Halifax authors delve into the craft of writing on King’s podcast
Years before Aaron Williams and RC Shaw became published authors, each with a pair of books under their belt, the friends and former University of King’s College classmates had a fever-induced idea one night. It was the winter of 2017. The two were rooming together in New York City for a weeklong authors’ residency. Williams…
12 books by Halifax authors for your end-of-2024 reading list
What do you get when you mix a celebrity jewel thief with the Halifax Explosion, and then throw in a few tales of family secrets, Haligonian oddities and bike-bound hijinks? Well, you end up with this: The Coast’s end-of-year list of the best books written by local authors in 2024. Last year’s book roundup went…
Highest single-year increase in Nova Scotia’s child poverty rate, new report finds
A new report card is sounding the alarm on childhood poverty in Nova Scotia. More than two in five Nova Scotian children are living in food-insecure households, according to Statistics Canada—a number that has been “steadily rising” in recent years, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives-Nova Scotia report warns. And it comes as provincially-funded school…
First look at Tribute, Halifax’s new waterfront fine-dining gem
Colin Bebbington is a bubbling pot of stories. Ask him to expound on the subtleties of Bolognese pasta or the kitchens he’s worked in from London to Chicago to Napa, and he’ll happily hold court for long enough to fully, undeniably convince you: The man is obsessed with food. Loves everything about it, from brioche…
A backyard suite approval spells promise for Halifax’s future
Blink and you’d have missed it, but a routine community council vote—passed with little fanfare—might be heralding a new era of bureaucratic nimbleness. It happened at the Halifax and West Community Council meeting on Dec 16. The owner of 918 South Bland Street wants to put a secondary suite in his back yard, which—on the…
Is your pet ready for their close-up?
People love spending time and money to get the perfect, studio-quality picture of their skin children, but what about those of us who want the same treatment for our fur ones? Look no further than Twodogs—a new pet photography studio in Dartmouth—started by Ryan Sheppard and Stephanie Newell with that exact vision in mind. The…
Committee says no to complete communities in pickleball bunfight
The Community Planning and Economic Development standing committee met Dec 12 and talked about lights in parks. This conversation dates back to 2021, when councillor Sam Austin put forward a motion asking for the city to come up with a plan to light municipal parks, because not having lights made people feel unsafe and not…
Marc McLaughlin has a voice—and a video—you need to see
If there’s one artist you need to listen to before this year’s end, it’s Marc McLaughlin. Fredericton-based and Newfoundland-born, this former Halifax resident is hot off the release of his latest single—the title track of his soon-to-be-released EP—”All I Can Say”, accompanied by a new music video. This single, coupled with his first EP,…
Everything you need to know about Halifax council’s Dec 10 meeting
After an exciting off-season in which we decided to change up our roster at City Hall, the moment we’ve all been waiting for is here. That’s right, we’re talking budget season! For those who need an introduction or refresher, budget season is the planning period of months from now to April 2025 when the…
10 albums and EPs from Halifax artists you need to listen to this year
In this streaming era of music, it’s hard to keep tabs on everything. When 100,000 songs are uploaded to Spotify, YouTube and other platforms every day, how can anyone find the must-listen amid the mediocre? The truly stellar among the stale? The original among the old news? Count yourself lucky in two respects: As ever,…
Ukrainian Christmas Concert fundraises for music education for refugees
In 2022, Vlad Kostylev and a small group of other Canadians living in Nova Scotia with roots in Ukraine formed the Ukrainian Cultural Society here, or UCS, as a response to what was happening abroad. “That was when the active phase of Russia’s war against Ukraine started,” says Kostylev, who is president of the non-profit…
Here are your Best of Halifax 2024 winners for Arts + Culture
Fresh off the Canadian release of the film Closer to You, Elliot Page continues to be one of Halifax’s favourite actors, winning Gold in the Best Film/TV Actor category for the fourth year in a row. It’s been a productive year for one of Nova Scotia’s greatest actors. Page wrote, produced and starred in…
Show me the progress
In 2023, the provincial and federal governments put together a group called the Progress Monitoring Committee. Chaired by former Nova Scotia lieutenant-governor Myra Freeman, the PMC was an oversight panel, a way to monitor, report on, provide accountability and exchange knowledge and information as the governments implement a response to Turning the Tide Together, the…
Quinpool Road brewpub seeks new owners
If you’ve ever wanted to own a bar, now’s your chance: The Brewery by Quinns is on the market. The Quinpool Road brewpub—right across from Preston Street—is listed for $400,000, boasting a “turn key operation” with a “huge kitchen,” a 750-hectolitre brewery and an “amazing outdoor patio.” The Brewery opened in 2022, a year after…
UPDATED: Lake City Cider eyes new brewery in spring 2025
Things are afoot at Dartmouth’s Lake City Cider. The cidery and perennial Best of Halifax favourite is in the midst of renovations to its Portland Street taproom, where it formerly shared a space with Brightwood Brewery. The latter closed its taproom in late March, citing “personal circumstances” and a need to restructure the business after…
Catch 57 artists and 100 works at latest Dal Art Gallery show
Whether it’s shaking up the brain between exams or seeking depths of inspiration as the winter solstice approaches, the Dalhousie Art Gallery’s latest show has you covered. The 69th student, staff, faculty and alumni exhibition showcases the breadth of artistic talent within the Dal and the University of King’s College communities. The show, which opened…
Here are your Best of Halifax 2024 winners for Public Life
At a time where groceries are becoming more expensive and wages are stagnant, it makes sense that the amazing folks at Feed Nova Scotia came out on top for our Best Activist Organization Award, as well as our Best Place to Volunteer Award. Feed Nova Scotia does a lot of good throughout the province, delivering…
Bridging cultures with comedy: Normal Scotia seeks to bring Indians and Maritimers together
There’s nothing more normal than learning about other people’s cultures—even if you can’t quite get a grasp on it. That’s essentially the premise to Bell Fibe TV1’s new short-form comedy series Normal Scotia, co-created by Charles Wahl and Amarpal Dhillon. The show features two Indian immigrants, Manish (played by Akshay Shirke) and Shiv (Ishan…
Inside the plan to build affordable student housing “for less than the cost of lunch”
The non-profit organization Student Housing Nova Scotia wants to work directly with post-secondary students in the province to create a first-of-its-kind provincial student housing fund. The Developing Affordable Student Housing (DASH) Fund initiative, launched by the group on Thursday, is a plan to address the housing crisis students face while living and studying in Nova…
Police board goes the wrong way on reviewing sexual assault cases
In June 2022, Sunny Marriner from the Improving Institutional Accountability Project posed a question to Halifax’s Board of Police Commissioners: If women who’ve been sexually assaulted aren’t coming forward to the police, and even when they do, there’s very rarely a conviction. Shouldn’t we try to figure out why? She made her case when she…
Halifax-born pop artist re-emerges with new single, music video
Naomi Shobha has spent years of her life working on songs with some of the world’s biggest artists. Now, after a long break, she’s back to making her own music. Shobha, who some may recognize from her debut 2008 album Work In Progress, is an award-winning, Juno- and ECMA-nominated songwriter who went from singing…
“You’ve turned your back on women in this province”
On December 27, 2005—still in the warm glow of Christmas and one week from her daughter Anna’s first birthday—36-year-old Paula Gallant was violently murdered. Her lifeless body was put in the trunk of her car and driven to the parking lot of the elementary school where she taught Grade 3. The crime shocked the community…
Event at MSVU honours National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women
Mount Saint Vincent University invites everyone to its campus Friday Dec 6, from 12-1:30pm in the art gallery, to mark the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. This day is to remember the 14 young women who were murdered during a mass shooting while they were at school at École Polytechnique…
Andy Fillmore’s dumb encampment plan almost passes at council
Tuesday’s council meeting was dominated by old business being rehashed by new mayor Andy Fillmore. Last council meeting, Fillmore caused a procedural kerfuffle when he put forward a motion to rescind Halifax’s list of potential encampment sites without a staff report. Since Fillmore’s motion did not have a staff report, it was deferred to the…
Iron & Wine, The Decemberists first headliners announced for Halifax Jazz Fest 2025
Acclaimed singer-songwriter Iron & Wine and indie rock band The Decemberists will be taking the main stage at the waterfront during Halifax Jazz Fest 2025, playing on July 17 and 18 respectively. In the first lineup announcements for the festival, it was also revealed that Nigerian Afrobeat and jazz musician Femi Kuti and his…
Knock Knock art show celebrates the handmade
Get to the Anna Leonowens Gallery on Granville Street to catch a group exhibition from Nova Scotia College of Art and Design students. Knock Knock is a collective show of the work of all 23 students in the two-year Masters of Fine Arts program at NSCAD, and it’s on now until Dec 14 in all…
What you can do to remember gender-based violence victims on Dec 6
This Friday, Dec 6 marks the 30th annual National Day of Remembrance & Action on Violence Against Women. It will also be the 35th anniversary of the École Polytechnique massacre. Activist groups are holding events across the city that day in remembrance of the 14 women who were killed during the Polytechnique mass shooting,…
Tim Baker brings Full Rainbow of Light tour to Halifax
Growing up in St. John’s, Tim Baker’s winters were coloured by two sounds: Wind and snow plows. It was all you could hear some nights, whispering beyond the crackle of a fireplace or the quiet of a bedroom, as a blanket of white covered the foggy city. It was a “comforting feeling,” the former Hey…
Avril Lavigne is coming to Halifax in 2025
One of Canada’s biggest pop-punk exports is coming to Halifax in the New Year. Eight-time Grammy nominee Avril Lavigne is bringing her “Greatest Hits” tour to Atlantic Canada in 2025, with stops in Moncton on May 18 and Halifax on May 20. The “Sk8er Boi,” “Complicated” and “I’m With You” singer will be joined by…
‘Canada’s hardest to find indie bookstore’ continues its rise
In 2006, a student-owned bookstore opened in the basement at the University of King’s College. It was a co-op and it was going to make books cheaper and available for students. Just before its 10-year anniversary, Paul MacKay became the store’s manager. When he joined, the King’s Co-op Bookstore was struggling financially and was unsure…