The city has changed its approach to how it’ll celebrate July 1 this year: In today’s announcement from HRM sharing info on the programming planned for 155th anniversary of the confederation, it stated that consultation with “the Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre and local Indigenous artists” was part of the 2022 planning process, aiming for “a new format for July 1 known as KANA’TA – HFX Canada Day 2022 – an event that is inclusive of all our country’s incredible people.”
In terms of what that means for stuff to do on the civic holiday, there’s a fair bit of familiar territory: The Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo will still mount a parade (snaking from Duke Street to Brunswick Street to Spring Garden Road, kicking off at 10am); Fireworks will still be held to cap off the celebrations (from both Dartmouth Ferry Terminal Park and City Hall, as finales to concerts happening at each location—as well as the annual showing at DeWolf Park in Bedford) and the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site will still offer free entry all day long.
But, this year sees a Mawio’mi (a cultural village) taking over the Halifax Common near The Oval, rife with music, crafts, games, authentic Indigenous cuisine and more: “You’ll have a chance to eat L’nu Tacos, build miniature teepees, hear stories from our Elders and listen to some great live music from DeeDee Austin, Blue Marshall band and even Inuit Throat Singers,” says the city in a description.
Alongside the Mawio’mi, other marquee events include an African Nova Scotian Music Showcase at Dartmouth’s Ferry Terminal Park from 6-10pm, which headlines Juno-winning R&B artist JRDN.
There’s also the showcase happening on Grand Parade. While the entire lineup is being teased by Grand Oasis—the summer-long fest the city is throwing at Grand Parade—two headliners have been announced: Rock duo Crown Lands and Sackville’s own Juno-winning pop phenom, Neon Dreams.
Related
Neon Dreams on
Entry to all events are free—but those looking to attend the Grand Parade concert would do well to reserve their wristbands now, via the Grand Oasis website.
Peep more Kana’ta programming on the city’s event website.
Related Stories
Neon Dreams on
So, you wanna see some fireworks in Halifax this weekend?
This year, Halifax is celebrating July 1 differently
This article appears in Jun 1-30, 2022.
“It’s not about canceling Canada Day”. Why introduce the paragraph in the negative when other voices and cultures from Canada will be represented? Why not: “It’s about enhancing Canada Day by showing our amazing diversity.” I wish that this representation would be made more “naturally” and not in a manner that feels forced and artificial – let’s not make it feel like a museum of culture but a living part of our nation – even if, behind the scene, because of historical reasons and conditions, it wasn’t always like that.