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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.
because i felt that would make me weak. no, that’s cool, I’ll jusr bring my purse. —tinkerbelle
I really wish the playstation people didn’t have to talk about taking away the youtube app on the playstation vita why because it helps me with the games I play and it is REALLY GONNA SUCK ASS! when it goes on april the 20 when I can no longer use it for my playstation vita…
Dear beloved city, this is my farewell letter. I will be leaving you soon. I will miss you and all your perfect nooks and cracks. You have given me so much and helped me become the person I am today. Whether it was the wind, rain or snow that you brought, you showed me the…
I know that Halifax is really frustrating you lately, and it hasn’t been easy on you to move back here, but I am really glad you did. The winter has been awful, and even our poor kitty’s baby paws are cold some days, let alone ours. But summer is just around the bend! Warmth! Low…
OMG, according to what I’ve been hearing, the government’s decision to gut the NS Film Tax Credit is going to kill the local entertainment business!!! They did this without apparently even consulting with the industry experts. The show “Haven” may already be leaving. There may be good news, though, as I’ve heard this may not…
Stepped off the corner from South Park Street into a side street–yep, still walking in the street in mid-April–only to be nearly run over by someone in a white SUV reversing at high speed in to the curb then slamming on the brakes. Please remember that there are long stretches of sidewalk (usually on the…
[Image-1] Attention to every paranoid old lady or thugged out lowrider who has rolled up their windows and locked their doors after making eye contact with a defeated, down-on-our-luck hobo panhandling on the meridian: life sucks enough for us already, hobos are not going to sell themselves to prison for stealing the measly 35 cents…
[Image-1] Ah yes, thank you for gutting that tax credit. Yes, you know the one. The one that employed my 24-year-old partner. The partner that I, 25, moved from Manitoba to Nova Scotia to be with. We were looking at buying a house. We were looking at starting a family. We were 40-65 years worth of guaranteed provincial tax income just…
It really grinds my gears to hear all those ex-east-coasters complaining from their high horses about how screwed Nova Scotia is. Yeah, yeah you love the people and the landscape but if you’re not willing to stay here and make it work then that’s all pointless blabbering. We don’t need you anyways because all you’re…
Went to buy the big new book on capitalism and climate justice, This Changes Everything, and the god-damned thing cost $40. This is a problem, and this changes nothing. If you want to spread awareness and equip people with the knowledge to fight against the injustices and effects of capitalism, make the knowledge accessible to…
I am hypnotised by the sight of cold, filthy, sparkling snowbank meltwater running across the SG sidewalk, roaring over the edge of the curb like a tiny waterfall, and tearing along the street like an end-of-winter freshet to gurgle down a rusty storm sewer. Sweet sight! —Do I Mind Dirty, Salty Puddle Splashes On My Jeans? Nahhh
I 100 percent agree that it shouldn’t have been cut that low. It is indeed a travesty. Only thing I got to say is it was not an industry where anyone could have gotten involved like some are making it out to be. To get involved in that industry you had to/still have to jump…
To the three hooligans who egged a scared kitten sitting in the middle of Quinpool Road around 2am on Saturday: you are terrible people and you frightened me, too. Get a life. —Late Night Walker
Think about all the people you’ve secretly had a crush on. All the people you’ve found attractive, but never said anything to. Every stranger you’ve temporarily fallen in love with on public transportation. All the people you’ve dreamt of and thought of in the early mornings. And now take a moment to realize you have been this person for…
Dear Nova Scotia Liberal Party, My name is Ryan Campbell. I’m a young (28) professional, my field is software development, and I’m a proud Nova Scotian and will remain so until the end of my days. I’m writing you a letter—an open letter, which I freely admit is written with the intent of embarrassing you,…
Good guys Morbid Entertainment and Red Tentacle are bringing Propagandhi to town on June 22 at the Marquee Ballroom (with Like a Motorcycle and Scumgrief, 8pm) so you can live your punk fantasies. As Propagandhi posted in a charming announcement on its website today: HALIFAX! ST. JOHN’S! US! YOU! TOGETHER! AT LAST! I’s the b’y…
You know the birds are starving. It’s on TV, in the papers, fuck, they’re literally dropping out of the sky from starvation. Yesterday, when you brought your comically oversized horse/dog into a neighbor’s yard to sneak his giant 6 AM shitloaf and saw a newly-filed plastic dish piled high with birdseed, apple slices and rasberries,…
[Image-1] Today the Supreme Court of Canada unanimously ruled that reciting prayers at municipal council meetings is a breach of religious neutrality and discriminates against public freedoms. It’s a decision that potentially could mean an end to Halifax Regional Council’s non-denominational “invocation.” The Supreme Court ruling originates in 2007, when a resident of Saguenay, Quebec…
This Saturday, April 18 will be the eighth annual Record Store Day. Whether you’re an old school purist or a vinyl virgin, you know that Halifax record stores have got some cheap tricks up their sleeves. Black Buffalo Records (5567 Cornwallis Street) will start the festivities at 9am with live music all day. Local DJs…
The Sobey Art Award, Canada’s pre-eminent contemporary art award since 2002, has announced the curatorial panel’s 25 artist-strong longlist. The award is given annually to a visual artist under 40 who has exhibited in a public or commercial art gallery within 18 months of the nomination. There’s a total of $100,000 in prize money awarded…
Did you order my vegan (what) dinner, did your brother show up, and then did i totally pass up a golden oppurtunity to talk to you at coburg the very next day? Woe is me – please show up again, i think i need you —the worst customer/law student/ever
[Image-1] So me and a lot of other people stand in line in the rain and cold for 5 hours to find out people who don’t even have a ticket can win. Then we paid $70 for nose bleed section and people on the floor paid $40-50. Then to find out no one won anything…
To the North End vegetarian that stomps around town and takes photos in her fur jacket. Get your head examined. —Meat eater and wearer
Thanks to the red-headed Aussie for waiting — and pretending you weren’t — while I backed into my Chebucto driveway during rush hour. I was flustered and kept screwing up because an asshole almost hit me. I honked, he jumped OUT OF HIS CAR to scream at me. Terrifying. Your calm presence helped a lot.…
Did you throw a hissy fit in a store because your lighter didn’t work? It’s called mass production, and you don’t storm back into the store raging at the cashier for some Chinese assembly line defect. Ask for a new Bic or ask for your money back POLITELY. Go home and evaluate your life, because…
To the business that soaks up all our rejects like a sponge – enjoy the trash. —Bitcher
[Image-1] Khyber team…ASSEMBLE! Halifax city council has passed a motion opening the books and allowing the Khyber Arts Society, Friends of the Khyber and Neptune Theatre to create a plan for future use of the historic Halifax building. The group will now have access to building schematics, engineering reports and CAD drawings (documents they couldn’t…
You slowly turned from someone to be loved into a person who loved to insult, belittle and antagonize. You refused to pull your weight financially and emotionally and wonder why you got pushed out. Hope you had fun trying to fuck all my friends and rushing back to the buffet before you even washed your…
It seems Diana Whalen finally figured out what everyone else already knew—the budget sucks. Whalen and various members of her cabinet met this morning with a delegation of nine Nova Scotia film industry professionals in an effort to quell the shitstorm that has been brewing since the budget was announced. Members of the film industry…
Dear premier Stephen McNeil and finance minister Diana Whalen, I want to congratulate you on developing and presenting a difficult budget. As a former Commissioner of ONE Nova Scotia (aka the Ivany Commission), I know all too well the financial and demographic challenges of this province. Hard decisions need to be made and new directions…
We get it, your hubby is going away for work for two weeks, you don’t know what to do with yourself without him joined at your hip. But must you go on about it every freakin day on facebook?! You’re pathetic. It’s just 14 days in NFLD. My good friend’s hubby is in the military…
From Carcass, Emperor and Iron Maiden, Darkside Yoga’s founder and instructor Dawn Collins uses songs from metal’s finest, including Halifax’s own Pith, in a practice meant to heal and inspire. At Darkside (18 Rosedale Drive), the physicality of Bhakti and Hatha yoga blends with the artistic expression of metal, creating a synergy of emotion and…
[Image-1] After just leaving my old apartment and going through a huge debacle with the landlord over major repairs that had to be done, I am now on the hunt for a good landlord. But here’s the problem: they don’t seem to exist. At least, not the ones who are looking to offer affordable, flexible…
[Image-1] It might not have been a pipe bomb, but some sort of explosive device went off last week inside an apartment building in Sydney. The explosion is reported to have occurred around midnight last Thursday, in one of the apartments above Amedeo’s Italian Bistro on Townsend Street. No one was apparently home at the…
For the last month I have lost count of all the times I have got splashed by asshole drivers. Yeah you asshole drivers have to share the road with people who walk and use the bus. slow the fuck down when you see a puddle and people walking. One almost soaked my kid. Next time…
It’s lights, camera, reaction for film industry folk in Nova Scotia. Filmmakers across the province are stepping into the spotlight to speak out against the drastic changes to the Film Industry Tax Credit. The Atlantic Filmmakers Co-op (AFCOOP) put out the casting call to anyone who wanted to talk about their connection to the Nova…
It’s been years now, I’ve been done so get a life and call off your dogs. —But it’s you who has further to fall
The Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market is home to over 200 vendors of all different nationalities and backgrounds, selling a variety of unique products. Our vendors are farmers, artisans, bakers and chefs who grow, produce and create what they sell. We value all of our vendors and we have been working hard with them to create…
[Image-2] I’m going to miss Halifax. I’ll miss the view of the ocean, the fog, the rain, the hurricane winds in September, the seaspray, the jellyfish, the cold beaches, the warm lakes, the taste of lobster and beer and mackerel; I’ll miss the bare hill of the Citadel, I’ll miss dreaming that maybe one day…
[Image-1] Update: Hines has published an update about this Voice of the City submission on his own blog. For added context, we’ve added a relevant passage from that post below in italics. The rest of his original Voice submission follows. “First of all, I wish to apologize to the Port Authority for potentially implying that…
After weeks of hinting about their move to a new location, Big Pony (formerly of 1453 Brenton Street) finally spilled the beans about their new place via Instagram, natch. The quirky second-hand boutique temporarily closed up shop on April 11 and will be re-opening June 1 at 2168 Gottingen Street, replacing Parentheses Gallery, which leaves…
“We can’t have a patio on Barrington that makes any sense. And we’re big fans of drinking beer outside, as most people are,” says Stillwell’s Chris Reynolds. “We especially like to drink really good local beer outside.” Just when we thought it wasn’t possible to be any more excited for summertime, downtown’s packed to the…
Holy smokes! St. John’s, Newfoundland was an amazing host for East Coast Music Week and the annual East Coast Music Awards! It was an honour and pleasure to be among some of the region’s most talented artists, publicists, industry pros and journalists. Congrats to Stephen Cooke for the Media Person of the Year award, and…
In a blog post published today on mayormikesavage.blogspot.com, the mayor spoke in a diplomatic way about the Liberal budget. In the nicest way possible, he said that the plan to cut to the film industry tax credit in particular need adjustment. Read the post below. The provincial budget of 2015 was projected to be tough,…
You came into my store and bought something and I served you at the cash. You looked familiar and then I realized who you were. You were a chick who rejected me on Match.com. I wrote you a thoughtful message, took the effort to mention something on your profile that had nothing to do with…
[Image-1] Boy, that budget really hit a nerve, huh? In the avalanche of discussions that’s swirled about cuts to the province’s film tax credit, changes made by the Liberals to Nova Scotia’s university system received fewer headlines. Their impact hasn’t gone unnoticed it seems, as student groups today assembled at finance minister Diana Whalen’s constituency…
[Image-1] With the advent of technology, you can now flirt, proposition or even make plans to meet someone from the comfort of your home, your car and if you are really short on time, while you are relieving yourself. Progress at its finest. There are plenty of dating sites out there, but if you want…
[Image-1] To the purple haired girl with the green canvas bookbag who is always on the 60, your head bopping and unprompted but infectious and endearing smile lights up my world every time I see you. Whether your reading a weird book about witches or your preferred national geographic, you look so open I just…
Let me start off as to point out that I am not a cheapskate. I have no problem paying on the first date. I’ve taken women out to a nice meal and paid the bill on many occasions. My issue is that society expects me as a man to foot most of the bills while…
To the worthless piece of shit who stole the lights off my locked-up bike while I was laid up with a sprained knee: Thank you for kicking me while I was down and adding insult to injury. Fuck you, you miserable excuse for a waste of oxygen. —Walking but not dead
[Image-1] The robins have arrived, but those early birds aren’t getting any worms this year. (It’s basically christmas at easter in case you hadn’t noticed!!!) This is why I have a weird apple chunk/mealworm/sunflower seed/water bowl buffet thing going on in my backyard. It’s for the chickadees and the White-throated Sparrows and the Robins and…
There you have it, folks. After weeks of heated battles, and some lacklustre ones, too, we reveal the March Madness champion for 2015. The salty snacks couldn’t fight the fizzy power of pop and we were as shocked as you to learn that chips didn’t take home the trophy. What gives? Last night, in a…
[Image-1] Kenya may seem like a world away, but Halifax’s Ntombi Mzimela-Nkiwane feels the heartache of her fellow African people this week. Mzimela-Nkiwane—originally from South Africa—is organizing a candlelight vigil tomorrow evening at 6:30pm within Victoria Park. The vigil will be held in remembrance of the 142 students, three security officers and two security personnel…
Of all things, the east coast is strong. We work from love and for each other. We work when there are no rewards. We work, and we work hard, because that’s just what we do. We are resilient and resourceful and grateful. The East Coast Music Awards were created over two decades ago to celebrate…
Pizza Corner is about to get a little less literary. Blowers Street’s Paperchase Newsstand and Café will be closing its doors, out front and the garage ones up top, as of April 21. Management confirmed the new owner plans to keep the space a cafe and will reopen a few weeks later, but as a…
How much of an asshole has this winter been? Let me count the ways. OK, I won’t. I’m working to get over it. But I will remind you of one of the major downfalls of the snowfall—the affect it, and our hibernation, has had on small, local businesses. It’s been a rough go for a…
[Image-1] Yesterday, the Liberals capped off the worst winter in Nova Scotia’s recent history by dumping another load on the province that sure as shootin’ wasn’t snow. The government unveiled this year’s budget, and Nova Scotia is expecting a $97-million deficit this year with total expenses topping out at a little over $10 billion. Given that…
Remember Burger Week? Of course you do! You’re probably still having dreams of meat sweats and trying to run off that extra beef on the treadmill. After all, it’s not every day that 64 local restaurants work their buns off to bring you patty perfection. The best part of Burger Week, however, isn’t the excuse…
Last match up, gang. And I can’t say this is the club soda vs. Doritos bloodbath I once dreamed of. Party mix turned crunchy Cheetos into mere bottom of the bag dust with 57 percent of the vote. Party mix? Even with those pretzels? Root beer burst Dr. Pepper’s bubble with 59 percent of the…
The Canadian Journalism Foundation just announced the finalists of its 2015 Excellence in Journalism Award, and the news has Coast headquarters reeling. In a good way. As well as naming the short-listed outlets in the “large media” category—the Globe and Mail, Global TV, L’actualité, the Toronto Star and Winnipeg’s Free Press—the CJF announced the winner…
[Image-1] When Air Canada flight 608 finally touched down in Halifax in December 2013, it marked the beginning of Pedram Niakan’s new life. He was excited. Above all, he was terrified. Not many people visit Halifax in the winter, least of all people from warmer climates. Yet he was moving in. Voluntarily. Niakan, 25, first…
[Image-1] It starts, at least for me, the night after I send off my cover letter and CV. I rest my head on my pillow and—even though I know I shouldn’t, and I tell myself to stop—I can’t help but begin fantasizing about what my life would look like if I actually got the job.…
[Image-1] Robert Houle turned painting into a full-time gig after selling his first piece—a small eight-by-10-inch acrylic titled “Red is Beautiful”—for $90 back in the ’70s. Since then, he’s served as the first curator of Contemporary Indian Art at the Canadian Museum of Civilization, garnered international exposure and most recently won the Governor General’s Award…
[Image-1] A Saturday at the market is a busy affair. The warehouse-style building at Pier 20 is packed, filled with brightly coloured flowers, fresh vegetables and yummy smells of coffee, cupcakes, samosas and Jamaican beef patties. Mary Nkrumah is ready to work. The day before, she spent $135 on lamb, bought from a stand not…
Unless it’s a gaggle of wasted college bros on a pub crawl, I didn’t think of “comedy” when I heard “The Toothy Moose.” That is, until February, when veteran Halifax comic Ian Black began hosting comedy nights every Sunday in a funky side-room of the Argyle Street dance bar. “It’s been really nice to have…
WHO THEY ARE “We, Nick Dourado and Jeremy Costello, are two of the three people who are Special Costello. DB Influenza is not pictured.” WHAT THEY DO We have simultaneously been honing our ability to improvise and spontaneously compose as well as writing and practicing our more static pieces. I [Jeremy] write the lyrics and…
Still riding high in the wake of a well-received self-titled EP released last October, folk-pop group Hillsburn is, like many of us, looking forward to a spring and summer of festivals. Plus a full-length album in the fall. Made up of brother and sister Clayton and Rosanna Burrill, Jackson Fairfax-Perry and main songwriter Paul Aarntzen,…
The Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market is home to over 200 vendors of all different nationalities and backgrounds, selling a variety of unique products. Our vendors are farmers, artisans, bakers and chefs who grow, produce and create what they sell. We value all of our vendors and we have been working hard with them to create…
For those who worship at the altar of a curiously delicious curry, finding authentic Indian food in Halifax can be pretty tough. However, thanks to a creative entrepreneur, finding the perfect palak paneer may soon be a naan-issue. Growing up in West Bengal, India, Shivani Dhamija moved to Halifax a little over three years ago.…
College students, current and former, are used to “camping out” in libraries, pulling all-nighters during the final term push. But Becky Gartner is taking it to the next level. In preparation for NSCAD’s senior fashion show, *Thaw*, the fourth-year student loaded up her trusty Dodge Caravan with a mattress, pillows and sheets and parked it…
Audible through the fluorescent strobing party light-hued fog machine murk were huddled shapes chinwagging over the psyche of David Lynch’s oeuvre while passing around Trevor’s vaporizer, joints and a pizza box. Their diarrheic jabbering over the parallels between Manson (Marilyn)’s Mechanical Animals and Lost Highway was arrhythmically punctuated by constant misuse of “bemused” over “amused,”…
[Image-1] First, the context. In The Coast, a tiny article about a transformed transit network appeared. Some people read it more closely and started spreading the news: Halifax Transit had decided to make changes to its bus routes; among others, route 1. Not long after, people in my neighbourhood started knocking at doors and sending…
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Aries (Mar 21-Apr 19) Uitwaaien is a Dutch word that means to go out for a stroll in windy weather simply because it’s exhilarating. I don’t know any language that has parallel terms for running in the rain for the dizzy joy of it, or dancing through a meadow in the dark because…
Leaning left of way The proposed pilot project to implement bike lanes on the north and south sides of University Avenue, from Robie to Le Marchant Streets, is an inspired idea and has my full support. Biking around Halifax seems incredibly intimidating when, in most cases, cyclists are sharing the space with motorists who frankly…
Q I’m a straight male kinkster who used to do live performances as a rope bondage top, but I recently jumped out of the kink community. I just think I’ll have better luck finding a long-term relationship with a girl from the vanilla world. So long as she’s GGG, I can live with it. As…
Sadly, it turns out that comments made by finance minister Diana Whalen last week denouncing the Nova Scotia film tax credit weren’t just woefully off script, the Liberal government did indeed decide to cut the Nova Scotia film industry tax credit from 100 percent refundable to 25 percent, beginning July 1, as announced in today’s…
It’s always amusing when people—men (boys)—come out swinging before a movie’s even released about how you shouldn’t make fun of it just because it’s the sixth sequel to something dumb, like do you hate fun and driving and The Rock like a monster or what? Had star Paul Walker not died in a high-speed car…
The best things in life are free, and the best foods in life are gelato. So, Humani-T Cafe (5755 Young Street and 1451 South Park Street) probably had you at Free Gelato Day, the third annual fundraiser and positivity dose hosted by both locations of the coffee shop. “When we first opened the cafe, we…
