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The Coast | News, events, restaurants, concerts and Burger Week for Halifax, Nova Scotia
Home of the Best of Halifax Reader's Choice Awards, the award-winning independent newspaper covers the Halifax news, politics, events, concerts, movies, restaurants, and nightlife scene.
The department of justice is arguing against claims made by prisoners inside the Central Nova Correctional Facility who say they don’t have access to adequate health care, rehabilitative programs or healthy food. Justice spokesperson Sarah Gillis says everything is under control inside the infamous Burnside prison, where inmates have been engaged in a peaceful protest…
For me, no room is completed until it has some houseplants. Plants breathe life into any space and instantly make a new place feel like home. But they’re so much more than a decoration. They are living, growing beings that we take into our homes and when cared for properly, we get to reap the…
Whether you’re trying to enlist your inner Marie Kondo before moving into a condo or simply feeling that “the walls are closing in” vibe in your home, getting rid of shit feels good. Colette Robicheau has a lot of experience in this department. A consultant, coach and professional organizer, she’s well-versed in helping folks pack,…
Brightwood Brewery35 Portland Street, Dartmouth A decade ago, Matt McGrail was that university student who messed around with mediocre beer kits and tried (unsuccessfully) to pawn off the sludge he concocted. But when McGrail started Brightwood Brewery years later with his co-worker Ian Lawson, they couldn’t refill their growlers fast enough. The pair’s homemade brewhouse in…
If you follow climate news (and you should), you’ve likely heard of the global warming “hiatus.” In attempts to keep the world hooked on diminishing reserves of polluting fossil fuels, climate science deniers seized on that phenomenon to claim the warming they once argued didn’t exist stopped. Others took up the false claim out of…
Raymond Plourde is trying to be optimistic about the province’s new forestry review, but it’s a struggle. At best, says the Ecology Action Centre’s wilderness coordinator, the report is a mixed bag. The overarching idea to prioritize forest protection is laudable. But there are still some glaring omissions and dangerous proposals in the long-awaited document.…
A couple of comedy titans will drop by this fall, though separately: Chelsea Handler visits the Rebecca Cohn on Sunday, October 7 (tickets on sale at noon tomorrow), while Daily Show host Trevor Noah hits the Scotiabank Centre on November 2. Those tickets are on sale Friday at 10am. They may not be performing together here, but they do…
Was the inaugural Drink Atlantic Cocktail Festival a great way to kick off the summer? We’d definitely like to think so, because it was a Coast co-production with The Clever Barkeep. But you should take this one-minute video trip down memory lane and decide for yourself. Related Stories
You’ve probably been wondering W.T.F. or “Where’s The Fun” in New Brunswick? And we’re here to do the ground work for you. Let’s complete your weekend itinerary with a main course of bluegrass banjo, a dash of wicked bear safari, with a side of W.T.F. (Where’s The Fun) along the Acadian coastal drive. Could you…
To the person who took the dog on the bus the other day: Does the driver know you? I thought there were rules that animals needed to be secured in an appropriate carrier. There was no evidence that you needed a seeing eye dog. As somebody who is pathologically afraid of dogs and finds them…
…let me cross the fucking street! The bus is coming!—Robie at May
I like it when you call me in the morning. I like it when you show up on time or early. I like your white teeth so nice and pearly. I love it when you go the long way. Pick me up and take me to work with you all day. Every time I see…
Hello brothers/sisters/in between/up above/however you identify as. Don’t do yoga with the girl you’re dating unless you’ve already farted around one another. Peace be with you, —Another name for a gamble
My own damn fault: I wore my prescription sunglasses into the surf on Natal Day Monday at Rainbow Haven. I got caught by a wave and the glasses were torn from my face. My girlfriend and I looked for the rest of the day, trying to spot them on the beach or in the water.…
I am insufferably in love with you and scared to say it. Although, you probably already know.—Too many feelings
Your damn dog escaped and ran amok through my backyard where I was weeding this morning, scaring the hell out of me, and I yelled at you to remove him ‘cos you were breaking the law. Yet again animal owners need to be reminded that your animal is NOT entitled to do what it wants…
All praises to the barber who stood tall when a shady lady tried to re-appropiate the magnificent plant resurrected under your care.—Love Your Style
The pressure of catching the elevator at the airport parkade must’ve plugged your narcissitic ears. I said excuse me, but you were so focused in controlling your wife and kids you didn’t hear me. The light brush of my bag makes you bitch to me that I should have excused myself. You’re lucky your kids…
Author and journalist Phonse Jessome calls in to talk about Operation Hammer—what made the Hells Angels ride out of town and why the cops got lucky. Then, boxer Kirk Johnson shares stories about his landmark Human Rights victory against the Halifax police department for racial discrimination, and why 2003 was such a hard year for him…
The Halifax Green Network is not your average greenbelt plan. Regional councillors enthusiastically and unanimously voted to approve the long-awaited plan this past Tuesday, to the delight of many supporters outside City Hall, conservationists and environmental advocates across HRM. Jenny Lugar, the sustainable cities coordinator with the Ecology Action Centre and one of the leaders…
Here are all your new faves in one listening booth! Frail Hands: Jody Upshaw: Kids Losing Sleep: Maura Whitman: Smear Frames: Worst Part: Bear Le Friends: Alexander and the Great Ones: Hosta: I. by Hosta Shay Pitts: Related Stories
The time is now. |• • • Jonathan and I have officially opened our studio doors at @flomeditation. We could not be more excited to share the space with you. Our dream is to build a happier, healthier, and more connected community through mindfulness. We are offering free guided meditation sessions all week. You can…
You need to count yourself lucky I was hitting the bong for bed when you sauntered up to my yard and took a piss, even with me yelling at you, be it you had headphones on or were ignorant and drunk enough to simply ignore me. Given there are public washrooms all around this area,…
The rules state that I am allowed two bulky items but I had three: A mattress/box spring, a dresser and bookshelf. I put them all out figuring what the heck, and that if something was left I would just move it and put it out again the next time. But you guys/gals took the whole…
Good bye bus route 18, we’ll miss you. With your long stops along the route, sitting there for minutes at a time because the bus is ahead of schedule multiple times per trip. Turning what should be a 20 minute trip from St. Mary’s to Lacewood into a 45 minute odyssey. We had such fun…
This weekend promises to be a goodie as The Discovery Centre hosts an adults-only game night, the new, multicultural Mosaic festival takes over the waterfront and the Dartmouth Comic Arts Festival returns for year seven. If that wasn’t enough, R&B queen supreme Reeny Smith is throwing a house show, Sweet Crude brings Cajun rock to…
Red flags are waving for two women whose stories are in the Buddhism Project Sunshine reports, and for the retired lawyer who carried out the investigations into allegations of abuse and sexual assault from Shambhala Buddhism’s spiritual leader, Osel Mukpo, known as Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche. All three are asking questions about what Shambhala International calls…
Summertime in the city, and everybody is hating on our infamous amphibious vehicle, the Harbour Hopper. And what’s not to dislike? They are big, loud, break down often and clog up traffic. At the very least, you will hear the dulcet tones of it chugging along a mile away from you, with the blaring motor…
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Leo (Jul 23-Aug 22) “Whoever does not visit Paris regularly will never really be elegant,” wrote French author Honoré de Balzac. I think that’s an exaggeration, but it does trigger a worthwhile meditation. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, you’re in a phase of your cycle when you have maximum power…
“I’m that shy kid who never talks to people at shows,” says Lor Sangster, drummer for the trio Worst Part. But when her other band, Kilmore, played with a show with Scumgrief, she connected with guitarist Andrew Gagne. A year or so later, with bassist Sean McInnis, Worst Part was born. Its first EP, Heel,…
Robert Drisdelle is music-obsessed. When the Century Egg guitarist isn’t working on the band’s upcoming record, he’s nerding out over Japanese rock music, learning about the maximalist production styles of DJ/composer/producer Yasutaka Nakata and spinning ideas for how this influence could appear in his own work. And when he’s not, as he puts it with…
The guitarist Kayla Stevens is a vital member of multiple bands around town—most actively Crossed Wires and Vulva Culture, as well as the punk outfits Science Project and Mark Vodka (in which she plays bass). “This project is a result of me collecting pedals for the last couple years,” she says of Hosta, her new…
Alexander MacNeil, the wry leader of Alexander and the Great Ones, is a Nova Scotia native, but he was gone for awhile. “I was working and avoiding responsibility,” he says of his time in Dawson City, Yukon. “I worked at a hotel and wrote most of what will be my new album on a piano…
The rock-fusion band Bear Le Friends (barely friends) throws things back in a variety of ways with sharp vests, multiple vocalists and a whopping six members. “I love having so many voices around,” says vocalist/guitarist Brad Hill. “It makes the whole process so much more fun. It’s much more compromise, so many different avenues for…
When three of the four members of the pop-rock band Kids Losing Sleep start listing their influences, they shuffle around in a cafe booth, their matching black Converse-shod feet clapping as names get bounced around emphatically. Bassist Brycen Gunn loves Led Zeppelin, something that carries into the band’s churning rhythms, while the whole gang’s devout…
From the opening notes of Frail Hands’ debut, S / T, it’s clear the “melody-driven hardcore” five-piece’s name isn’t picked for literal reasons: Guitars offer punk-tinged noodling as the beat knocks your eardrums off the sides of your brain. It takes something decidedly un-frail to make a sound so ferocious—and, as guitarist Tom Burke puts…
The Y2K pod Hello 25 for 25 podcast gang, Long-time listener, first-time emailer. I was very excited to hear you talk about Summersault (“2000” episode, available at thecoast.ca/25for25 now). Frankly, I could have listened to a whole episode about that concert because I have a lingering theory that it forever impacted many young Nova Scotians…
Wordburglar album release + DCAF kick-off Friday, August 17, 9pm Jacob’s Lounge, 106 Portland Street, Dartmouth $7 Things are about to get nerdy when rapper Wordburglar (AKA Sean Jordan) visits Halifax this weekend. Combining his love for hip hop and comic books, the Halifax ex-pat comes home to kick off a coast to coast tour…
Jody Upshaw and Shay Pitts bound into a downtown coffee shop together, so engrossed in conversation they move through the doorframe at the same time. The two teens’ laughter trails as they push into a corner booth, discussing how Pitts is newly grounded for the small diamond stud sitting directly under her nose. They’re best…
Maura Whitman is only a teenager and is already more together than you’ll ever be. The Halifax singer—who describes her style as a pop-/R&B fusion (“I really love Alicia Keys, I think she’s super cool—mostly because I play the piano and she influenced me in that sense, and I really love Demi Lovato and her…
Q I’ve been enjoying consensual nonmonogamy for the past two years, in part thanks to your column and podcast. I have a delightful young lover, and our connection has evolved into a kind of master/slave relationship. I “allow” her to fuck other men and women, and she delights in asking my permission and recounting the…
Tiny Takeover: Kid Critics To August 31 Centre For Art Tapes, 2238 Maitland Street “I find the general public that’s not already interested in the media arts often will use the works that have a narrative to pull them in and get them to have a look at the other work,” says Tori Fleming, programming…
