capacity of up to 700 people, and a maximum of three breakout rooms. In addition to the key amenities provided at Courtyard Marriott, additional amenities include: barbecue and/or picnic area; complimentary buffet breakfast; daily housekeeping service; on-site laundry (coin operated); mobility accessible rooms; in-room safes; valet dry-cleaning and more.
Marriott operates and franchises hotels and licenses vacation ownership resorts all around the world. Their 30 brands and 7,000+ properties span 131 countries and territories.
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Ontario investing in community, culture and recreation projects
On
September 3, the Province of Ontario announced that they would be accepting funding applications for projects under the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program’s (ICIP) Community, Culture and Recreation (CCR) stream. This funding will go towards investing in community, culture and recreational projects that will help deliver vital services for communities, foster greater social inclusion, and improve the quality of life for residents across Ontario. The program is funded by the federal and provincial governments, along with eligible partners such as municipalities, Indigenous communities and not-for-profit groups. Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program: Community, Culture, and Recreation guidelines and application materials are available for eligible partners on the
Transfer Payment Ontario website.
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Slabtown Cider Co.
There’s a new cidery in town, and it’s 100 per cent Durham. Slabtown Cider Co. is a family owned and operated cidery and orchard, and they take their cider seriously. Crafted from estate grown heritage Ontario apples, including those harvested from apple trees and rootstock transplanted from Siloam Orchards (previously located northwest of Durham Regional Road 8), the cidery offers several hard ciders inspired by the surrounding area. Their orchards boast an impressive 250 apple varieties, many of which came with the first settlers to the Uxbridge region in the early 1800s.
Slabtown is located on the Oak Ridges Moraine, just south of Uxbridge, surrounded by a beautiful landscape of forest, trails and rolling fields. The cidery has revitalized over 90 acres of historic fields into one of Canada’s largest collections of unique heritage heirloom apple cider varieties. Even the name of the company has deep roots–the original settlement town of the Siloam hamlet of Randallville had just a few buildings, including a lumber mill. Because of the focus on the lumber and sawmill industry (and the piles of wood slabs stored around the mill), Randalville quickly became known as “Slab Town.” Slabtown Cider Co. has made it their mission to “preserve the history of Slab Town, Uxbridge and the historic orchards of Siloam now located on the property of Slabtown Cider Co.”
As their tasting room nears completion, the cidery has been visiting local festivals and events this summer. Visitors can also stop by the farm store for fresh orchard produce, warm pies, or a slice and a cup of coffee. Slabtown is also holding onsite tastings in this building, on weekends, until the full taproom is completed.
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CIBC Run for the Cure celebrates a milestone
On
October 6, the CIBC Run for the Cure reaches a milestone, as they
celebrate the 20th anniversary of the run in Durham Region. The run takes place at Lakeview Park in Oshawa, beginning at 10 a.m. The CIBC Run for the Cure is a 5 km or 1 km walk or run that raises funds for the Canadian Cancer Society.
It is estimated that one in eight Canadian women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. Hosted by the Durham Region community office of the Canadian Cancer Society, participants in Durham Region will join more than 82,000 Canadians in 57 locations across the country in the largest, single-day, volunteer-led event dedicated to changing the future of breast cancer.
Since the first event in 2000, Durham Region has had over 49,000 participants, who have collectively raised over $8 million, which funds breast cancer research, support services, health education and advocacy programs!
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Connect and engage with Durham Tourism and Sport Durham on our social media pages:
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