Thanksgiving weekend. 🍗 Somewhere in Durham there's a turkey thawing in a fridge right now, and by Tuesday a good chunk of it will be inside a quesadilla.
That's not me being cheeky. It's an actual tip from an Oshawa neighbour, and you'll find it in here.
If you're heading out this long weekend, you've got options. Downtown Oshawa has two nights of stand-up. Ajax rec centre staff are wearing purple on Saturday for girls in sport. And up in Uxbridge, a bookstore has lined up a fall of authors most big cities would fight over.
Also in here: an Ajax woman who turned a Facebook group into 160 neighbours who show up, Clarington's new dome, and a Brock food bank rethinking what an emergency looks like.
Pour the coffee. This is Durham Life.
♻️ DURHAM REGION — Five neighbours, one leftover quesadilla.
October is Circular Economy Month, and instead of a lecture, the Region asked residents how they actually keep stuff out of the garbage. In Uxbridge, Melanie turned leftover wood from her home reno into garden boxes. In Whitby, Joyce thrifts her wardrobe and fixes small rips herself. In Ajax, Maddie built her gaming computer from refurbished parts off Facebook Marketplace. In Bowmanville, Jeff buys snacks in bulk and packs them in reusable containers for lunches. And in Oshawa, Stephanie runs the best leftover plan you'll read this weekend: "Yesterday's chicken is great in a quesadilla; a Sunday roast makes quick Monday night sliders; overripe bananas become freshly baked banana bread." The Region's doing its part too, recycling old asphalt right back into the road on a paving pilot that produced zero pavement waste and picked up two awards. Swap "chicken" for "turkey" and you've got your Tuesday sorted.
Source: Region of Durham
🚲 AJAX — Silver again for the bike-friendliest town around.
Ajax has kept its spot as a Silver Bicycle Friendly Community, one of just five Ontario municipalities at that level in this year's awards from the Share the Road Cycling Coalition. Ajax first hit silver in 2017. Since then the bike network has grown past 180 km, and the town's shared e-scooter and e-bike pilot has logged more than 70,000 trips since 2023. That's a lot of town you can cover without the car. Armi De Francia, the town's active transportation coordinator, also picked up the Norma Moores Award at the Ontario Bike Summit. "Maintaining our silver status recognizes the continued efforts to improve cycling in Ajax," she said.
Source: Town of Ajax · Ajax News Advertiser
Photo: Town of Ajax
🏀 AJAX — Ajax did the math on girls in sport. Then it did something about it.
When the Town of Ajax looked back at seven years of its co-ed kids' and youth sport programs, girls made up just 22% of the players. In hockey, basketball and cricket, boys were over 90%. But when the town ran girls-only programs, they drew five times as many girls. So that's what Elevate Girls is: girls-only basketball, soccer, volleyball, shinny and multi-sport camps. Sunday, October 11 is International Day of the Girl, and on Saturday, October 10 from 10 am to 2 pm you can drop by the lobby at the Ajax Community Centre, Audley Recreation Centre or McLean Community Centre for Elevate Girls tables, giveaways and a sports prize pack draw. The week wraps Sunday with a video featuring local Olympian Sadé McCreath.
Watch the video ⬇️
Source: Town of Ajax · Event details
Photo: TNDF
🛍️ BROCK — When food can't wait for an appointment.
Hours get cut. A vet bill lands. A cheque shows up late. The Nourish and Develop Foundation in Cannington says more households are one of those away from an empty fridge, so as of this week it has expanded its Express Bags: pre-packed bags of essentials, no appointment needed, in sizes for households of 1-2, 3-4 and 5-6. The big change is where you can get one. Besides the TNDF hub on York Street, bags are now at the Cannington library, which is open Tuesday and Friday evenings and Saturdays, plus TNDF's Community Market stops in Cannington, Sunderland and Beaverton. United Way Durham Region put $9,500 behind it. "Sometimes, food can't wait," says executive director Jess Topfer. If you're in a tight spot, or know someone who is, you can grab a bag with no questions asked, or call 705-432-2444 for more help. And if you want to help keep the shelves full, rice, canned veg and meat, breakfast foods and snacks all go straight into the bags.
Photo: Clarington Municipality
🏟️ CLARINGTON — The dome is open, and 1,700 people came to try it.
Saturday, October 3, the Bowmanville Community Complex dome opened its doors, and about 1,700 people came through over the afternoon. It's Clarington's first new rec centre in almost 20 years: 100,000 square feet of turf, about four times the old indoor soccer bowl, wrapped by a three-lane, 370-metre walking track. The turf skips rubber crumb, so no more black pellets coming home in shoes and gym bags. "These types of investments are what communities thrive on," says Chris Vesnaver, head coach of the Clarington Knights. If you've been waiting to get on that turf, programs start Tuesday, October 13. Still coming: Durham Region's first outdoor refrigerated skating trail this winter, and a six-lane pool in 2027. Can’t wait for the outdoor skating trail!
Source: Clarington This Week · Durham Post
Photo: City of Oshawa
🌳 OSHAWA — Oshawa's first park has stories on its fences now.
Before Memorial Park, before most of what you'd recognize downtown, there was Alexandra Park. In 1902, locals formed an athletic association and sold shares at ten dollars apiece, with names like McLaughlin, Cowan and Henry buying in, to purchase land for community sports. The park opened in 1906, named for Queen Alexandra, and weeks later hosted an agricultural fair. A new outdoor exhibit with the Oshawa Museum now tells the whole story on site, from the area's Indigenous history to the nursing school next door that trained generations of Oshawa nurses. Next time you're by the hospital, take the long way through.
Source: City of Oshawa · INsauga
Photo: City of Pickering
📋 PICKERING — Want a say in how the city runs? Applications are open.
Pickering wants you on one of its boards, committees or taskforces. There are 12, from the Accessibility Advisory Committee to the Pickering Public Library Board and the wonderfully named Waterfront Visionary Advisory Committee. You don't need experience, just a willingness to show up and give council your honest view. Applications close Sunday, November 1 at 11:59 pm.
Source: City of Pickering
📸 SCUGOG — Your photo could be on the cover of next year's calendar.
Scugog's Environmental & Climate Change Advisory Committee is running its third annual Nature Photo Contest. Twelve photos make the 2027 Scugog Nature Calendar, and first place gets the cover. Plants, animals, scenery, anything you've shot in the township counts, including that great one sitting on your phone. If you live in Scugog, you can enter at any age, and the deadline is Saturday, October 31.
Source: Township of Scugog
🎸 UXBRIDGE — The teens are running the open mic.
The Uxbridge Youth Centre is building a youth music program, and it's already two open mic nights in. Local musicians Matt Gunn and Derek Virgo volunteered to teach sound and lighting, and then the young members ran the whole show: MCing, greeting guests, staffing concessions, handling social media. The centre has also added a music corner stocked with instruments for practice. Program lead Sabina Goranova puts it simply: "music brings people together, builds confidence, and creates a sense of belonging." The next open mic is Friday, October 30, and it's not just music: poetry, stand-up and skits are welcome. Youth can sign up to perform or volunteer at uxbridgeyouthcentre.com.
Source: The Uxbridge Cosmos
🚒 WHITBY — 175 years of Whitby Fire, open to the public.
Whitby Fire turns 175, and on Saturday, October 17 it opens Fire Headquarters (111 McKinney Drive) from 10 am to 4 pm: truck tours, a firefighter obstacle course and a hose target to test your aim. Plan around the demos: fire tower at 11 am and 3 pm, a live fire with a thermal imaging camera at 1 pm, and the jaws of life on a real car at 2 pm. You'll also get a first look at the design for Whitby's Fallen Firefighter Memorial by sculptor Ruth Abernethy, due in 2027.
Source: Town of Whitby
She started a Facebook group. Now 160 women show up for Durham.
October is Islamic History Month in Canada, proclaimed by Parliament back in 2007. In Ajax, Kubra Mir has spent years making sure you don't have to be Muslim to be part of it.
Kubra came to Canada from India when she was two, and she's been volunteering in Ajax for about 14 years. What started as a Facebook group grew into Muslim Women of Durham Region, a not-for-profit she co-founded and now runs as executive director. Today it's more than 160 members strong across Ajax, Pickering, Whitby, Oshawa and Clarington.
"We are going to be asked on the day of judgment, did you look after your neighbour? God did not say look after your Muslim neighbour. Your neighbour. So anyone."
The work is hands-on. They clean up parks. They raise money for Feed the Need in Durham, because looking after the person next door is the whole point. And on Saturdays this month they're in the library, running Islamic History Month storytimes with books, crafts and henna. If your kids are up for it, Whitby Central Library's session is Saturday, October 17, 11 am to 1 pm.
The big one is Golden Age, their third annual Islamic History Month celebration: Sunday, October 18, noon to 6 pm at the Audley Recreation Centre in Ajax. It celebrates Muslim contributions to the arts and sciences, with live entertainment and family activities. Admission and parking are free, and you're welcome whether you're Muslim or not. Bring the whole crew.
Her work hasn't gone unnoticed: a King Charles III Coronation Medal in 2025, the Canadian Council of Muslim Women's Women Who Inspire Award, and the Town of Ajax's Diversity and Community Engagement Award. You can hear her whole story on episode 56 of the People of Durham podcast.
Watch the podcast ⬇️
Golden Age: ajax.ca/event/golden-age · Storytime dates: mwofdurhamregion.com/events-2
Know a Durham Region Changemaker? Hit reply.
🎤 Durham Comedy Festival — Oshawa, Friday, October 9 & Saturday, October 10. Two nights of stand-up in the Local Lounge at BOND|ST, hosted by Dan Brennan, with Town Brewery. Friday's headliner is Quinn C. Martin (doors 8 pm, show 9 pm). Saturday it's Ryan Hillis with Matt Render, Winny Clarke and Madison Cassaday (doors 7 pm, show 8 pm). $25 a night, 19+. Tickets: BOND|ST
Source: INsauga
📚 Book Drunkard Festival — Uxbridge, through November. Blue Heron Books started this festival in 2019, and Margaret Atwood, Michael Ondaatje and Yann Martel have all come to town for it. The name comes from L.M. Montgomery, who once lived in Durham: "I am simply a book drunkard." This fall's lineup includes Emily St. John Mandel (Monday, October 19), Jody Wilson-Raybould with Jane Philpott (Wednesday, October 21), Mary Berg (Thursday, October 22) and Linwood Barclay with Lucy Foley (Thursday, November 5). Your ticket includes a signed book or a voucher, and Second Wedge is pouring a festival beer. Tickets: Blue Heron Books
Source: The Book Drunkard Festival • INsauga
🍰 Unique Cake & Café — Oshawa. Pink and purple walls, flowers on the ceiling, chandeliers, and a dessert case to match. Unique Cake & Café opened Sunday, September 27 at 472 Taunton Rd. W., Unit 11, with everything baked in-house: 13 kinds of cheesecake (baklava and San Sebastian among them), tres leches, mango tiramisu, pistachio cake, and New York-style cookies including a Dubai chocolate one. Custom cakes too, if anyone at your Thanksgiving table has a birthday. Open daily, until midnight on Saturdays.
Source: INdurham
👟 Steps for Care blew past its goal. You might remember the Bowmanville Hospital Foundation's first Steps for Care walk from September. Here's how it went: more than 300 walkers and volunteers on the Darlington Waterfront Trail raised over $88,000 for the Bowmanville hospital redevelopment, against a $50,000 goal. If you missed it, you can still donate until Saturday, October 31.
💃 A night of Garba, and a cheque for the same hospital. Under a harvest moon on Saturday, September 26, the Clarington Outdoor Garba Fest filled the grounds at Garnet B. Rickard with traditional Garba and Dandiya dancing, first-timers right alongside the regulars. Organizers Unity in Diversity handed over $1,111 to the Bowmanville Hospital Foundation. "Events like this are about much more than music and dance," says organizer Pankaj Panchal.
Source: Durham Post
Photo: Town of Ajax
🌼 Ajax mowed its pollinator garden on purpose. If you did a double take on the waterfront this week, you weren't imagining it: left alone, the garden would slowly turn into forest, and the plan is to keep it an open meadow. It gets cut every few years and stays right where it is. Ajax keeps five pollinator gardens and is one of 95 Bee Cities in Canada.
Source: Durham Radio News
Monday is Thanksgiving, which means somewhere in Durham right now, someone (maybe you) is holding a third pie in front of a fridge built for two, doing math.
Making room turns out to be this week's whole story. Clarington built a bigger room and filled it the first afternoon. Ajax found that girls show up when a program is built for them. Uxbridge cleared a corner for instruments and the kids ended up running the show. Kubra Mir turned a Facebook group into 160 women who pull up a chair for anyone. And in Brock, the food bank put Express Bags on a library shelf, because an empty fridge doesn't keep office hours.
Make room, and people come.
Pass the stuffing.
Have a blessed Thanksgiving!
Until next week...
Be Good. Do Good.
This is Durham Life.
MiKe Dee
Publisher
Durham Life — Local Media that Inspires
Covering Durham Region's 8 municipalities: Ajax · Brock · Clarington · Oshawa · Pickering · Scugog · Uxbridge · Whitby