Wondering how to make the most of summer’s scant time? We’re breaking down all the big shows, from Jerry Seinfeld’s outdoor show to Matt Mays’ Shore Club return to the Buskerfest’s waterfront takeover to Emancipation Day and Natal Day celebrations. Get ready to light up the group chat with some great plans—and if you notice […]
Morgan Mullin
Morgan was the Arts & Entertainment Editor at The Coast, where she wrote about everything from what to see and do around Halifax to profiles of the city’s creative class to larger cultural pieces. She started with The Coast in 2016.
Posted inNews + Opinion
What Emancipation Day means to Nova Scotia
Dr. Charmaine Nelson is a nationally leading researcher and academic, focusing on the history of slavery in Canada, plumbing the depths of a field of study that this country is desperately far behind on. (When The Coast interviewed Nelson in 2021, she explained that in America, there’s a “whole infrastructure” studying the history of slavery […]
Posted inArts + Music
10 books to read about Black experiences in Canada this Emancipation Day
This Tuesday marks the third-annual Emancipation Day in Nova Scotia, an anniversary of the historic end to slavery across the British Empire. So-called Canada has a 200-year history of slavery—and Halifax itself hosted slaver’s ships in its harbour. Yet, public knowledge of this chapter of the past—and its effects on the systemic racism of today—is […]
Posted inArts + Music
How to buy tickets for Come From Away and The Book of Mormon in Halifax
UPDATE Monday July 17: When the production company Broadway in Halifax announced these two shows back in March, they were both far in the future and the producers had an obvious interest in selling packages to both shows at once. These “season packages” were the source of much confusion, as we discuss below if you’re […]
Posted inArts + Music
This Halifax band almost broke up due to burnout. Instead, they’re launching a triumphant comeback this Saturday at The Marquee.
If Justin Murphy—front person of Halifax indie rock band Walrus—feels a bit reverent when he takes The Marquee stage this July 8, it’ll be hard to blame him. Someone a bit more prone to cheesiness might even pinch themselves (though that feels out-of-character for Murphy’s brand of north end irony). See, it isn’t just the […]
Posted inArts + Music
Everything you need to know about the 2023 Halifax Pride festival
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 offering everything from lunchtime lectures on current issues to after-dark, free-for-all parties hotter than the humidex. This year, it’s a little different: Apparent tumult within the organization itself (the board […]
Posted inArts + Music
Meet the Halifax author writing about queer joy
At first blush, it’d be easy to see K.R. Byggdin’s Wonder World as lifted-from-life, the sort of roman à clef that many debut authors write to make a splash: Like their protagonist, Isaac Funk, Byggdin relocated from small-town Manitoba to Halifax in search of queer community, and like Funk, Byggdin is part of the city’s […]
Posted inGuides
Halifax announces events for Canada/Kana’ta Day 2023
For the second year running, Halifax is shifting the focus of its official July 1 celebrations, aiming to honour the 156th anniversary of the confederation by, as a statement from last summer put it, creating “an event that is inclusive of all our country’s incredible people.” But what does that look like in action? For […]
Posted inGuides
Where to watch the 2023 Canada Day fireworks in Halifax
So, you’re looking to cap off a full day of revelry with a literal bang on Canada Day? Here’s the game plan: make your way to the Halifax or Dartmouth waterfronts to ensure a prime view of the fireworks, which will begin at 10pm on Saturday, July 1. While arriving early obviously means getting a […]
Posted inArts + Music
Everything you need to know about the 2023 Halifax Mural Festival
Taking forgotten and overlooked walls around the city and reimagining them as blank canvases, the Halifax Mural Festival asks why the world (or at least the city) can’t be more art-filled and rife with wonder. If you’ve ever needed a nudge to look up from your phone while out and around, you’ll find it here, […]
Posted inArts + Music
Meet the Halifax rapper breaking barriers and spitting bars—all while wearing a hijab
When Masuma Khan—noted Halifax activist and rapper—lists the likes of Busta Rhymes, Lauryn Hill and Notorious BIG as key influences on her art, it’s hardly surprising (not just because her picks are inarguably classics of the genre). See, like her heroes, Khan—who makes music as rapper General Khan—spits while knowing that the mic in her […]
Posted inArts + Music
Listen to the 8 Halifax musicians who will power your playlists this summer
From powering road trips to setting the atmosphere on the back deck, playlists are fuel for summer’s sunshine-y days. No pressure, but the right song in the right moment is what takes a moment and turns it into a memory, fuelling your main character aspirations with a dose of cinematic energy. Here, Team Coast is […]