Here are your Best of Halifax 2024 winners for Food + Drink
It’s an historic year in The Coast’s annual Best of Halifax Awards: Six Food + Drink winners are joining the rarefied air of the BOH Hall of Fame after some truly impressive runs of dominance. Longtime food truck favourite Bud the Spud (Best Fries), Pizza Corner staple Willy’s Fresh Cut Fries & Burgers (Best Poutine,…
Halifax Transit’s electronic fare delays demand accountability
Halifax Transit first started the process to implement electronic fares in 2012 with a transit technology plan. At the time, the $44 million in spending was supposed to “set the groundwork for customer service-related projects such as public interfaces, stop annunciation and a fare management system.” Although in 2018, when the program was audited, the…
Everything you need to know about the 2023 Halifax Lebanese Festival
The Halifax Lebanese Festival is back and ready for a weekend of pre-COVID-level fun. This is the first time since the pandemic that the festival will be returning to its usual operations after offering a “Grab & Go” experience last year. Stop by and enjoy a menu stacked with traditional Lebanese flavours and stay for…
Fortune Doughnut is closing—and reopening as Vandal Doughnuts
Ten months after Vandal Doughnuts closed its doors on Gottingen Street, the popular north end Halifax haunt is back as of this weekend. Gone instead? Fellow Gottingen bakery Fortune Doughnut. On Sunday, Aug. 27, Fortune shared on its Instagram that it would be closing for renovations. The reason, it revealed Tuesday, is that it had…
Halifax’s busiest cruise ship week yet of 2023 is here
When the 2,390-passenger Norwegian Pearl departs Halifax Harbour on Sunday, Sept. 3—along with its 27 dining rooms, restaurants, cafes and bars and its onboard casino, theatre and rooftop basketball court—it will mark the end of the most crowded schedule of cruise ship arrivals in Halifax in 2023. At least, that is, until next week. Eleven…
The Wanderer Grounds podcast: Dan Nimick is making a case for Defensive Player of the Year
Two weeks ago, a well-followed Twitter account better known for shedding light on the next young talents to suit up for the likes of Liverpool and FC Barcelona made an unexpected detour to let its 180,000 followers in on a secret. But instead of fawning over a fleet-footed winger from Rio de Janeiro or a…
Every big show happening in Halifax (and beyond) in September 2023
September’s arrival brings more than just fall colours and hurricane weather: From the return of the Halifax Fringe Festival to Grammy-winning songwriter and producer Daniel Lanois live in concert to Jann Arden headlining a big-ticket show at the Halifax Convention Centre, there’s plenty to see and do in the last weeks of summer. Get ready…
Electronic fare payment for Halifax Transit delayed until fall
HRM’s transportation standing committee met on Thursday. First order of business was deferring two motions, including an update on the Strategic Safety Plan. There was an agenda-setting error (i.e. a scheduling mistake) that chair Waye Mason took full credit for, and warned the public (who were not watching due to a streaming error) that this…
8 things to do in Halifax this weekend (Aug. 25-27, 2023)
The last weekend in August has to bring out all the summer stops, doesn’t it? The evenings might be cooler and the days shorter, but that doesn’t mean there’s any shortage of Halifax happenings this weekend, from live soul and reggae to free concerts to Canada-famous drag performers. Allow us to be your weekend guide…
Everything you need to know about HRM council’s Aug. 22, 2023 meeting
Much like passing legislation to regulate short-term rentals, hearing “That Funny Feeling” by Bo Burnham is like a bell that can not be un-rung. Burnham’s song points out aspects of society that are jarring juxtapositions that combine to create an unsettling dissonance that something is fundamentally wrong. In a hard-to-articulate kind of way. Tuesday’s HRM…
Everything you need to know about the 2023 Halifax Fringe Festival
Celebrate both novice and seasoned artists at the upcoming Halifax Fringe Festival. In its 33rd year, the live performance fest features indie theatre, drag shows, comedy performances, magicians and more at venues across the city. Here’s everything you need to know before attending. What is the official name? The Halifax Fringe Festival. What is it…
Meet the comedian ordering the same poutine at Willy’s in Halifax every day
Michael Moses has three days left in Halifax to order “the usual.” If, within seven days, one of the Willy’s Poutine crew at Pizza Corner recognizes him and remembers his daily order (a steak poutine with mushrooms and onions), he’ll give them $100 in cash. No strings attached. It’s a gambit the 33-year-old comedian from…
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A player-focused company that puts Atlantic Canadians first: Atlantic Lottery
Atlantic Lottery is the region’s only 100% legal and government-regulated provider of lottery, online gaming and sports betting in Atlantic Canada. The organization takes social responsibility seriously, and believes being a truly player-focused company in Atlantic Canada means being much more than just a gaming provider. As much as gaming is a part of the…
Shawn Cleary tried to make Halifax’s housing crisis worse
Yesterday’s HRM council meeting was almost massively controversial as councillor Shawn Cleary tried to delay the city’s new Airbnb regulations that are slated to take effect next month. Good news for law and order fans, city attorney John Traves stepped in and ruled Cleary’s motion out-of-order, and it was summarily dismissed from the order of…
What does the Panama Canal’s giant ship backlog bode for Halifax?
Remember that time during Covid when a grounded container ship brought traffic on the Suez Canal to a halt for six days, and we all had a little laugh about it? Well, now the Panama Canal is having its own moment. Historic droughts in the normally rainy region of South and Central America have led…
The Wanderer Grounds podcast: Wanderers snag a road point from defending champions Forge FC
The most telling sign that the Halifax Wanderers are not the same ill-fated team of old might well be this: On Saturday, Aug. 19, the Wanderers managed to draw defending Canadian Premier League champions Forge FC in a tight 1-1 road affair, and Halifax will head home feeling like they could’ve taken all three points…
Joel Plaskett catches the campfire spirit with “Hey Moon”
“Hey Moon,” Halifax rock troubadour Joel Plaskett asks on his latest single, “are you full yet?” It’s a simple line, but the kind of deft songwriting touch the 48-year-old has built his career on, ever since breaking out in the 1990s as part of the alt-rock band Thrush Hermit. Described as “inspired by the memories…
Every show coming to Halifax Fringe Festival in 2023 (so far)
The largest performing arts festival east of Montreal turns 33 this year. The Halifax Fringe Festival is back once again and is set to bring more than 40 shows to over half a dozen venues across the HRM. From Aug. 30 to Sept. 10, you’ll find a dizzying range of acts at this year’s Fringe,…
Rich Aucoin wants you to feature on his next album
So well-earned is Halifax alt-pop artist Rich Aucoin’s “nicest guy in music” reputation that when The Coast reaches him by phone on a late August morning, he’s helping a friend jumpstart their car. The same Polaris and Juno-nominated artist who once toured across Canada by bicycle to raise money for Childhood Cancer Canada—and blogged about…
Halifax police lay charges in Ryan Michael Sawyer’s homicide
Eight months after 31-year-old Ryan Michael Sawyer was found unresponsive on a downtown Halifax sidewalk, Halifax Regional Police have made an arrest in relation to his death. On Wednesday, Aug. 16, police arrested Alexander Pishori Levy, 37, after he turned himself in at police headquarters. Levy faces charges of manslaughter and criminal negligence causing death.…
Halifax AG bids council adieu with bleak IT security report
Wednesday marked the last presentation Halifax’s auditor general Evangeline Colman-Sadd will make to HRM council. Her contract is up, and she’ll be moving on to greener pastures. Hopefully her replacement is as thorough as she has been, as the reports coming out of her office have been vital to the city’s operations over the years.…
Everything you need to know about the 11th annual Art of Disability Festival
Are you looking for an opportunity to shop for new art pieces and support local artists? The Art of Disability Festival will take over Pier 21 this Saturday in-person (with virtual components) for the first time since before the pandemic. Below are the details on what the festival is all about and how you can…
North Preston hooper aims to combat racism with 3-on-3 tournament
Basketball has taken Chris Johnson a long way from his childhood home of North Preston. The six-foot-five 35-year-old, who once called Cole Harbour’s Auburn Drive High School home, has competed against the likes of NBA superstar Jimmy Butler. Played in front of a roaring crowd in the NCAA’s March Madness tournament. Called Canadian NBAers Andrew…
5 cruise ships, 3 car carriers headline this week’s Halifax Harbour arrivals
Look toward the Halifax Seaport this week, and odds are you’ll see a cruise ship rising above Pier 21. From Monday to Thursday, a different cruise arrives every day of the week—and one ship makes a return visit on Saturday. If ships bypassing Halifax were a concern earlier in August, that worry seems long-distant: Monday…
The Wanderer Grounds podcast: Doneil Henry is loving life in Halifax
First, he helped Canada’s men’s soccer team qualify for their first World Cup appearance in 36 years. One year later, Doneil Henry is a vocal leader on a young and talented Halifax Wanderers club looking to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2020—and perhaps even challenge for the Canadian Premier League title. In…
The reel deal: Halifax author Karen Pinchin’s new book is making a splash
It’s fitting that Karen Pinchin, author of the hottest new book on bluefin tuna—a fish that once turned Nova Scotia into a tourist hotbed—would also know the best place in Halifax to get sushi. (The secret: It’s actually in Dartmouth.) She strolls into Doraku on a Thursday afternoon like she’s a regular. Which is kind…
Halifax is one step closer to having a pro women’s soccer team
Four years after HFX Wanderers FC founder Derek Martin told supporters that early discussions were taking place about a Wanderers women’s team, those discussions appear to be bearing fruit. On Thursday, Aug. 10, the Wanderers announced that the club has plans of joining League1 Canada as part of the yet-to-form League1 Atlantic. That move would,…
8 things to do in Halifax this weekend (Aug. 11-13, 2023)
August is nearly halfway over, but that doesn’t mean summer is finished. There’s plenty to do in Halifax this weekend, from marking musical milestones to tasting craft beers from across the Maritimes to enjoying world-famous stand-up acts. Allow us to be your weekend guide with these Coast picks: 1.Celebrate 50 years of hip hop at…
Voting is open for the 2023 Best of Halifax
This is it Halifax, the final vote for the 2023 Best of Halifax. Now in its 29th year, The Coast’s annual BOH Readers’ Choice Awards is the definitive guide to local excellence, and you get to make the decisions. After a public nomination period earlier this summer, we at The Coast tabulated the nominees to…
Norovirus cases are hitting 10-year highs on cruise ships this season. What’s to blame?
Two cruise ships recently affected by norovirus outbreaks arrive in Halifax this week. When the Celebrity Summit and Viking Neptune come into port on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, the HRM will see the two most recent cruises to report onboard outbreaks of the stomach bug in 2023, according to the US Centers for Disease Control.…
Wanderers drop points in cagey 2-1 home loss to league-leading Pacific FC
The Halifax Wanderers are left wondering what could have been this week—and for more reasons than one. In front of a sellout crowd at the Wanderers Grounds, in a tense match between the Canadian Premier League’s second- and fourth-place teams, the Wanderers fell 2-1 to visiting Langford, BC side Pacific FC in a Natal Day…
The Board of Police Commissioners is updating the HRP budget process
Halifax’s Board of Police Commissioners met Wednesday, Aug. 2 with a deceptively important motion on the agenda: 10.2.1 Budget Process Refresh and Board of Police Commissioners Policy Update [PDF]. Last year there was major scrutiny around the Board of Police Commissioners’ abysmal failure in doing the bare minimum of the job required of them by…
Palm Tree Kitchen brings Island flavour to Quinpool Road
Demetrius “Meech” Ferguson is putting the finishing touches on a pair of fried fish sandwiches when a visitor arrives at his newest venture on Quinpool Road, the colourful—and intimately friendly—Palm Tree Kitchen. Soca music wafts over the stereo. The Toy Story VHS tape plays on a 15-inch tube TV behind the bar counter. Palm fronds…
8 things to do in Halifax this Natal Day long weekend (Aug. 4-7, 2023)
August is here—and along with it, a jam-packed lineup of annual favourites has returned, joined by what promise to be new summer mainstays. From the annual Natal Day fireworks celebrations to boardwalk buskers to barbecues to a new all-Black music festival, there’s plenty going on in the HRM this weekend. Allow us to be your…
Halifax’s Maggie Andrew is bringing alt-pop to new heights
It’s the build-up to Crescendo Fest, Halifax’s new music festival “designed to turn up the volume on Black music artists,” and Maggie Andrew is enjoying what might be some of her last days of relative anonymity. On Saturday, Aug. 5, the 24-year-old from Fall River, NS, is set to perform alongside the likes of Canadian…
Three blank sailings in Halifax this week. Are the leftover effects of the floods to blame?
The washed-out CN rail line linking the Port of Halifax to the rest of Canada was finally repaired last Friday, but looking at the weekly container and cargo ship arrivals into Halifax offers a slightly muddier picture—not unlike the aftermath seen across Nova Scotia following July’s historic floods. The reason? Cancelled sailings. The Port of…
The Wanderer Grounds podcast: João Morelli is back—and he isn’t done scoring yet
When Brazilian forward João Morelli found the back of the net for the Halifax Wanderers on Sunday, July 30, not only did it mark his first goal for the club in 479 days, it also represented a triumphant return from an ACL injury the forward wasn’t sure he would ever fully recover from. You could…
Everything you need to know about Buskerfest 2023
Things are about to get quirky at the waterfront. Buskerfest is back for another year in Halifax, bringing along with it some of the most interesting performers from around the globe. If you’re someone who’d want to watch a person eat fire or cringe while a performer inhumanly contorts themselves into a pretzel, this is…