Convergence rocks downtown Oshawa with music, art and feel-good vibes

For the second straight year thousands of residents and visitors converged in downtown Oshawa for a day of music, art and feel-good vibes as the city celebrated Convergence Music & Art Festival 2024.

Oshawa, like most other communities around the country, certainly was in need of plenty of good vibes. And despite a few sprinkles threatening to dampen spirits early in the 11-hour party, those joyful emotions are exactly what the community got.

The music was the big deal, and there were nearly two dozen acts throughout the day on three stages. The soulful sounds of Kubla, as well as Sasha Henry and the Dope Band, and hard-edged sound of women-fronted Toronto punkers the Anti-Queens, who have honed their considerable talent and stage presence at Oshawa venues like the Biltmore Theatre on numerous occasions, rocked the Cosmic Main Stage in the afternoon to set up Oshawa’s own celebrated Dizzy and headline act TALK to finish out the day.

Mary Krohnert from the Livingroom Community Art Studio. Photo Glenn Hendry

The art was the co-main attraction and the former Oshawa Bus Terminal was the epicentre of all that is artistic with ARTBLOCK, a series of works – including a crane sculpture by noted Ajax artist Geordie Lishman (‘Taking Flight,’ a tribute to his late father, celebrated sculptor and goose whisperer Bill Lishman) and the ‘After the Rain’ creation by Leu Webb Projects – that were part of a Points of Connection collection inside the terminal.

In the alley on the east side of the terminal kids were busy on a ‘building the city’ project while kids and adults alike were creating art and writing poetry on the west side on Centre Street at Mary Krohnert’s Livingroom Community Art Studio.

The Family Zone

The Centre Street portion of the festival, which nearly doubled in size and scope from last year’s inaugural Convergence, was also the Family Zone, with plenty of activities for kids and families, including a chance to get up close with snakes (such as ‘Nugget’ the King Snake) at the Reptilia exhibit.

The stretch of Simcoe between King and Bond was turned over to the pop culture fans for Nerd Alley, with the always popular Ghost Busters on hand, and vendors of every description from the gaming, horror, comics and art worlds, and featured local artist Dani Crosby selling prints of her just-unveiled ‘Turning the Wheel’ mural on the nearby McMillan Parkade, with all proceeds going to the Simcoe Hall Settlement House.

‘Nugget’ the King Snake from Reptilia

The Punk Rock Flea Market – some 50-vendors strong – was moved off Ontario Street onto King Street this year, with the market right in the heart of the action.

On the other side of King Street – right at the city’s four corners at Simcoe Street – was the wrestling ring, home to some fun and entertaining matches from two different pro wrestling circuits.

Pro wrestling on the streets of Oshawa. Photo Glenn Hendry

And Street Food Alley – this year on King Street, west of Simcoe – was not to be missed either, with 19 food trucks, from sushi, gyros and poutine to Fillipino flavours, jerk chicken and shortbread available to keep everyone’s energy levels up.

It all meant for a busy day for the visitors, who jammed the streets, ultimately packing in about 3,000 in the Avanti parking lot (with spillage on King Street and Celina Street) for Juno Award-winning TALK.

The party was certainly the talk of the town, with some residents lamenting on the socials during the event because they couldn’t make it, while attendees and organizers were full of praise the next day.

The Anti-Queens

• “Happy Post-Convergence Emotional Hangover Day to all who celebrate (seriously, how amazing was yesterday though?!?),” chimed in local councillor Derek Giberson, whose band Professors of Funk played an after-party at the Biltmore following TALK’s performance.
• And this from Downtown Oshawa Facebook page administrator (and prolific photographer) Robert Bell: “Wow. Oshawa knows how to have fun!”
• Amanda McCauley, an events coordinator with the Greater Oshawa Chamber of Commerce, the organizers (through the chamber’s Oshawa Tourism division) of Convergence, was still glowing Sunday: “Nearly 14 years in the music industry and yesterday was the best festival I’ve ever been to. Seeing Oshawa lit up with excitement, fun and so much energy was an unbelievable joy. Every inch of the downtown was filled with art and music and happy faces – it was like nothing I’ve ever seen before in the city.”
• Kyle Kornic, Oshawa Tourism’s Events Coordinator (who has been involved in the city’s music scene since he was a teenager) was tired and thankful but had enough energy to pen a little love letter to the “thousands of you who showed up yesterday and made all the hard work, lack of sleep, and the blood sweat and tears” of the organizers and planners of the event “completely worth it.”
• The Region of Durham played a role in the event as well, and Jacquie Severs, the Region’s Tourism and Marketing Manager, said the “massive mix of people” contributing to the event was the secret to its success. “The wrestling people. The soccer people. The music people. The art people. The community groups. The businesses. Derby girls. Ghostbusters. The girl dressed up like Barbara Maitland. The folks in space suits. The punks. The kids dancing. The makers. The city. The politicians. The cooks. The volunteers, the staff. All local people pulling together, mostly volunteers to be clear, just because everyone wants a great, fun, creative, truly Oshawa event. People really want it.”

Stay-Puft Man from Ghostbusters

All those feel-good vibes really started peaking early Saturday evening when Dizzy, a band made up of singer Katy Munshaw and three Spencer brothers (who met at Maxwell Heights Secondary in north Oshawa) took the main stage.

The band won a JUNO in 2019 for Best Alternative Album for their debut album ‘Baby Teeth,’ have been entertaining audiences with their ethereal indie-pop sound since then, with Munshaw’s dreamy vocals giving their songs about suburban life, growing up and mental health plenty of depth – with an occasional danceable banger like ‘Open Up Wide’ in the mix as well.

Katie Munshaw and two-third of the Spencer brothers from Dizzy. Photo Glenn Hendry

Katie Munshaw and two-third of the Spencer brothers from Dizzy. Photo Glenn Hendry

The time between Dizzy’s final song and JUNO-winning TALK! (Breakthrough Artist, 2024) to close the festivities – the closed-off streets had to be returned to motorists by 11 – was the time for Jason King, the Oshawa Chamber’s CEO, to reflect on Convergence 2024.

“It shows me this is living up to its vision, to be bringing people into the downtown to enjoy the music and culture. And it’s working,” he said, adding that the bit of rain in the early afternoon wasn’t going to throw a wet blanket on the vibes.

“There were a couple of spots but it turned out to be a good day. The weather was not going to stop us.”

Festival emcee Najah Calibur. “Zoom-Zoom!”

TALK (Nick Durocher), a singer-songwriter from Ottawa now living in North York, came out dressed in an orange jumpsuit (with his strong backing band attired in green mechanics overalls) and quickly had the enthusiastic crowd swaying to his evocative songs and fully engaged, with a request for one of the sound-activated wrist flashers adorned by hundreds in the audience resulting in a dozen or so tossed on the stage.

The crowd at TALK. Photo Glenn Hendry

The big man also showed off his athletic prowess, with a couple of leg kicks sending his size-16 Crocs (size 16, can confirm) into the crowd, where they were caught by a woman in the front row.

But mostly, it was the music and his emotional and mournful ballads that got the crowd singing along, capped off by ‘Run Away to Mars,’ his “love song for Mother Earth” that reached #1 on the Billboard Adult Alternative charts back on January 28.

And then it was over, with residents, visitors and organizers looking forward to Convergence 2025 next September and hoping some of that ‘feel-good vibe’ can linger in the city just a little longer.

‘The folks in space suits’ – Photo Glenn Hendry