UPDATED: Wylin’ in a winter wonderland
Authors’s note: I originally wrote this story during the locked-down Christmas of 2020. Now, in 2021, we’re not sure what the holidays will bring, between booster vaccines and new variants. It’s still uncertain out there, but at least these tunes will help you—including six new tracks to knock this playlist over the one-hour mark.…
COVID-19 news for the November 30 week
NOTE: This week is now over. For the very latest news, please go here. But for an informative look back at exactly how Nova Scotia responded to COVID-19 in realtime, keep on reading. Click for mobile-friendlier version of graph. Editor’s note: In its 28 years The Coast has never been a just-the-facts news service, but…
Taking five with Braden Lam
Evergreen Screen presents Braden Lam Sun Nov 29, 4pm Facebook livestream; Youtube livestream, free The first time Braden Lam played at The Carleton, it was to a sold-out throng of college kids, screaming their heads off. It was 2018, and Lam seemed as amazed by the energy in the room as anyone. When was the…
Blocked
QMy boyfriend and I were friends for a couple of years (we’re both 30-year-old gay men), then I stopped travelling around the world and pursued him. We’ve been boyfriends for a year and a half now. We were both happy and we had sex on a regular basis during the first year. I’m more into…
In your horoscope: Please come down to earth
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21) “You live best as an appreciator of horizons, whether you reach them or not.” Those words from poet David Whyte would be a perfect motto for you to write out on a piece of paper and tape to your bathroom mirror or your nightstand for the next 30 years.…
Pour one out for the Halifax renters left behind
Light a candle for the hundreds of Halifax renters who had to move in the last few years because their rent increased by 10 or 15 or 22 or 33 or 45 percent when it came time for lease renewal. The increase notice, delivered in writing, at least four months before the renewal date, fell…
Nova Scotia announces temporary rent control
You read that right. The Nova Scotia government has introduced temporary rent control measures to address the rampant housing crisis in this town. At a tele-press conference on Wednesday, municipal affairs and housing minister Chuck Porter gave the details. Here’s what you need to know: Rents cannot increase by more than two percent a year.…
Three local organizations get government cash to provide affordable housing
Halifax Regional Council gave the green light to three affordable housing projects this week. The city got money to pay for the projects from the federal government’s rapid housing initiative; the funding was earmarked for at least 28 units to the tune of $8.65 million. And with the number of people who are unhoused in Halifax doubling…
“If you haven’t woken up to the second wave, this is your wake-up call”
Update December 4: Today top doc Strang announced that the restrictions described below are going to be in effect until at least Wednesday, December 16. When initially announced, the restriction period was for two weeks, ending at midnight December 9, unless extended. By making a one-week extension now, rather than waiting a few days until…
COVID-19 news for the November 23 week
NOTE: This week is now over. For the very latest news, please go here. But for an informative look back at exactly how Nova Scotia responded to COVID-19 in realtime, keep on reading. Click for mobile-friendlier version of graph. Editor’s note: In its 28 years The Coast has never been a just-the-facts news service, but…
For The Khyber, for us all
Emily Davidson sits, folded over on herself, in a corner on the third floor of 1588 Barrington Street. It’s not just any corner, of course. “This used to be the DJ booth back when it was the Turret Club,” the Turret Arts Space Society president says. Sunlight slides across a floor filled with memories as…
Halifax’s bubble gets smaller
Remember the days of MySpace—where you picked your top friends to list on your profile page? Now it’s real life, except instead of your profile, you have to pick your personal COVID-19 bubble. For “western HRM,” once the clock strikes 12:01 on Monday, November 23, a resident’s bubble—the people you don’t have to socially distance…
Here’s what happened at council this week
Another day, another dollar, another look at the use of Micmac instead of Mi’kmaq in Halifax. As usual, The Coast live-‘grammed Tuesday’s council meeting on our Instagram stories—click here to see what happened in real time—but we hope you enjoy this recap, too. On the heels of the landmark report from the Task Force on…
Add it up
QI’ve always been excited by BDSM, but I’ve only minimally explored this side of myself until very recently. I’m a straight woman and it was difficult to find men who wanted more monogamish relationships on the traditional apps, and a challenge to be honest about what I am looking for where kink is concerned. I’d…
In your horoscope: avoid safe and predictable work
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SCORPIO (October 23-November 21) To convey the spirit of the coming weeks, I’m offering you wisdom from two women who were wise about the art of slow and steady progress. First, here’s author Iris Murdoch: “One of the secrets of a happy life is continuous small treats, and if some of these can…
Voice of the city: A premier should consider housing a human right
Last week, after more than seven years as government MLAs, two wannabe premiers—Labi Kousoulis and Iain Rankin—proposed modest, provisional versions of the much-needed policy of rent control as part of their bids for the Liberal leadership. Given that my NDP colleagues and I have been advocating for rent control since 2017 when we first introduced…
Halifax sees increase in homelessness, renting is still getting harder
Mount Saint Vincent University student Mila McKay has been in and out of homelessness since they moved to Halifax in 2015 because of the high rent prices in Halifax. The only time they’re not homeless is when school is in session and they can live in residence. During the summer and Christmas breaks, they slept…
The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia chooses its winning design
When Joni Mitchell sang that “you don’t know what you got till it’s gone/Paved paradise, put up a parking lot,” she forgot one thing: Paradise could be rebuilt over that dead field of asphalt. Today, the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia announced it’ll do just that as it unveiled its plans for the new Waterfront…
“They’re on the right path,” says western First Nation chief about purchase of Clearwater by Mi’kmaq coalition
What does Alberta’s oil sands industry have in common with the east coast lobster fishery? Besides employing lots of Nova Scotians, both involve First Nations-owned businesses in a major way. A pending deal means nobody will have more shellfish licenses in Canada than a group of Mi’kmaq First Nations. And Fort McKay First Nation calls…
Halifax’s board of police commissioners OKs committee to look at reimagining policing
With a proposal that insists on all kinds of community engagement—even from those wholly opposed to the idea— Halifax’s board of police commissioners moved the process for community consultation on defunding the police forward this week. After a messy start, the board’s request for a committee made up of community stakeholders to look at a…
COVID-19 news for the November 16 week
NOTE: This week is now over. For the very latest news, please go here. But for an informative look back at exactly how Nova Scotia responded to COVID-19 in realtime, keep on reading. Click for mobile-friendlier version of graph. Editor’s note: In its 28 years The Coast has never been a just-the-facts news service, but…
There’s something about threesomes. And foursomes.
QWhy are threesomes much more accepted in the popular imagination than foursomes? I was just googling “finding foursomes” and the first result is an article about threesomes that takes for granted that people are looking for MFF. That is a form of heteronormativity, right? I am not judging threesomes, of course, but asking why foursomes are…
How did it get to this? A recent timeline of Indigenous lobster-fishing rights.
Despite a decades-old Supreme Court ruling squarely in their favour, Indigenous fishers still struggle to assert their rights to fish for a moderate livelihood. As this timeline of modern history shows, a lack of help from the federal government to put established rights into practise is nothing new, even as such inaction repeatedly enables violence and intimidation…
In your horoscope: family first
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SCORPIO (October 23-November 21) “At every crossroad, be prepared to bump into wonder,” wrote Scorpio poet James Broughton. I believe that’s stirring advice for you to keep in mind during the coming weeks. Broughton’s words inspired me to come up with a corollary for you to heed, as well: “At every turning point,…
Fisherman’s Cove keeps its huts open for the holidays
This year, Fisherman’s Cove is doing something it has never done before—staying open after summer ends. The collection of local shops in Eastern Passage usually runs from May to October but because of COVID-19, business owners lost the first two months of their season. To make up for it, businesses are staying open for the…
It’s beginning to look a lot like holiday market season
Christmas at the Forum Editor’s Note: As of November 26, Christmas at the Forum will be closed for the remainder of the season, with the option of a ticket refund or donating ticket proceeds to Feed Nova Scotia. What may be the largest seasonal shopping event in the city will still go on this year,…
Seven Sure Things for November 12-18
Thursday November 12 Art Market Local artists in a host of mediums—including illustrator Bria Miller and the handmade jewellery line Rocks From My Bra—deliver gift-ready works at this sale. The best part? Your $2 entry fee is being directly donated to help moderate livelihood Mi’kmaq fishers in southern Nova Scotia. Glitter Bean Cafe, 5896 Spring…
HRM hopes landlord registry will make a dent in the rental housing crisis
Clutch your pearls, landlords of Halifax. This week at its regular Tuesday meeting, Halifax Regional Council passed the second reading of updates to bylaw M-200, which outlines the standards for residential occupancies based on the basic foundation that people should live in a place that’s “safe, warm, dry.” The long-awaited move tightens the rules around what’s…
Take Halifax’s budget survey and have your say on how money’s spent
Every year, Halifax Regional Municipality presents a proposed budget to councillors, and councillors then vote on that budget. And every year HRM works to make citizen engagement a bigger part of that process. From now until December 14, a survey that wants to know what you think Halifax does well—and what it does poorly—is live…
Welcome to Best of Halifax 2020, reasons we love the city
For a year like no other, we put together a Best of Halifax issue like you’ve never seen before. You will not find Best Coffee in these pages, nor the gold, silver and bronze winners for Best Spa. There is a distinct and deliberate lack of Best Place For A First Date, Best Comedy Night,…
The Coast is back with the 26th annual Best Of Halifax readers’ survey results
window.location=’https://www.thecoast.ca/halifax/reasons-we-love-the-city/Category?oid=25183110′ If not automatically redirected, click here. Related Stories
We love how the Trellis Collective brings pedal power to the pandemic
What was the nicest thing you saw during the pandemic? “My neighbour started fixing up a bunch of bikes for kids in the complex to ride! So many kids are zooming around now.” That neighbour was Grade 11 Citadel High student Mohammad Aljenadi who, with the help of his friend Sam Kamminga, is part…
We love that Halifax musicians are building the industry’s future
If there was to be a rallying call for 2020 (and really, as survey replies told us, it was music that helped many in this tough time) the only song to consider would be “Lion” by Corey Writes. “It’ll ache you/The past is the past, you can’t let it break you,” spits the Halifax MC.…
We love the frontline healthcare workers taking on the pandemic
For leading Nova Scotia through a particularly brutal first wave of COVID-19, premier Stephen McNeil and chief medical officer of health Robert Strang earned heaps of praise in the BOH survey. “Even though I am not a Liberal government supporter,” said a typical comment, “I think the premier and Dr. Strang have done a fantastic…
We love that Halifax knows Black Lives Matter
Kate Macdonald remembers the peculiar quiet of 6,000 Haligonians trying their best to hear the words being spoken out of a PA system that was not expecting such a huge turnout. The crowd, assembled along Spring Garden Road on the first Monday in June, was there to take a knee for eight minutes and 46…
We love that Halifax’s library loves us back
We asked Shannon Hansen, a community library assistant at Halifax North Memorial Public Library, to pick one moment that describes the spirit of Halifax Public Libraries and why it’s the best. “You’re saying pick one moment,” he says, “but I have those kind of moments every day.” Hansen has spent the last eight months—along…
We love how Halifax answers the door with a smile
Eric Daponte spent the past eight months on the road in HRM. Four, sometimes five days a week, he’s behind the wheel, bringing a pandemic necessity to people’s doors. “Everyone is really stoked when you show up with beer,” Daponte says. “When people ring their doorbell they’re usually like, ‘Who the hell is this at…
We love that Halifax came together in grief
Grief and ritual normally go hand in hand. Ever since humans began living and dying, people have been moved by the need to fully acknowledge death and move through it—often with the help of their community. And though on the surface COVID-19’s greatest crime is death, its greatest punishment falls on those left behind.…
We love that Halifax got baked
In the early days of the pandemic, Halifax was uncertain about lockdowns, scared of new cases and worried about job security. But one thing it could count on? Carbs. Bakers (and would-be bakers) trekked to the grocery store to snap up the last packets of yeast and flour from near-bare shelves. They waited for loaves…
How to bring the party home
“My wife and I really looked forward to the living room dance parties with the kids,” one reader tells us in our Best Of survey. Yep, when joy felt like a match too wet to spark, getting through lockdown was about the little things—like online parties that helped us follow the prophetic words of Lady…
Our not-so-secret garden
“If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden,” wrote author Frances Hodgson Burnett in 1911. But if you look at the 2020 readers’ survey, you can see a garden—the Halifax Public Gardens—that became our whole world. Here, in the midst of fear and uncertainty, was someplace free,…
What’s so special about Halifax, anyway?
In the BOH survey we asked “What makes Halifax special to you?” and we got back a pile of answers on the same theme: It’s the perfect size. Whether readers say it “feels more like a neighbourhood than a city,” or is “too small for a secret affair,” they agree it’s the epitome of a…
It’s been one for the books
In the Best Of survey we asked, “Before Covid, what did a perfect day in Halifax look like for you?” One reader’s answer? “I’m lying on my back on Citadel Hill with a good book.” This bookworm is not alone. When Mike Hamm first came back to work at The Bookmark, he expected things to…
Our collective art beat
“Art helps us: In connecting with art, we connect with each other, we orient ourselves in time,” says sound artist and Nocturne 2020 curator Lindsay Dobbin. In a year where galleries were closed for months—making it hard to access visual art—Halifax’s creative class did what it does best and kept on connecting, kept helping us…
Crafters in a dangerous time
What was the nicest thing you saw during the pandemic? “Local craft stores switching to online delivery, making it easier for everyone to keep their hands busy and their minds occupied.” When word got out that masks could help slow the spread of COVID-19, Halifax’s crafters rose to the task. And local craft shops were…
Basha gets benevolent
In late March, Basha Mediterranean Cuisine co-owner Chico Al-Rashaydeh began hearing stories of pandemic layoffs. “We found that a lot of people have no money and no income, they lost their job, and nobody knows what to do,” he tells The Coast. Along with his two brothers, Al-Rashaydeh decided to do something. Since then, Basha has…
Going viral as virus therapy
In a time when, as we heard from readers in the survey, the social part of social media became ever more important, Halifax’s love for TikTok hit the mainstream. Two of the city’s stars on the video-sharing app gave us community contained within a backlit screen. Alicia McCarvell (@aliciamccarvell) might be the biggest local name…
Mi’kmaq Coalition buys Clearwater, becomes Canada’s largest holder of shellfish licenses
On Monday, a coalition of Mi’kmaq First Nations, led by Membertou and Miawpukek First Nations, reached a deal to buy Clearwater Seafoods. Together with their new business partner, British Columbia-based Premium Brands Holdings Corporation, they are acquiring the seafood giant in a deal worth approximately $1 billion. “Clearwater is one of the largest fully-integrated seafood…
The government still hasn’t made contact tracing mandatory
Editor’s Note: As of Monday, November 23, contact tracing will be mandatory in Nova Scotia. Read more here. I n the past two weeks, Halifax has been warned of a slew of potential COVID-19 exposures at local bars and restaurants—from Montana’s in Bayer’s Lake to Gahan House in the Nova Centre to The Bitter End…
COVID-19 news for the November 9 week
NOTE: This week is now over. For the very latest news, please go here. But for an informative look back at exactly how Nova Scotia responded to COVID-19 in realtime, keep on reading. Click for mobile-friendlier version of graph. Editor’s note: In its 28 years The Coast has never been a just-the-facts news service, but…
Halifax to rally for rent control this weekend
The rent at Aidan Tompkins’ three-bedroom apartment on Almon Street went up by 29 percent in 2019. He and his roommates were paying $1,345 for the three-bedroom unit before the notice from his landlord came four months before lease renewal. “It hit us pretty hard. We had to reassess our budget, had to cut a…
Seven Sure Things for November 5-11
Thursday November 5 Drag Trivia w/Brooke Rivers One third of the Haus of Rivers drag family hosts this wig-snatching night of trivia as part of Francofest 2020. Alderney Landing, 2 Ochterloney Street, 7pm, $40-$60, alderneylanding2020.ticketpro.ca Kim Harris’s album release show With one of 2020’s best records—the 10-track effort Heirloom—Kim Harris celebrates new songs and the…
This senior’s sex drive is just like old times
QI’m a nearly-80 straight male, with undiminished libido. I have no problem with it, just a persistent curiosity. Like, why now? And is it common among us old geezers? Male and female? I’m more sex-obsessed than ever before, including adolescence. Until my sixties, tits were my sexual focus, and other body parts were strictly subsidiary,…
In your horoscope: you’re in a limbo zone
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SCORPIO (October 23-November 21) “I hold a beast, an angel and a madman in me,” wrote Scorpio poet Dylan Thomas (1914–1953) in a letter to a friend. That sounds like a lot of energy to manage! And he didn’t always do a good job at it—although he did at times tap into his…
Voice of the city: The show must go on
COVID-19 has had a devastating effect on the arts sector, especially for the performing arts. Now, two months into the school year, it’s time we take a moment to shout out public school music teachers. In September, music teachers returned to work under incredibly difficult conditions with dramatic disruptions on their teaching practices. There are…
Splinters sticks with you
Splinters Neptune Theatre, 1593 Argyle Street or stream online at neptuneathome.com Daily until Nov 8, 8pm; Nov 7-8 4pm & 8pm $10, neptunetheatre.com for tickets It’s the sort of full-circle synergy that almost feels too much like a plot device to be real life. It’s also a reminder that stories aren’t just told, but lived:…
COVID-19 news for the November 2 week
NOTE: This week is now over. For the very latest news, please go here. But for an informative look back at exactly how Nova Scotia responded to COVID-19 in realtime, keep on reading. Click for mobile version of graph. Editor’s note: In its 28 years The Coast has never been a just-the-facts news service, but…
