Want to get outside this weekend? Lucky you: There’s no shortage of options, with one of Halifax’s busiest weekend events lineups in recent memory. From free concerts and film screenings to Broadway shows to Pride to Halifax’s longest-running multicultural festival, there’s a little bit of something for everyone. Allow us to be your weekend guide with these Coast picks:
1. Watch the closing ceremony of the North American Indigenous Games. Haisla hip-hoppers Snotty Nose Rez Kids and Halifax alt-pop duo Neon Dreams are headlining the main stage in a free show at the Halifax Common on Friday, July 21. The closing ceremony of the Games kicks off at 8:30pm and is billed as an evening of “high energy, music and culture.” Eskasoni singer-songwriter Kalo Johnson and dancer Sarah Prosper will perform as well, along with LA-based, Nova Scotian-raised producer DJ Matty Galaxy. No tickets needed—just stroll on over to the main stage in the Common, opposite the corner of North Park Street and Armoury Place.
2. Take in a night of Shakespeare by the Sea. Have your pick of two classics this weekend: The outdoor theatre troupe that has been putting on shows in Halifax since 1994 is back for its 30th season with live performances of Pinocchio and Romeo & Juliet at Point Pleasant Park. The former is a Shakespeare by the Sea musical adaptation: Halifax theatre mainstay Garry Williams (DaPoPo, Kamp) wrote the songs, and Jesse MacLean directs the show, that’s been described as “witty” and an “adventure.” The latter is as true to Shakespeare as it gets—Jade Douris-O'Hara and Patrick Jeffrey star in the titular roles. Seats are available for Romeo & Juliet on Friday, July 21 and Sunday, July 23, and for Pinocchio on Saturday, July 22. Tickets range from $5 (pay what you can) to $50. Shows start at 7pm.
3. Catch a free film screening at the Halifax Central Library. Critics have called 2015’s Tangerine a “marvel,” “uproariously comedic” and a “new spin on a familiar classic.” Written and directed by James Baker (The Florida Project), the film follows Sin-Dee, a transgender sex worker who finds out that her boyfriend and pimp cheated on her while she was in jail. She and her best friend, Alexandra, set out to teach him a lesson. The film has been hailed as a “milestone” in queer cinema and trans representation, helmed by performances from transgender actors Kitana Kiki Rodriguez and Mya Taylor. It’s on at the Halifax Central Library at 6:30pm, with drinks and snacks as well.
4. Make some noise in the Kitchen at a Halifax Wanderers game. Good things are brewing at the Wanderers Grounds: The Halifax Wanderers are winners of four straight games in front of their home crowd, and the Canadian Premier League soccer club just added a star defender who helped Canada clinch last year’s trip to the 2022 World Cup.
With 44 appearances for Canada’s senior men’s national team, Doneil Henry brings an instant boost to the Wanderers’ back line as the club looks to climb the CPL rankings into playoff contention. Saturday’s game against Atlético Ottawa should be a good proving ground: The visitors are on a four-game undefeated streak of their own, and the last time the two teams went head-to-head, Ottawa came out with a 2-0 victory. Saturday’s match—a Pride-themed event for the Wanderers—kicks off at 4pm.
5. Fill your plate at Nova Multifest. Feeling hungry? Head to Dartmouth’s Alderney Landing this Friday, Saturday and Sunday for a celebration of food, music and art from all around the world. The Nova Multifest has been a long-running Halifax staple—the first-ever three-day multicultural showcase took place in 1985—and it has grown ever since. The festival runs from 6 to 10pm on Friday, 11am-10pm on Saturday and 11am-6pm on Sunday. Bring your appetite.
6. Snag tickets to a Broadway hit. The Book of Mormon has won nine Tony Awards and a Grammy to boot—so it’s not entirely a surprise that demand for tickets to the Broadway musical’s first Halifax run would prompt the show-runners to add four dates to the original schedule to keep up. The show—co-written by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, along with Robert Lopez—is running at the Scotiabank Centre until Sunday, July 23.
The Ticket Atlantic website says there is “very limited” availability for Friday’s show (which starts at 8pm), and “very good” availability for Saturday’s and Sunday’s shows (which run at 2pm and 8pm on Saturday, and 1pm and 7pm on Sunday).
7. Join the fun at the Halifax Pride Parade. We’ve saved the biggest bash for last. While the annual Pride event was in question for awhile amid a flurry of claims of workplace dysfunction (in a Facebook post, Halifax Pride’s organizers called organizing the 2023 parade a “long journey” that “hasn’t been easy”), the show will ultimately go on—and that’s to the benefit of all Haligonians. For almost four decades, Halifax Pride has been a bright spot in the city's summer calendar: A multi-day, multi-venue celebration of 2SLGBTQ+ identity and culture.
On Sunday, the parade will kick off at the corner of Robie Street and Cogswell Road at 2pm. The march then loops around the edge of the Halifax Common to Cunard Street, then North Park Street, then down Trollope Street to Bell Road. It finishes by following down South Park Street, then turning left onto Spring Garden Road and carrying onward to Spring Garden and Brunswick Street.
Find a map of the route below:
—With files from Morgan Mullin.
