Oshawa Orientation Experience ’22 welcome jam just three days away

Downtown Oshawa’s big party in the park is just three days away.

Oshawa Orientation Experience ’22, an ambitious collaborative effort between the Greater Oshawa Chamber of Commerce and the City to welcome incoming students at Oshawa’s three post-secondary schools, kicks off at 3 p.m. at Memorial Park and will go until 10:30, with a ‘chill and dance’ scheduled for the final three hours.

In the meantime, incoming students from the three schools are encouraged to browse the downtown shops, have a bit to eat and just generally get to know their new city. The idea, said Chamber of Commerce CEO Jason King, is to make the students comfortable enough to want to stay after graduation.

“The strategic view of this event is to look at 2022 as ‘Year One’ of an annual event, which would have the ultimate goal and long-term effect of introducing students to local business and cultural activities to make Oshawa feel more like home, perhaps permanently, for the students,” King explained.

Ontario Tech came up with the idea during 2022 student orientation planning when a survey provided “compelling feedback” that new students would value an improved introduction and connection to Oshawa.

The Chamber and the Downtown Oshawa Business Alliance were then brought into the discussion and King took the idea to Oshawa Council, who pledged their support, calling it a “good business investment.”

The party, the first off-campus orientation event the City has held, will include a welcome of students at Memorial Park to convey the message ‘thank you for choosing Oshawa, along with a job fair; as well as ‘culturejamming,’ with event partners tasked with creating unique culinary, cultural or recreational experiences for the new students.

At 7:30 attendees are invited to dance in the park to the sounds of a DJ, enjoy a late dinner from food trucks on hand and get their own silk-screened commemorative t-shirt by local Artist Dani Crosby.

Plus, a drag show!

Participating Downtown Businesses include:

• Aide Bodycare: 463 Bond St., E. (10 per cent student discount for Sept. + product giveaways)
• Another Spin Records: 25 Bond St., E. (Student discounts with I.D.)
• Archery 2 You: 60 Celina Street (Student discounts + archery demonstrations + discounts with student I.D.)
• Berry Hill Restaurant: 82 King St. W.
• Comic Alley Toys: 9 Bond St. W. (Lego building activity + In-store promos + scavenger hunt photo activation)
• Cork and Bean: 8 Simcoe St. N. (Open Mic)
• Baby’s Basement: 29 King St E. (Grand re-opening with music + pop-up vendors + giveaways)
• Fashion Rebel: 14 King St. E.
• Fly By Note: 15 Bond St E. (video game challenges + pop culture trivia)
• Kops Records: 156 Simcoe St., S. (LIVE in-store music performances featuring Mary & Adelaide, Nerima and more)
• Frère du Nord: 45 Prince St. (Chill Out refreshment zone + mini tours + art + giveaways)
• Brew Wizards: 74 Celina St. ($2 hot/cold coffee, table fees waived + Livingroom Community Studio Mobile Art Bus)
• Addictive Hobbies and Games: 13 King St. W Unit 3 (Discounts with student I.D.)
• Robert McLaughlin Gallery: 72 Queen St. (Extended Hours until 5 pm and Student ‘Chill Out’ Zone
• Snackrite Xotiks: 27 Simcoe St. S. (Product sampling + Live DJ)
• Worlds Collide Comics: 80 Simcoe St., N. (In-store guest appearances + pop-up live performances from local artists/performers)

Food Trucks will include Portobello Road (Vegan) and Santa of Summer (Ice Cream Truck).

“A successful year one provides us all with a platform to iterate our way to a better and more self sustaining event in future years,” noted King, “including through the application for external grant funding from other levels of government.”

For more details and the bus routes to get to Memorial Park from the various campuses, see https://www.oshawaorientation.com/