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The Coast | News, events, restaurants, concerts and Burger Week for Halifax, Nova Scotia
Home of the Best of Halifax Reader's Choice Awards, the award-winning independent newspaper covers the Halifax news, politics, events, concerts, movies, restaurants, and nightlife scene.
They must be because apparently none of the fucking laws apply to them. All you bicyclists who pass traffic on the inside, dart in and out of your lanes and just generally act like assholes, you all suck. If you want cars to respect you, show some fucking respect for the rules of the road. —How…
To the woman waiting for hours in emerg last Thursday night, like we were, who saw my mom in severe, unbearable pain and offered to let her go ahead of her: Thank you so very much for being so sweet and compassionate. I wish I had asked you your name but was so focused on…
Thank you for being so handsome!! I’ve seen you working the second door to entry the past two weekends and I couldn’t keep my eyes off of you. You are hands down the most attractive man I’ve seen in years! —Just another girl
[Image-1] Whether it be due to economic hardship, social-disease or poor personal-development, the constant inability to enjoy a cigarette downtown without being asked by usually up to three people is the most annoying circumstance imaginable. You quite literally have to sneak away to a secluded area to avoid the unpleasantness of another “No, I’m sorry…
I have held my tongue for too long now. I know what you sent that other woman and I know what she sent you. I have been by your side through thick and thin for the past seven years. Our daughter is now three and you decide to pull this shit? Telling another woman that…
Oh my god! Is it a gorgeous, beautiful day outside? Tell me again. Two-thousand times today just isn’t enough! Good thing you’re all here to let the person working a 12-hour shift know that they “should really be outside.” I’ll keep it in mind for when the whole concept of employment changes and I can…
For more than two years now you have been the one who lights my fire within, my shoulder to lean on, my ear to listen. The adventures we have taken are the memories that I keep safe. For everything you have shown and done for me, I THANK YOU! But, now it is time for us to go…
[Image-1] You know when you feel all gassy and you just know a good fart would make that constipated feeling go away AND YOU CAN’T FUCKIN FART? It’s terrible. ALL I WANT TO DO IS FART. FOR FUCK SAKE, JUST LET ME BLOW ONE OUT MY HOLE ALREADY!!!! —Fartless in Halifax
Dear sweet cafeteria chef: I love the way you make my breakfast; the eggs are perfect and the conversation is great. At lunchtime, it’s totally worth it to wait in line just to have you make my onion rings/ burger. I wish you made the wraps too. You make my time at school worth it…
[Image-1] You sat at my table in grade four and I was the only one who thought you were funny. You were the first person to ever call me beautiful. You stayed by me through two years of a horrendous relationship and every dismal relationship that followed. You never gave up on me and you…
WHY THE FUCK IS THERE NOT A GIANT ZONE OF CANADA CORDONED OFF FROM ALL MODERN ACTIVITY AND ONLY HUNTER-GATHERING, HAND-CRAFTED LIFESTYLES ALLOWED? —Infuriated City Slave
After 17 years as one of P’LOVERS’ devoted employees, Shelby Lendrum took over its ownership last spring. This fall she opened a new location for the environmentally conscious shop in downtown Dartmouth, at 52 Queen Street. Needless to say, it’s been a busy year. Why shop with a conscience? Shifting a consumer’s mindset from a…
HPX is always a bittersweet time for me, I love watching bands perform, seeing friends and meeting new ones, but I dislike wearing festival bracelets and having any trace of a bar stamp on my hand the next day. Clearly, I deserve your sympathy. I met two nice pals Adria and Nicole at the Atlantica,…
[Image-1] Canada is on high alert after a man or several men opened fire today on Parliament Hill. At least one soldier who was standing guard at the National War Memorial was shot in the chest. CBC reports his condition is not known at present. The shooting has caused a lockdown in areas around downtown…
[Image-1] “I find it interesting.” —The reason Graham Hicks (pictured above) gave for why he’s been attending council meetings for the last four decades (give or take a year). In recognition of Hicks’ efforts as a “dedicated observer,” Mike Savage presented a small plaque with Hicks’ name which will be affixed to a chair in…
[Image-1] It’s hard getting things built in this town. Sure, there’s more cranes in the sky than there’s been in decades, but municipal policies still often get in the way of a property owner’s god-given right to vomit out mixed-use residential. Perhaps that’s why APL Properties Ltd., “an Armco Capital company,” has taken an unusually…
[Image-1] Well, here we go again Canada running off to save the world. However i do have a rant, why are we taking people in from war torn nations only to have our guys and ladies to save there nation people come here get free welfare home and board running from there home only to…
So, you get attention without having to risk a thing, to judge and profit from the clowns in that circus every night. You once asked me out to salsa dance – I turned you down -thought you wanted me as your wingwoman. If I was wrong – and you’re still interested, break out of that…
[Image-1] Hey fellow winter-born. Today was indeed as crisp and sweet as an apple, made sweeter by the smile I get after chatting with you. Care to thaw out over a steaming drink sometime? It’d be nice to share some words over something more interesting than a debit transaction. Not accompanied, I promise, by any…
At first your leopard print hat caught my attention while walking into the SuperStore but once our eyes met, we couldn’t stop exchanging looks and smiles while your friend kept walking. We exchange smiles a few more times as you moved through the isles before I headed to the checkout. Just have to say you…
If you’ve eaten at Cousin’s Restaurant (3545 Robie Street) in the last 11 years, you probably know Mary Elle Planetta. The longtime fixture at the legendary family restaurant decided about a year ago that she wanted to venture out on her own, resulting in the soon-to-be Elle’s Bistro, which opens at 1678 Barrington Street (the…
The common college bird, formally known as the Studentus Universitatis Froshus, tend to gather in large flocks, as can be seen in the backyard nearby, and in other urban settings. The males of the species can be readily identified by their backward facing caps – similar to the black-capped chickadee – but are much larger…
[Image-1] No. Just. No. This is doomed to fail. The Ghostbuster fan base is so hardcore that a lot of them don’t even want a third instalment now that Harold Ramis is dead (R.I.P.) but to reboot the film entirely with an all female cast? Not happy. First of all they are changing all the…
I just finished a comic for submission to The Coast: It looks like a solid black square, but it’s actually an incredibly intricate pseudo-“trippy” line drawing consisting of a suffusing miasma of phallic images set in a background of utterly irrelevant nonsense. There’s some dialogue, too: “My brain is in the French press! We must…
Thank you so much for giving me a chance. You have changed my life so much and for that I thank you. Your hard work and dedication to school and sports have made me strive to be better. You mean the world to me and for everyday I continue to improve myself I have you…
Got in my car to drive to work today only to find my driver side mirror was smashed off. Hard enough to make ends meet without having to repair my car because someone either vandalized it or couldn’t stop and leave a note. Thanks for making my week. Replacement mirrors are also proving to be…
Linda Rand and Leeanne Carson admit they’re not the fastest out of the gate, their idea to open a consignment dress shop—East of Montreal (1474 Brenton Street, sharing a space with Eco Chic Salon)—has been brewing for about 10 years. Formerly coworkers at All Dressed Up, the pair have about 30 years of experience between…
I apologize if my light was too bright for your charming blue eyes, but if you are who I think you are, introduce yourself. No two flames are alike, but maybe our flames burn with a likeness. —Beanie Barista
\ Hey cancer: fuck you. You killed a friend of mine last Saturday. I hope that cancer dies of cancer of the cancer and fucking suffers. Liver cancer is a lovely thing to die of and chemo is so magical…oh did I say F-u cancer? Prick. —Quantum kitty
I AM SO TIRED OF STUPIT PEOPLE WHO DON’T KNOW THE WORD EXCUSE ME WHEN THEY HEAR IT!!! I SAY IT 3 TIMES EXCUSE ME EXCUSE ME EXCUSE ME! AND ALL THEY SAY IS OH I AM SORRY! AFTER 5 MINUTES OR SO FOR FUCK SAKES PEOPLE! HAVE SOME MANNERS WHEN I SAY THE WORD…
[Image-1] I get that standing on the bus sucks. Welcome to public transportation. I also understand that when there’s a free seat, someone should take it… preferably the people closest to it. So when you get on the bus that’s already packed full of 15+ people standing, maybe you shouldn’t “scout out” that seat at…
To the girl who shared a moment with me on the elevator in the elevator from the ICU, you are beautiful and tall is awesome. Thank you for your smile and wish I knew who you were… —Unexpected Spark
I have always found it both amusing and pitiful how modern, usually 20–something, women will use laughter to deflect criticism, attract attention and project to an observer that they are ‘confident’ when the mere act of doing so indicates otherwise… These are also the women who, though shapely and appealing, have no ‘class’ and show…
[Image-1] Screw you people who think we should still have daily door-to-door mail delivery. The internet exists and I’m tired of our tax dollars funding this outdated form of communication. Check your privilege. —Patriarch
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[Image-1] Just in time for Halloween, Capital Health is ordering new safety gear and outfits for health-care workers who conceivably could be exposed to Ebola. The province is buying about $100,000 of impermeable gowns, pants, and accessories for front-line workers. “We didn’t have those already?” You, certainly I, wondered. Apparently not! Capital Health says the…
Last night nine local chefs faced off at the annual Gold Medal Plates competition—a Canada-wide celebration of food, drink, art and athletics that also raises funds for Canada’s Olympic athletes. Major congrats go to the almighty Renée Lavallée, of The Canteen and Feisty Chef fame, who took home top honours thanks to her Nova Scotia…
Name Carole Rankin Age 28 Spotted on Quinpool Road Wearing shirt, second-hand; scarf, Joe Fresh; leggings, Costco; backpack, Harper Ave; boots, Nine West If your clothes could talk, what would they say about you? They would say they barely know me and only see me twice a year. What are you reading/watching/listening to right now?…
[Image-1] Cineplex Entertainment and Scotiabank, one of the top eight or 12 banks in Canada, today announced that Cineplex’s Bayers Lake location will be christened the new Scotiabank Theatre Halifax. “We are proud that our long-standing partnership with Scotiabank now extends to Halifax,” said Cineplex president and CEO Ellis Jacob in a release. “We look…
The Museum of Natural History, 1747 Summer Street Zone 3, exhibit number 301 http://wmdp.ca/ Artist and filmmaker Becka Barker has been collecting hundreds of hand-drawn-from-memory maps from Haligonians for weeks, hosting World Map Drawing Parties at libraries and opening up online submissions to increase her hoard. Why, you ask? All will become clear at Barker’s…
In the living room they still sat. Their eyes near-watering as the wretched stench of the downstairs bathroom wafted in. The Northwood Terrace roommate meeting was actually more of a precursor to what Welnot’s hoped-for actual meeting would be: a poll to see what day was best for everyone to meet. Welnot was elated and…
It’s been a long time since Roy Caussy— a NSCAD grad and now Toronto-based artist—has been back in Halifax, which might be why he wants to have dinner with you this Saturday night. Thanks to Nocturne, he’s bringing us SMOKELIFE III, an interactive project that he originally presented in 2011, and again last year for Hamilton’s…
“I’m super-sensitive and I always have been,” says singer-songwriter Mo Kenney. “I think people who are smart and think too much can put themselves in a dark hole because, well, thinking too much can be a bad thing. But really, for the most part, I’m an optimistic person.” After hearing Kenney’s new album, In My…
Sackville Landing Zone 2, exhibit 200 www.brendanfernandes.ca Brendan Fernandes is a multi-disciplinary artist with a downright unique perspective on movement and identity–it’s no wonder he’s preoccupied by notions of bodies, in motion and at rest. Fernandes was born in Nairobi, Kenya, to a Goan, Indian family and moved to Toronto in 1989. These days, he…
Asked to contrast the experience of listening to an album by Calgary’s Astral Swans versus seeing the band live, frontman/mastermind Matt Swann explains: “The recordings have more instrumentation. Live, I usually play solo, or ideally with a drummer.” And there’s nothing like the real thing, apparently: “Physically I’m quite striking,” jokes Swann. “I’ve had a…
Bus Stop Theatre, 2203 Gottingen Street Zone 4, exhibit 401 www.henri-faberge.com Team Citizen wants you! Henri Fabergé and his crew are planning an open-source political party game and you’re invited to attend. Team Citizen wants to destabilize the status quo and affect positive change. “We are inspired by the failing institutions currently oppressing us all,”…
“I really can’t get into modern garage rock and a lot of the modern punk sounds,” says Strange Attractor’s frontman and driving force, Jeff Houle. “Can’t stand revival and I feel like most bands are doing it wrong, at least for me. I wanted to put imagination back on the plate and also a have…
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Libra (August 23-September 22) In 1936, Libran author F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote about the “crack-up” he had experienced years earlier. It included this tough realization: “I had been only a mediocre caretaker of most of the things left in my hands, even my talent.” Let’s use this as a seed for your oracle.…
1880 Hollis Street Zone 2, exhibit 201 www.agathesimon.com If you’ve never heard of Argentinian explorer Gabriela Conti (1974-2010), it’s likely because she is the work of Parisian artist Agathe Simon’s imagination. But that doesn’t make Conti any less real. “She’s a source of inspiration for me because her all life is about freedom, creation, desire…
Garrison Place, next door to 1526 Dresden Row Zone 3, exhibit 302 www.t-sang.com Try to picture the alleyway next to 1526 Dresden Row for a minute. You probably can’t, because it normally isn’t used for anything—it’s one of those shadowy spaces you forget exists. NSCAD grad and Toronto-based photographer Jeremy Tsang is back in Halifax…
In 1978, Belfast punk band The Undertones released the single “Teenage Kicks,” which gave voice to youthful sexual feelings through distortion, choral repetition and created a history that lives to this day. With a much more alt-rock sound and elements of punk, the Toronto-based rock duo of brothers, Pete and Jeff van Helvoort, are aware…
Halifax waterfront near Salter Zone 2, exhibit number 203 www.lilionaq.com Grab a sweater and jeté your way to the waterfront near the corner of Lower Water and Salter to Liliona Quarmyne’s Inside- Outside: the Dance of the Box. Quarmyne presents an interactive dance piece that promises a fun and engaging communal experience. Quarmyne says her piece…
Keep up/live vicariously as we recap all our HPX adventures in blog and photo form from now until the end of the fest. Show suggestions welcomed at arts@thecoast.ca/tweet at us @TwitCoast. Click here for these blogs we were just discussing.
Citadel Hill Zone 3, exhibit 300 www.adrianakuiper.com “There’s the famous scene in Close Encounters of the Third Kind in which the humans, in an attempt to communicate with the extra-terrestrials using a combination of flashing coloured lights and single musical notes, try make contact or to communicate,” explains artist Ryan Suter. “This form of communication…
Video screening, Art Gallery of Nova Scotia Windsor Foundation Theatre, 1723 Hollis Street Live performance, 7pm Mi’kmaq Native Friendship Centre Zone 1, exhibit 100 Artist talk Thu, Oct 16 at NSCAD Bell Auditorium, 5163 Duke Street, 6:30pm www.jamesluna.com Acclaimed artist James Luna’s Ishi: The Archive Performance makes its Canadian premiere at this year’s Nocturne, and…
The Nook, 2116 Gottingen Street/King’s Wharf Zone 4, exhibit 400 www.leahgarnett.com The mind always wanders, and Mount Allison professor Leah Garnett’s Drawing on Air has encouraged daydreaming since she began the project in 2002. With a broadcast station at King’s Wharf and a listening room at The Nook, Garnett will read stories that invite drawing…
Post phoned Great story on Canada Post and its five-point action plan to steal our postal service (“Halifax’s mail fail” cover story by Jacob Boon, October 9). We can change this situation. We are all “shareholders” in this corporation and have a say in its direction. If only 25 percent of the population called their…
First of all, are you well-hydrated? Sufficiently rested? Do you have a good base going? Anything less than that signals peril, young HPX learner. The storied festival kicks off this Tuesday, and there’s still a lot of music-listening to be done before next Thursday’s HPX issue. Get a leg up on the pile and dive…
King’s Wharf, The Anchorage, 15 King’s Wharf Zone 5, exhibit 500 www.stephenkelly.ca Ghostly tones emanate from miniature tube guitar amp-looking devices, each trying in their robotic way to hit the same note—matching the hum of a fluorescent light in an eerie automaton choir. Artist, computer programmer and musician Stephen Kelly has created Open Ended Ensemble,…
Alderney Landing Market Zone 5, exhibit #503 www.dustinharvey.com Any time I watch an NBA game, I imagine myself at centre court overwhelmed by the thousands of people standing and clapping, just for me. This unreal moment is what Ovation is all about. “My intent was to create the feeling of standing onstage at the end…
All of the volunteers at the Halifax Pop Explosion work hard, but likely no one puts as much effort in getting to the festival as Hugo van Dun. For the third year in a row, the Dutchman has left home in Utrecht (about 40 kilometres south of Amsterdam) to travel Canada and volunteer at HPX.…
Prince George Hotel, 1725 Market Street Zone 1, exhibit #101 www.brucewbarton.com/all-good-things “It’s based on a real-life experience of mine, a near-drowning in a lake on Manitoulin Island, where I was pulled from the water by a fisherman, and based on the complex, lingering ripples of that event for me and for my family,” says writer/director…
I have spent several weeks on a rollercoaster of feelings when it comes to fracking. First came relief, as the Nova Scotia review of hydraulic fracturing, led by David Wheeler, acknowledged the complete lack of social license for development of Nova Scotia’s unconventional onshore resources. The panel’s final report enshrined community consent as the only…
Four men and some badass beats make up City Natives, but Illfundz (Brandon Arnold), Bne (Blake Francis), Beaatz (Shelby Sappier) and Gearl Francis bring you one solid message. “The biggest message we present through our music is that if you work every day and focus hard enough you can achieve success, doesn’t matter if you’re…
We won’t pretend that any one person could see all of this year’s Nocturne offerings (although it’s certainly worth trying), and breaking it down by hour seems more manageable. On your way to our featured projects, make pit stops at these pieces of interest 6pm: Before you start, remind yourself to keep an eye out…
Khyber Centre for the Arts, 5521 Cornwallis Street Zone 4, exhibit #404 www.rebelgirlhalifax.org Denise Donlon, Erica Ehm and Sook-Yin Lee were my MuchMusic video jockey icons. They were super-cool, they knew everything about rad music and they asked challenging questions about art. Their importance in Canadian pop culture can’t be overstated— I wouldn’t be into music…
Q Four years ago, I met a man on a “married but looking” website. We exchanged fantasies, which included wanting to have threesomes and a D/s relationship. He was 19 years my senior. I was 42 at the time. For three years, we met twice a week for drinks or sex. The sex was amazing.…
A simple piece of equipment could prevent cyclist and pedestrian deaths, but it’s not mandatory in Halifax, and is unlikely to be anytime soon. Side guards are barriers attached to the side of a truck near the ground. They reduce the severity of collisions by blocking the open space under large vehicles, preventing cyclists and…
Nocturne: Art at Night has been responsible for some of the most exciting and temporal installations, performances and exhibits our city sees in the run of a calendar year, and it all happens on one night—for free. For its seventh year, artist Eryn Foster selected a group of local and international artists as part of…
Jessica Dempsey, a transgender woman, is asking the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia for a judicial review of a recent decision made by the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission. Dempsey, a Halifax resident and former Dalhousie student, filed a complaint with the NSHRC last year after she was allegedly refused service and humiliated by two…
