Summer is all about compromise and eating popsicles before they melt. It might not be the best time—humidity kills ambition—to pick up that 1,000-page tome you’ve been telling everyone you’re going to read. The purists are gasping, but if Jane Austen can be torn apart in terrible “chick” movies, why not let the undead have […]
Visit Halifax
How to live for free all summer
It’s summertime and the spending’s easy. The temptations of big-name concerts, eating out, weekend getaways and cooling off with an ice cold beer—or more likely, beers—on a patio, are even harder to resist when the sunshiny weather has got you giddy. When you haven’t got much to work with, you’ve got to decide what’s worth […]
How to enroll in a summer course
Academic, my dear Watson Are you too busy to take a course? Well, why not take a course in Time Management through the Nova Scotia Community College. Hurry, the one-day workshop is happening on June 20 and will teach students things such as how to save up to one hour per day of time, overcome […]
My summer: Paolo Colbertaldo, chef
Colbertaldo started cooking early. “My father wouldn’t teach me how to do carpentry because I was left handed, so my mother took me to the bakery.” In Halifax he worked at the Soho, for the US Consul General as well as doing catering for the film industry. He’s spent almost four years at jane’s on […]
Hot Summer Guide: Visual arts events
Will Gorlitz: nowhere if not here Through August 23 Guelph-based artist Will Gorlitz begins a painting by looking for the telling detail. “When determining the actual subjects I wish to paint, a crucial consideration is that the subjects present some acutely visual feature,” he explains in an email. “Commonly, this involves the tactile materiality of […]
Hot Summer Guide: Cultural events and festivals
CATCH: The Nova Scotia Seafood Festival June 27 Get those culinary taste buds ready for a weekend of seafood: CATCH will be working overtime. The festival promises to be a weekend of tasting, learning, shopping and just generally loving all things fishy. Presented by the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, the festival’s focus is to […]
Last summer at the old farmers' market
This is the last summer you’ll be able to meander amongst the Farmers’ Market tables in the brewery market, and it’s as busy and crowded as ever. Theresa Cole, the market’s operations manager, says she’s been counting the number of market-goers at 8,000 to 9,000 the past few weekends. With the sun coming out and […]
How to have a dog-friendly summer
Jake is 12. His black-lab muzzle has gone grey, his limbs are a little stiff and his hearing isn’t as sharp as in his canine prime. But his master, graphic designer Jamie Sinclair, still takes him regularly to the Halifax Common and Jake loves being out there, where he’s been walked most of his life. […]
Hot Summer Guide: Concerts and music festivals
Paul McCartney July 11 A Beatle is coming to Halifax. Some come down on the man for his stand against the seal hunt—though it sounds like these days most blame the militancy on his ex-wife, Heather Mills—or some say that his wanting to change the order of the songwriting credits on “Yesterday” from Lennon/McCartney to […]
How to get your garden growing
Craving homegrown tomatoes but just don’t have the space on your balcony? Want to eat potatoes planted with your own hands but just don’t have the soil base in your yard? Looking to meet the people in your community while doing something rewarding? Consider joining a community garden in your neighbourhood this summer. Not only […]
My summer: Beth Amiro, enterprising surfer
Amiro co-owns One Life Surf School (onelifesurf.com), which started in order to instruct women on wave riding, but has branched into such fields as environmental workshops, leadership training and even surf instruction for guys. This Lawrencetown Beach resident is also an actor—she starred in Eva Madden’s award-winning Eastern Shore short—a certified stunt person and a […]
How to explore McNabs Island
The waves are smashing against our tiny boat, soaking us with water of questionable cleanliness. McNabs Island appears like a faint glimmer of hope in the distance. Suddenly, a massive cargo ship emerges through the mid-afternoon mist, heading straight toward my friend Walter and I. We paddle desperately against the current, but the ship pulls […]

