Halifax city staff’s status quo sedition
One of the most important things revealed at Tuesday’s council meeting, although it slipped by pretty quietly under all the headlines about the death of the Windsor Street Exchange, was the extent to which staff in the city’s bureaucracy are undermining the will of council and the integrity of our municipal democracy. But that’s pretty…
Rising Tides: Meet the first-ever pro women’s soccer players in Halifax
Seventy-six days. That’s all that remains before the whistle blows and the Northern Super League kicks off its first match, one that will mark the arrival of Canada’s first-ever professional women’s soccer league—and for Halifax, the first pro women’s soccer team in Halifax Tides FC. The weeks, days and hours are bleeding away so quickly…
Every big show happening in Halifax in February 2025
The New Year isn’t so new anymore—but as the calendar turns from January to February, there’s a brand-new lineup of shows coming to Halifax. And from weekend jams packed with surprise guests to some of the best in Canadian theatre, there’s plenty on offer that’s worth venturing out into the cold for. As always, The…
NSCAD president Peggy Shannon leaving post two years early
On Nov 14, students, staff and faculty learned that Peggy Shannon, the current president of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, would be leaving the job “soon” to “round out her career at another art school,” specifically the Kansas City Art Institute, and to reunite with her family in the US. NSCAD’s board…
Council kills Windsor Street Exchange redesign plan
At Halifax Regional Council’s Tuesday, Jan 28 meeting, by a tight vote of 8 to 6, councillors made a tough decision to do the right thing. For the past six years or so the city has been working on a plan to re-do the Windsor Street Exchange. At first it was supposed to be a…
Nova Scotia restaurant awards celebrates excellence at annual gala
A night out at a restaurant is about so much more than just the food put on the plate—it’s the service and atmosphere that can take a culinary experience from good to great. The best of the best in Nova Scotia’s service industry was honoured Monday, Jan 27 in a gala celebration held at the Westin…
This Nova Scotian’s podcast has become a queer hit—and it’s coming to Halifax for a live show
There is some kismet involved in Dane Stewart’s path to podcast prominence. Long before the Truro native’s show, Resurrection, claimed the top spot on Apple Podcasts’ Arts chart in Canada—and eventually reached #13 in the world—he met a man at a gay bar in Montreal. The year was 2016. It was Montreal Pride, and Stewart,…
Tents, vigils, signs and teach-ins: (un)rest take visitors inside student-made university
“We will not rest until liberation. Al Zeitoun forever.” The student-creators of Al Zeitoun University shared this line on July 29—the day their camp was dismantled by security guards and police after 78 days on Dalhousie University’s campus. The pro-Palestine student encampment was built by a coalition of students from five Halifax universities. The Students…
Will Halifax’s city council prevent wasting another year?
Tuesday’s meeting of Halifax Regional Council is shaping up to be consequential for this city. It could be the TSN turning point. It could be like Boston’s Nathan Horton scoring a goal with just over 10 minutes left in game seven against the Leafs. It could also be a dud. It’ll really depend on council’s…
Transport committee preps for a parking tax on big cars
Thursday, Jan 24th’s Transportation Standing Committee meeting was one for the record books—but only because the city keeps records of all municipal meetings. The meeting started off with a few public speakers. A few folks said they don’t want to see Robie Street widened: They suggested that three lanes is enough, and that the HRM…
The city you love is dying: Halifax’s sustainability crisis explained
The warning signs have been there for a while, but it’s becoming harder to deny that Halifax is dying. Not some glamourous death, a noble sacrifice for the greater good. Nor is it something expected after a prolonged and public illness. No, it’s a far more embarrassing death; We’ve been bitten by a zombie, and…
Halifax Water lifts boil advisory for 200,000 Haligonians
Two days after Halifax Water issued a boil-water advisory for roughly 200,000 residents across the HRM, the utility says it’s safe to drink water from the tap again. The advisory, which initially covered all residents serviced by the Pockwock water treatment facility—and included all of peninsular Halifax, along with large swaths of Bedford, Middle and…
When will MP Andy Fillmore be replaced?
As a politician, Andy Fillmore has good timing. Back in 2015 he ran for the federal Liberal Party in the Halifax riding, winning to become a member of parliament on the same “sunny ways” wave of Liberal popularity that swept Justin Trudeau into the prime minister’s office. After a couple more election wins—each time, on…
Comedian Julie Kim brings Doing Too Much tour to Halifax
Julie Kim is used to doing it all. Before the Toronto-born, Vancouver-based comic made a name for herself doing sold-out theatre shows with Ronny Chieng and writing for TV’s Run the Burbs and Kim’s Convenience, she made her stand-up start as a “one-time” thing to help further her other careers. At the time, she was…
The Grand Parade podcast: Did HRM staff try to pull a fast one on council?
Last week, when Halifax Regional Municipality staff gave councillors an update on how the city’s key priorities are progressing (short answer: poorly), they did so rather subtly: Not with a presentation, where councillors could ask pointed questions about the city’s lack of progress toward its goals, but instead in the form of an information item…
Author, poet, scholar Kenny Fries presents “Stumbling over History: Disability and the Holocaust”
“We need to have these conversations more,” says Michelle Mahoney, the first accessibility officer at the University of King’s College. Mahoney is talking about a new lecture series that begins Tuesday, Jan 21 at UKing’s, called “Representations of Disability in Historical, Scientific and Artistic Perspectives.” The series is meant to “challenge stereotypes, highlight marginalized voices…
Every woman killed since Brad Johns said domestic violence wasn’t an epidemic in Nova Scotia
In the nine months since former Nova Scotia justice minister Brad Johns told a pool of reporters that he didn’t consider domestic violence to be an epidemic, 10 women have been killed in the province. In nine of those deaths, the accused killers are the women’s husbands, boyfriends or sons. Last week’s grisly discovery of…
Don’t listen to spreadsheet patriots
Like many of you, I raised a quizzical eyebrow reading “51st state of mind,” Michael Kennedy’s recent opinion article in The Coast. His arguments for Nova Scotia’s exit from confederation are purely financial, an exercise in citing percentages and decimal points that, in my opinion, neglects the people at the heart of the issue: Nova…
Councillor Cuttell throws spanner in big-vehicle parking plan
Halifax’s Transportation Standing Committee is meeting Thursday, Jan 23. On the agenda is a staff report that recommends to the committee that they not implement a policy that would help council achieve its strategic priorities. For a bit of background, in July of last year councillor Shawn Cleary put forward a motion asking for a…
The Board of Police Commissioners needs to be more pro-police
Wednesday, Jan 15’s Board of Police Commissioners meeting featured strong showings from veteran commissioner Yemi Akindoju and rookie Virginia Hinch. But in spite of a few good arguments against, the board, predictably, rubber-stamped both the Halifax Regional Police and RCMP draft budgets for 2025/26 on to council with very little scrutiny. Related The RCMP stand…
The beauty of human frailty wrapped in universal form
“In those trancelike moments, I wondered at the personal nature of perception,” writes Nova Scotian artist, Dawn MacNutt, on being transfixed as a child by the light streaming through her grandmother’s coloured stained glass windows, in a new memoir and exhibition catalogue, Timeless Forms. Her book coincides with the artist’s sprawling retrospective show by the…
The cold truth about warmer Halifax winters
It’s January 2024 and my sneakers are wet. The rubber soles gave up months ago, meaning the three inches of mud and puddle water underfoot is seeping right into my socks as I clomp toward Susies Lake on a blue-grey morning that feels like it could be April. My feet, I imagine, have already taken…
Everything you need to know about Halifax council’s Jan 14 meeting
Halifax’s city council met on Tuesday, Jan 14, for a painfully boring meeting. A lot of the debate was on things like survey methodology, what the Property Valuation Services Corporation does, and not double-checking technical documents. If this meeting were a game of soccer, it’d be a comfortable 1-0 victory against a team we should…
It’s time for gender-based violence campaigns to target men
On January 9, the provincial government—via justice minister Becky Druhan—announced a new public awareness advertising campaign to combat gender-based violence. The move comes after six women—and one victim’s father—have died at the hands of their partners over the past three months in Nova Scotia. “People need to understand that they’re not alone, and that resources…
Customer Service channel Sloan in newest music video
It was days before Christmas, and Customer Service’s Owen Harris and Matt Cheverie were watching old music videos from the nineties. Although they weren’t around for the Halifax Pop Explosion, an appreciation of that era and its legacy had been one of the bonding forces for the Halifax emo/punk band when they formed as high-schoolers…
School workers in contract talks feel “unheard and undervalued” by province
New year, new deal? Not yet for roughly 5,000 school support staff in Nova Scotia. These are bus drivers, educational program assistants, library support specialists, early childhood educators, custodians and Indigenous or African Nova Scotian student support workers. They’re represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees, and they’re “frustrated with the province” as bargaining…
Planning to fail, an HRM strategic plan update
Halifax’s city council is meeting on Tuesday, Jan 14, and the agenda is pretty interesting. In addition to the stuff they’ll debate, there is a written report updating council on the progress of Halifax’s strategic plans. The city’s bureaucracy seems to really be struggling with implementing its strategic plans. Of the council’s priorities that…
Rising property taxes and more expected from Halifax council agenda
Everyone’s favourite administrative body, the Property Valuation Services Corporation, will present the new property tax numbers to this week’s regular meeting of city council, Tuesday Jan 14. If this year is like every other year, assessments will go up and in the coming 2025/26 financial year the average tax bill will be going up a…
Public begs Board of Police Commissioners for competent governance
Wednesday’s Board of Police Commissioners meeting was one for the record books, as the embattled board struggled to maintain its legitimacy in the face of withering public scrutiny. But the board’s struggles with legitimacy didn’t start on January 8 during the public participation phase of the 2025/26 municipal budget process. Instead, they can be traced…
51st state of mind
It seems increasingly likely US president-elect Donald Trump will impose a tariff on Canadian exports when he is inaugurated. If his threat of a 25% tariff comes to fruition, it will decimate Nova Scotia’s economy. If it doesn’t, we may have avoided a new disaster, but we still have the current one: an affordability crisis,…
Call-out for African Nova Scotian artists
A trio of groups supporting African Nova Scotian artists and art-making are seeking three artists to exhibit their work in an upcoming February exhibition. The Black Artist Initiative, The Cowry Collective and The Concrete Garden Association are inviting African Nova Scotian artists to submit their works for display in “The Concrete Garden,” which will run…
Jeremy Hotz is still miserable—and as funny as ever
Jeremy Hotz is having a bad day. There’s a rat in his kitchen and it’s decided to take up residence. It started with a crash the other day. Hotz came downstairs to find his newly-bought hot dog buns knocked off the counter and on the floor. “The whole bag, for fuck’s sakes!” he laughs, speaking…
Dal has started sharing drafts of new equity policies with community
Dalhousie University is moving closer to releasing updated versions of its Sexualized Violence, Discrimination and Harassment policies, and a new standalone Racialized Violence Policy. On Dec 2, Dal’s Human Rights and Equity Services department within the Office of Equity and Inclusion shared a draft of amendments to the university’s Sexualized Violence Policy with the school…
RCMP wants $4 million worth of more cops
Halifax’s municipal budget pre-season crunches on, bending bureaucracies to its will. The Board of Police Commissioners didn’t get to the RCMP’s preliminary budget requests at the end of 2024, so held a special meeting Monday, Jan 6 to go over the RCMP’s budget asks. The Monday meeting had to happen before the public meeting scheduled…
7 new Halifax restaurants, cafes and breweries to get you excited for 2025—plus, more on the move
There’s never a dull moment in Halifax’s food scene. The year 2024 brought more than its share of dining headlines to our coastal city, from a trawler’s haul of new waterfront restaurants to the closures of Salty’s, El Chino and Birch & Anchor, to a Haligonian (once again) reaching the final of Top Chef Canada.…
Nominations open for future Black and Indigenous Speaker Series scholars
Ahead of African Heritage Month this February, Mount Saint Vincent University is accepting nominations for the next presenter in its biannual Black and Indigenous Speaker Series. Until Jan 31, people are encouraged to submit their request using this form to invite a Black and/or Indigenous scholar to MSVU to share their work through an online…
Bodycams on Halifax Regional Police 2025 wish list
On Wednesday, Dec 18, Halifax’s Board of Police Commissioners held their final meeting of 2024. On the agenda was Halifax Regional Police’s proposal for the coming 2025-26’s budget. The $101.2 million in proposed spending is a 3.3% increase from last year’s police budget, and would be roughly 10% of Halifax’s entire municipal budget. This fiscal…
CKDU wants your memories and your ears as it celebrates a big birthday
The station that began as a student radio club celebrates 40 years on the FM dial this February—with a party and a call-out for memories. What started as a radio club in 1964 began broadcasting five years later from what was then the brand-new Dalhousie Student Union Building, but that broadcast was just within the…
A tank-like armoured personnel carrier is back on the police wish list
In Saving Private Ryan, the 1998 World War II film starring Tom Hanks, there is a scene with a sniper. It starts off simply enough: Hanks and his squad enter a French village, where they find a family with children in a bombed-out house. The family begs the soldiers to take the kids out of…
Did a homicide kill the Alehouse?
Two years ago, when downtown Halifax was getting ready to host the men’s World Junior Hockey Championship, Ryan Sawyer left his parents’ Fall River home to watch a pre-tournament game with his brother. He never returned. Police found him “unresponsive” outside the Halifax Alehouse in the early morning hours of Dec 24, his body near…
Halifax considers defunding the police
On Wednesday, December 18, the Board of Police Commissioners met to discuss the police budgets for the next fiscal year. Unlike the municipality’s other business units, Halifax’s police departments get extra budget scrutiny. Also, unlike other municipal business units, the police have been the subject of not one, not two, but three massive reports about…
Racism and non-disclosure agreements: watch and learn
This month, a new educational video series was released that explains how non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) are often misused to cover up racism and discrimination in the workplace. The Canadian/UK advocacy group Can’t Buy My Silence collaborated with the Canada-based BIPOC Academic Coalition on this “Racism and NDAs” video series, which centres on the stories of…
Spoil your loved ones with The Coast’s last-minute local gift guide
If you’re anything like us, you’ve been watching helplessly as the days pass you by, vowing to finish up your holiday shopping “first thing tomorrow.” We see you and have you covered! Forget the 12 days of Christmas—or whatever tradition you celebrate: Here at The Coast, we’ve got your back with a dozen last-minute local…
Best Burger
GOLD WINNER & HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE 🥇 Darrell’s Restaurant website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Battery Park Beerbar & Eatery website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Side Hustle Snack Bar website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Durty Nelly’s Real Fake Meats Stillwell Beer Bar Tusket Falls Beer Project Darrell’s Restaurant has taken home the gold for Best Burger so many times,…
Best Coffee
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Espresso 46 website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Dilly Dally Coffee Cafe website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Café Goodluck website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Apartment 3 Espresso Bar Creative Cup Java Blend Weird Harbour Espresso Bar Growing up in Prato, Italy, Federico Pasquinelli remembers playing among bags of coffee beans. The espresso bar beneath his parents’ home…
Best International Grocer
GOLD WINNER 🥇 The Italian Market website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Pete’s Frootique & Fine Foods website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 E-Joy Foodmart website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Frabjous Delights Indian Groceries Mid-East Food Centre Union Foodmart
Best Thai Restaurant
GOLD WINNER & HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE 🥇 Cha Baa Thai Restaurant website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Talay Thai website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Blue Elephant Thai website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Kajohn Thai Restaurant Kofuku Japanese and Thai Thai Ivory Cuisine Wok Your Way
Best Lake
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Lake Banook website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Long Lake website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Chocolate Lake website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Albro Lake Grand Lake Lake Charles Papermill Lake
Best Public Art Or Mural
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Pat Stay mural in Dartmouth Cove website SILVER WINNER 🥈 John Dunsworth mural on Quinpool Road website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Viola Desmond installation on Gottingen Street website HONOURABLE MENTIONS “Chosen Family” installation on the Halifax Common Laing House butterfly mural on Barrington Street Sailboat sculpture at Queen’s Marque The Wave sculpture on…
Best Second-hand Clothing Store
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Guy’s Frenchys website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Mission Mart website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 The Loot website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Allie’s Boutique Elsie’s Used Clothing Meyvn Sustainable Apparel Room 152 Clothing Boutique
Best Yoga Studio
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Shanti Hot Yoga website SILVER WINNER 🥈 On the Mat Yoga website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Rinse (R Studios) website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Halifax Yoga Oxygen Yoga and Fitness The Practice Energy Movement Centre Soul Sanctuary Wellness Club
Best Nachos
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Antojo Tacos + Tequila website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Battery Park Beerbar & Eatery website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Finbar’s Irish Pub website HALL OF FAME 🏆 Economy Shoe Shop website Inducted to the Hall in 2009 HONOURABLE MENTIONS Durty Nelly’s Authentic Irish Pub Sabrosa Modern Mexican Stillwell Freehouse Tusket…
Best New Artist / Band
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Michelle Ryder and Side Hustle website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Montgomery Night website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Alexander Gallant website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Eliza Rhinelander Elyse Aeryn HODDER Jackson Weldon
Best New Bar
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Stardust Bar + Kitchen website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Magnolia website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 2 Crows Oxford Taproom website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Bollywood Bar & Lounge Neon Armadillo Rumours Sip Bar + Fare
Best Cookie / Cupcake / Doughnut
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Vandal Doughnuts website SILVER WINNER 🥈 LF Bakery website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Aroma Maya Coffee & Donuts website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Bliss Caffeine Bar Bramble Cafe Layers Cakes
Best Korean Restaurant
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Busan Korean BBQ website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Gangnam Korean BBQ website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Song’s Korean Restaurant website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Arirang Korean & Japanese Restaurant Bi One Korean BBQ Restaurant MASITA Korean Food Young Pocha Korean BBQ Restaurant
Best Use Of Local Ingredients
GOLD WINNER 🥇 The Canteen website SILVER WINNER 🥈 The Wooden Monkey website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Bar Kismet website HONOURABLE MENTIONS 2 Doors Down Food + Wine The Brooklyn Warehouse Drift Oxalis Restaurant
Best Flower Shop
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Audrey’s Little Shop of Plants website SILVER WINNER 🥈 My Mother’s Bloomers website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Props Floral website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Flower Street The Flower Shop Janet’s Flower Shop Pilcher’s Flowers
Best Manicure / Pedicure
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Spirit Spa website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Interlude Spa website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Encore Nail Bar website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Elk’s Salon Fancy Nails Pride Beauty Lounge YOLOve Beauty
Best Comedy Night
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Drag Queens of Comedy website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Hello City Improv website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Better Times Comedy website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Big Funny Spontaneity Improv Company Sunday Sesh We Have Fun
Best Karaoke Night
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Bearly’s House of Blues & Ribs website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Lion’s Head Tavern website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Draggity-Ass Karaoke at Staggers Pub & Grub website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Crass Karaoke at The Local Dave Smith Karaoke I Don’t Karaoke at Charlie’s Karaoke with Nick and Tanya
Best New Restaurant
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Sketti & Ball Co website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Water Polo website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Larry’s Sandwiches and Sides website HONOURABLE MENTIONS The Can-Indian Kitchen Pazzo Ristorante Peppercorns Eatery Toridori “There’s a lot of new high-end restaurants in town,” says Sketti & Ball Co co-owner Geir Simensen. “That’s the opposite of what Sketti…
Best Pop Artist / Band
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Neon Dreams website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Ria Mae website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Good Dear Good website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Brooklyn Blackmore Maggie Andrew Suit & Tie T. Thomason With so many talented musicians in Halifax, it was difficult for our readers to choose just one to be our Gold winner for Best Pop…
Best Burrito
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Antojo Tacos + Tequila website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Dee Dee’s Ice Cream website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Habaneros Modern Taco Bar website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Burrito Jax El Este Taqueria Sabrosa Modern Mexican Tako Loko Mexican Restaurant
Best Craft Brewery
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Good Robot Brewing Co. website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Propeller Brewing Company website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Garrison Brewery website HONOURABLE MENTIONS 2 Crows Brewing Co. North Brewing SackVegas Brew Co Stillwell Brewing Company
Best Late-night Food
GOLD WINNER & HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE 🥇 Willy’s Fresh Cut Fries & Burgers website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Freeman’s Little New York website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Tony’s Famous Donairs & Pizza website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Jellies Bar Rocky’s Original Filipino BBQ Sicilian Pizza Stillwell Beer Bar
Best Wine List
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Obladee — A Wine Bar website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Bar Kismet website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Peacock Wine Bar website HONOURABLE MENTIONS daMaurizio Fine Dining The Ostrich Club Pazzo Ristorante The Wine Spa
Best Local Character
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Woody the Talking Christmas Tree website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Sullivan’s Pond Geese website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Gus the Gopher Tortoise website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Hope MacPherson Raina the Halifax Mermaid Rouge Fatale Danny Slade The North Pole’s own Woody the Talking Christmas Tree is your gold winner for the Best Local Character category.…
Best Public Space
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Halifax Public Gardens website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Halifax Central Library website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Peggys Cove website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Dartmouth Commons Fort Needham Memorial Park Halifax Common Pool Queen’s Marque You voted for the Halifax Public Gardens to be the gold winner of the Best Public Space category this year—a decision that…
Best Shoe Store
GOLD WINNER 🥇 John David Shoes website SILVER WINNER 🥈 East Coast Kicks website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Aerobics First website HONOURABLE MENTIONS The Loot Market Price Paragon Boutique Pro Skates
Best Accessible Business
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Discovery Centre website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Bus Stop Theatre Co-op website BRONZE WINNER 🥉Cape & Cowl Comics & Collectibles website HONOURABLE MENTIONS 2 Crows Brewing Co. Dessert Yard Lake City Cider The Trainyard General Store
Best Nova Scotian Distillery
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Coldstream Clear Distillery website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Compass Distillers website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Ironworks Distillery website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Barrelling Tide Distillery Black Harbour Distillers Halifax Distilling Co. Nova Scotia Spirit Co.
Best Punk Artist / Band
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Skunk Motel website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Like a Motorcycle website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Bologna Colarado website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Botfly Cathartics Customer Service Pavel Stroke
Best Italian Restaurant
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Ristorante a Mano website SILVER WINNER 🥈 The Bicycle Thief website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 il Mercato Trattoria website HONOURABLE MENTIONS daMaurizio Fine Dining La Frasca Cibi & Vini Mappatura Bistro Sketti & Ball Co If you’re looking for a marker of consistency, consider this: Ristorante a Mano has placed in Best of…
Best Dartmouth Restaurant
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Mic Mac Bar & Grill website SILVER WINNER 🥈 The Canteen website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Battery Park Beerbar & Eatery website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Dear Friend Bar Oxalis Restaurant Side Hustle Snack Bar Sip Bar + Fare Whether it’s the Mic Mac Bar & Grill’s menu or family-owned tavern vibes that bring you…
Best Lobster Roll
GOLD WINNER 🥇 The Canteen website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Evan’s Fresh Seafoods website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Tom’s Lobster Shack website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Acadian Fish & Chips and Enzo Pizzeria Black Sheep Restaurant Esquire Restaurant The Sou’Wester For three years running, The Coast’s readers have voted The Canteen as the gold winner for Best Lobster Roll.…
Best Barber
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Cedric “Ceddy The Barber” DeChamp at Legends Barbershop website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Jeremy Naugler at Leftside Barbershop website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Jackie Cochran at Sailor Bup’s Barbershop website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Jacqueline Deveau at Medusa’s Barbershop Brady Hayes at Noreast Barber Robyn Ingraham at Devoted Barbers & Co. Herman Vienneau at YOLOve Beauty
Best Gym
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Evolve Fitness website SILVER WINNER 🥈 R Studios website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Orange Theory website HONOURABLE MENTIONS East Coast Barbell Move East Pelvico Push Fitness
Best Mechanic Shop
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Todd’s Southend Car Care website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Yuille Auto Works website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Chad Kennedy’s Autopro website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Main Street Automotive Master Auto Mighty Auto NS Diesel and Automotive
Best Dance Company / Group
GOLD WINNER 🥇 House of Eights website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Halifax Dance website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Atlantic Boylesque website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Coastal Vibe Collective Mocean Dance The Smoke Show Unleashed studio
Best Museum
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Museum of Natural History website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Maritime Museum of the Atlantic website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Africville Museum Art Gallery of Nova Scotia Dartmouth Heritage Museum Discovery Centre While the Museum of Natural History has been undergoing some construction this year,…
Best Nova Scotian Winery
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Benjamin Bridge website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Lightfoot & Wolfville website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Luckett Vineyards website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Avondale Sky Winery Gaspereau Vineyards Grand Pré Wines Mercator Vineyards
Best R&B Artist / Band
GOLD WINNER 🥇 The Mellotones website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Jah’Mila website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Aquakulture website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Alex “Cunny” Ross Asia & Nu Gruv Avery Dakin
Best Butcher Shop
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Gateway Meat Market website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Osprey’s Roost Butchery & Provisions website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Brothers Meats and Delicatessen website HONOURABLE MENTIONS 2 Boys Smokehouse & Deli Chater Meat Market Real Fake Meats Vessel Meats This independent Dartmouth butcher, deli and grocery shop has been providing quality meat at affordable prices…
Best Desserts
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Antoinette’s Cheesecakes website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Pane e Circo website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Sweet Hereafter Cheesecakery website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Dessert Yard The Middle Spoon Desserterie & Bar Ori Foods Suda Table
Best Middle Eastern / Persian Restaurant
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Tarek’s Cafe website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Mezza Lebanese Kitchen website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Darya website HONOURABLE MENTIONS 902 Restaurant & Catering Au Liban Chef Abod Cafe & Catering Efes Turkish Cuisine
Best Barbershop
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Lucky Cat Barbershop website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Legends Barbershop website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Leftside Barbershop website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Devoted Barbers & Co. Medusa’s Barbershop Noreast Barber One Block Barbershop
Best Member Of Parliament
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Andy Fillmore for Halifax website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Darren Fisher for Dartmouth—Cole Harbour website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Sean Fraser for Central Nova website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Lena Metlege Diab for Halifax West Rick Perkins for South Shore—St. Margarets Darrell Samsons for Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook
Best Staycation Spot
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Sensea Nordic Spa website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Wolfville website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 White Point Beach Resort website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Muir Hotel Oceanstone Resort & Spa The Quarterdeck Resort Tinker’s Point Cottage
Best Spa
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Nature Folk website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Spirit Spa website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Interlude Spa website HONOURABLE MENTIONS East Coast Wellness Clinic Stil Space Wellness The Summit The Wine Spa
Best Activist
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Claudia Chender website SILVER WINNER 🥈 El Jones website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Elle Noir website HONOURABLE MENTIONS April Hubbard Kay Macdonald Amelia Penney-Crocker Rana Zaman
Best Band
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Wintersleep website SILVER WINNER 🥈 The Town Heroes website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Michelle Ryder and Side Hustle website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Convulsion Customer Service Skunk Motel Where Giants Once Stood
Best Rock Artist / Band
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Matt Mays website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Adam Baldwin website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 The Town Heroes website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Convulsion Dali Van Gogh Michelle Ryder and Side Hustle Where Giants Once Stood This latest gold for Matt Mays in the Best Rock Artist/Band category isn’t a major shock. He’s a powerhouse, simple as…
Best Chef
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Renée Lavallée at The Canteen website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Natalie Rosen at Fawn Restaurant website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Andreas Preuss at Oxalis Restaurant website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Dany Duguay at Anemone Moira Murray at Peacock Wine Bar Michael Rizzato at Sketti & Ball Co Terry Vassallo at Mappatura Bistro
Best Vegetarian / Vegan Restaurant
GOLD WINNER 🥇 The Wooden Monkey website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Wild Leek website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Real Fake Meats website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Bramble Cafe HARVEST Clean Eats Heartwood By The Sea Springhouse Market
Best Diner
GOLD WINNER 🥇 The Armview Restaurant & Lounge website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Ardmore Tea Room website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Pleasant St. Diner website HONOURABLE MENTIONS The Cheeky Neighbour Diner Easy Street Diner Westcliff Diner True North Diner
Best Milkshake
GOLD WINNER 🥇 The Chickenburger website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Flynn’s Dairy Bar & Convenience website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Dee Dee’s Ice Cream website HALL OF FAME 🏆 Darrell’s Restaurant website Inducted to the Hall in 2019 HONOURABLE MENTIONS Ardmore Tea Room The Armview Restaurant & Lounge Dessert Yard Hali Deli Old…
Best Bike Store
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Long Alley Bicycles website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Halifax Cycles website BRONZE WINNER 🥉Sportwheels website HALL OF FAME 🏆 Cyclesmith website Inducted to the Hall in 2022 HONOURABLE MENTIONS Bike Again C. Robertson Electric Bikes The eBike Centre Train Station Bike and Bean
Best Hair Salon
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Spirit Spa website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Solace Salon website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Tidal Hair Lounge website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Grove Hair Studio Thumpers Salon Urban Hair YOLOve Beauty
Best Nail Technician
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Emma Zinck at The Ten Spot website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Stevie at Snake Belly Nails website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Megan Hatchette at YOLOve Beauty website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Maria Ciorici at Elk’s Salon Alia Huntley at Urban Hair Jill Norman at The Nu Spot Beautique Brittany Richard at HS Studio
Best Dancer
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Anna Mona-Pia website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Sarah Prosper website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Tyson Villeneuve (TYSN VLNV) website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Jake Jockerson Yasmin Rashid Laura Selenzi Lydia Zimmer
Best Podcast
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Sickboy website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Afternoon Pint website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Nighttime Podcast website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Elwood City Limits Mike and Kristen Skate Through Life Podcast w/ Elle Tomie X-Rated: The X-Men Animated Review Show
Best Oyster Bar
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Dear Friend Bar website SILVER WINNER 🥈 The Press Gang Restaurant & Oyster Bar website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Highwayman Restaurant & Bar website HONOURABLE MENTIONS The Barrington Steakhouse & Oyster Bar Eliot & Vine Lot Six Bar & Restaurant Shuck Seafood + Raw Bar
Best Solo Artist
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Matt Mays website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Adam Baldwin website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Brooklyn Blackmore website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Eliza Rhinelander Elsy Makhlouf Alexander Gallant Michelle Ryder Most years, Matt Mays is a powerhouse in the Best Rock Artist/Band category. But for the first time ever, the former Matt Mays & El Torpedo frontman…
Best Pizza Slice
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Yeah Yeahs Pizza website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Salvatore’s Pizzaiolo Trattoria website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 On The Wedge Gourmet Pizza website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Jubilee Junction Morris East Restaurant + Wine Bar Sapori Italian Street Food Triple A Convenience & Pizzeria Yeah Yeahs Pizza, located on Ochterloney Street in Dartmouth and on Oxford Street…
Best Caesar
GOLD WINNER 🥇 The Bicycle Thief website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Stubborn Goat Gastropub website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 The Brown Hound Public House website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Black Sheep Restaurant Celtic Corner Drift Lot Six Bar & Restaurant
Best Donair
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Tony’s Famous Donairs & Pizza website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Randy’s Pizza & Donair website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Mezza Lebanese Kitchen website HALL OF FAME 🏆 King of Donair website Inducted to the Hall in 2016 HONOURABLE MENTIONS Bella Vita Pizzeria Real Fake Meats Tasty Pizza The Wooden Monkey…
Best Poutine
GOLD WINNER & HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE 🥇 Willy’s Fresh Cut Fries & Burgers website SILVER WINNER 🥈 CHKN CHOP website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Cheese Curds Gourmet Burgers + Poutinerie website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Alexandra’s Pizza Bud The Spud Economy Shoe Shop Real Fake Meats
Best Councillor
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Tony Mancini website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Lindell Smith website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Waye Mason website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Sam Austin Lisa Blackburn Kathryn Morse Tim Outhit
Best Member Of The Provincial Legislature
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Claudia Chender for Dartmouth South website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Gary Burrill for Halifax Chebucto website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Brendan Maguire for Halifax Atlantic website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Barbara Adams for Eastern Passage Twila Grosse for Preston Suzy Hansen for Halifax Needham Susan Leblanc for Dartmouth North
Best TikTok Account
GOLD WINNER 🥇 @aliciamccarvell website SILVER WINNER 🥈 @nottheworstcleaner website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 @colinjmuise website HONOURABLE MENTIONS @brittanyaucoin_ @djblitzwpg @evilpez4 @quakematthews
Best Tailor
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Mic Mac Tailors website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Sherzad’s Tailoring Shop website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Daniel’s Tailors website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Alter Ego Tailoring Paula’s Place Tailor Shop Vic Master Tailor Vogue Men’s Wear and Tailoring
Best Activist Organization
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Feed Nova Scotia website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Out of the Cold website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Dalhousie Legal Aid Service website HALL OF FAME 🏆 Ecology Action Centre website Inducted to the Hall in 2017 HONOURABLE MENTIONS ACORN Al Zeitoun University Books Beyond Bars Breaking Challah / Building Bridges
Best Blues Artist / Band
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Matt Andersen website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Garrett Mason website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Charlie A’Court website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Ced Marty & Dave Jon Hines The Kevin Fletcher Band Shirley Jackson & Her Good Rockin’ Daddies
Best Songwriter
GOLD WINNER & HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE 🥇 Joel Plaskett website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Adam Baldwin website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Michelle Ryder website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Eliza Rhinelander Mel Farrimond Alexander Gallant Jordan Turnbull Plaskett’s newest album leaves little doubt why Haligonians keep voting him Best Songwriter in The Coast’s annual Best of Halifax awards: At…
Best Barista
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Federico Pasquinelli at Espresso 46 website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Katelyn Gallant at Two If By Sea Cafe website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Sarah Jupp at Dilly Dally Coffee Cafe website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Sawyer Carnegie at Café Goodluck Mitch Henrichs at Pane e Circo Jordan Johnson at Ramblers Coffee Stevie Tallent at The Wired…
Best Cafe
GOLD WINNER& HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE 🥇 Two If By Sea Cafe website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Dilly Dally Coffee Cafe website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Café Goodluck website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Apartment 3 Espresso Bar Creative Cup The Mellow Mug Ramblers Coffee Two If By Sea has been a staple of downtown Dartmouth for 15 years, and…
Best Fine Dining
GOLD WINNER 🥇 The Bicycle Thief website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Bar Kismet website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Oxalis Restaurant website HONOURABLE MENTIONS daMaurizio Fine Dining Drift Mappatura Bistro The Ostrich Club
Best Pub Food
GOLD WINNER 🥇 The Narrows Public House website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Mic Mac Bar & Grill website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 The Millstone Public House website HONOURABLE MENTIONS The Brown Hound Public House Durty Nelly’s Authentic Irish Pub Finbar’s Irish Pub The Henry House
Best Clothing Store
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Sweet Pea Boutique website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Biscuit General Store website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Slowly Slowly website HALL OF FAME 🏆 Duggers website Inducted to the Hall in 2024 HONOURABLE MENTIONS 11th Street Boutique Another Shop Daisy Jo’s Boutique Foreign Affair
Best Hairstylist
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Malyssa Burns at Solace Salon website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Emma Bonang at Interlude Spa website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Evelyn “Evie” Hill at Ivy Hair Salon website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Brittany Aucoin at Cabaret Hair & Esthetics Stephanie Hayes-Clark at Urban Hair Nick Mazerolle at YOLOve Beauty Martaine Yeo at AQC Salon
Best New Business
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Halifax Vintage Co-op website SILVER WINNER 🥈 The Wine Spa website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Solace Salon website HONOURABLE MENTIONS AprilVets Daisy Jo’s Boutique Isle at Ease Tea for Turtle
Best Drag Performer
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Anna Mona-Pia website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Mya Foxx website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Elle Noir website HALL OF FAME 🏆 Rouge Fatale website Inducted to the Hall in 2017 HONOURABLE MENTIONS Asylum Jack Anita P Richard Rockhard Shayla Shenanigans
Best Radio Show
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Information Morning, CBC Radio One website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Griff & Caroline in the Morning, JACK 92.9 website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 BJ & The Q Morning Crew, Q104 website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Cove FM Music Mix, Cove FM 88.7 Drag The Waters, CKDU 88.1 FM The Hanz Show, CKDU 88.1 FM Something Sapphic,…
Best Pastry
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Two If By Sea Cafe website SILVER WINNER 🥈 LF Bakery website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Pane e Circo website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Birdies Bread Co. Bliss Caffeine Bar Luke’s Small Goods Tart & Soul Cafe Make that two BOH golds in a row for Best Pastry for Dartmouth’s Two If By Sea Cafe.…
2024 is the 30th annual Best of Halifax Readers’ Choice Awards results
Welcome to the 30th annual Best of Halifax Readers’ Choice Awards. Yes, 30 years of The Coast’s awesome readers voting for their favourite people, places and things about our great city. To mark this major anniversary, we’ve made a major change—adding Honourable Mentions in each category, along with the standard gold, silver and bronze winners.…
Best Bartender
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Enemona Agada at Dear Friend Bar website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Josh Hanusiak at Stillwell Beer Bar website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Lindsay Jones at The Ostrich Club website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Stéphane Duval at Field Guide Colleen Holland at Mill Cove Brew Pub Ian Smith at TAPestry Beer Bar Cameron Trainor at Sketti &…
Best Caribbean Restaurant
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Palm Tree Kitchen & Bar website SILVER WINNER 🥈 R&B Kitchen website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Caribbean Bliss & Breakfast Cafe website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Brawta Jamaican Jerk Joint East Coast Conch Jamdouns Jamaican Canadian Cuisine Xaymaca Jamaican Restaurant & Bar “When you’re from the islands, you grow up in the kitchen,” says owner…
Best Fish & Chips
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Evan’s Fresh Seafoods website SILVER WINNER 🥈 The Narrows Public House website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Rudy and Olive’s Fish & Chips website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Durty Nelly’s Authentic Irish Pub Harbour Fish N Fries Sydelles Fish & Chips Willman’s Fish & Chips Since 2011, Evan’s Fresh Seafoods has been serving scallops, clams, fish…
Best Ramen
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Buta Ramen website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Truly tasty website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Tako Sushi & Ramen website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Broth House Coda Ramen Studio East Sushi Nami Royale
Best Comics Store
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Strange Adventures Halifax website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Cape & Cowl Comics & Collectibles website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Strange Adventures Dartmouth website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Giant Robot Comics Lost World Games Toys and Records Monster Comics Lounge Rainbow’s End Books and Discs Hello, True Believers. Something is amiss in the world of the city’s…
Best Place For A First Date
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Halifax Waterfront website SILVER WINNER 🥈 The Board Room Game Cafe website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Halifax Public Gardens website HONOURABLE MENTIONS The Middle Spoon Desserterie & Bar Point Pleasant Park Putting Edge TAPestry Beer Bar Finding a good spot for a first date is difficult. You want it to be fun and…
Best Up-and-coming Community Leader
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Claudia Chender website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Anna Mona-Pia website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Kate MacDonald website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Jacob Wilson Milena Khazanavicius Kydra Mayhew Anika Riopel
Best Tattoo / Piercing Joint
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Darling Tattoos website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Heirloom Tattoo website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Adept Tattoos & Body Piercing Studio website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Black Eleven Tattoo Lyle Street Tattoo Sevenfold Ink Skin Decision
Best Athlete
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Ellie Black website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Sidney Crosby website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Nathan Mackinnon website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Sloan MacKenzie Lori Marsman Wyatt Sanford Braydon Schryer
Best Patio
GOLD WINNER 🥇 The Bicycle Thief website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Good Robot Brewing Co. website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Battery Park Beerbar & Eatery website HALL OF FAME 🏆 Your Father’s Moustache website Inducted to the Hall in 2016 HONOURABLE MENTIONS Bar Sofia Black Sheep Restaurant Celtic Corner Darya One of Halifax’s…
Best Community Choir
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Halifax Gay Men’s Chorus website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Out Loud Queer Choir website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Polaris website HONOURABLE MENTIONS The Aeolian Singers Capella Regalis Choirs Halifax Camerata Singers Halifax Newcomer Choir
Best BBQ
GOLD WINNER 🥇 CHKN CHOP website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Boneheads BBQ website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Parkside Pub & Smokehouse website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Asado Wood Fired Grill East Coast Smokehouse Tusket Falls Beer Project Upstreet BBQ Brewhouse A Haligonian’s first CHKN CHOP sandwich is akin to a rite of passage by this point. Seven years on…
Best Chicken Wings
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Jacob’s Lounge website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Freeman’s Little New York website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Battery Park Beerbar & Eatery website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Bollywood Bar & Lounge Durty Nelly’s Authentic Irish Pub Stillwell Freehouse Stubborn Goat Gastropub
Best Fish Cakes
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Mic Mac Bar & Grill website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Evan’s Fresh Seafoods website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Black Sheep Restaurant website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Ardmore Tea Room The Cottage Cafe – An Teachín Drift The Wooden Monkey
Best Restaurant
GOLD WINNER 🥇 The Bicycle Thief website SILVER WINNER 🥈 The Canteen website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Bar Kismet website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Fawn Restaurant Mappatura Bistro Oxalis Restaurant Peacock Wine Bar The Bertossi Group’s literal golden child, The Bicycle Thief, scores the top spot for Best Restaurant for the fourth time since its opening in 2011.…
Best Corner Store
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Atlantic News website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Jubilee Junction website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Flynn’s Dairy Bar & Convenience website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Hydrostone Groceteria Jake’s Variety Thomeh’s Kwik Way Triple A
Best Home Decor Store
GOLD WINNER 🥇 The Posh Pearl website SILVER WINNER 🥈 The Independent Mercantile Co. website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Thornbloom website HALL OF FAME 🏆 Attica Furnishings website Inducted to the Hall in 2010 HONOURABLE MENTIONS 31 Westgate Attica Isle at Ease Kept Shop
Best Personal Trainer
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Mitch Benvie at Evolve Fitness website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Rick Horsman at Rick My Trainer website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Stephanie Peters at Ironstone website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Courtlyn Arsenault at LiftLab Wellness Haitham Chehadi at Zatsman Sportsplex Katelyn Hetherington at Blended Athletics Shea Lenehan at ProEdge Elite Training
Best Festival
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Halifax Jazz Festival website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Halifax Pride website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Halifax Busker Festival website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Atlantic Burlesque Festival Halifax Fringe Festival Nova Multifest Vibrancy Festival The Halifax Jazz Festival is this year’s gold winner for Best Festival, surprising no one. The city’s premiere music festival manages to pull…
Best Theatre Actor
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Allister MacDonald website SILVER WINNER 🥈 David Light website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Jade Douris-O’Hara website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Henricus Gielis Emma James Raeesa Lalani Michelle Langille
Best Pizza Pie
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Yeah Yeahs Pizza website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Morris East Restaurant + Wine Bar website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Rinaldo’s Italian American Specialities website HALL OF FAME 🏆Salvatore’s Pizzaiolo Trattoria website Inducted to the Hall in 2016 HONOURABLE MENTIONS Bella Vita Pizzeria Lou Pécou Artisinal Pizzeria On The Wedge Gourmet…
Best Country Artist / Band
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Willie Stratton website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Brooklyn Blackmore website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Taylor Jensen website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Amanda Riley Farewell Town Michelle Mock & the Moccasins The Ordeals
Best Bedford Restaurant
GOLD WINNER & HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE 🥇 il Mercato Trattoria website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Finbar’s Irish Pub website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 True North Diner website HONOURABLE MENTIONS The Chickenburger Esquire Restaurant East Coast Conch Resto Urban Dining For the ninth year in a row—and the tenth year all-time—il Mercato Trattoria is the gold-winner for…
Best Chinese Restaurant
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Look Ho Ho Restaurant website SILVER WINNER 🥈 May Garden Chinese Restaurant website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Fan’s Chinese Restaurant website HALL OF FAME 🏆 The Great Wall website Inducted to the Hall in 2016 HONOURABLE MENTIONS 9 + Nine Chinese Cuisine Canton Garden Golden Fortune The Orient Chinese…
Best Fries
GOLD WINNER & HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE 🥇 Bud the Spud website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Willy’s Fresh Cut Fries & Burgers website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 The Brown Hound Public House website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Battery Park Beerbar & Eatery Side Hustle Snack Bar Stillwell Beer Bar Tusket Falls Beer Project Not even losing its prime downtown…
Best Sackville Restaurant
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Kaiser’s Sub & Sandwich Shoppes website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Tom’s Family Restaurant website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Freeman’s Little New York website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Beaver Bank Station Fry Daddy’s Fry & Grill MediTerra Kitchen Roy’s Restaurant
Best Dog Groomer
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Jollytails website SILVER WINNER 🥈 East Coast Dog website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Dapper Dogs website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Elaine’s Poodle Parlour Petite Urban Pooch Sky’s Pet Grooming Suds Up Pup
Best Place To Dance
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Seahorse Tavern website SILVER WINNER 🥈 The Lower Deck website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Pacifico website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Boomers Lounge The Dome Durty Nelly’s Authentic Irish Pub Rumours
Most Important Local Issue
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Affordable housing crisis website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Homelessness website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Health care website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Airbnb rules Bike lanes Coastal Protection Act Transit Your pick for the Most Important Local Issue this year is one that’s been on our minds all year—the affordable housing crisis. We’ve written too many articles…
Best Tattoo Artist
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Helena Darling at Darling Tattoos website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Rebecca “Becky” O’Quinn at Heirloom Tattoo website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Emerson Roach at their private studio website HONOURABLE MENTIONS JillIan Bree at Sevenfold Ink Ashley Hamilton at ArtGem Tattoos Justin Murphy at Hometown Classic Tattoo Tasha Terror at Three of Swords Tattoo Parlour
Best Beach
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Crystal Crescent Beach website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Martinique Beach website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Rainbow Haven Beach website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Clam Harbour Conrads Lawrencetown Queensland
Best DJ
GOLD WINNER 🥇 KittyBass website SILVER WINNER 🥈 DJ IV website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Aftertouch website HONOURABLE MENTIONS DJISM Hanz Oonz Maqām Omnirock
Best Cover Artist / Band
GOLD WINNER 🥇 The Mellotones website SILVER WINNER 🥈 The East Enders website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Michelle Ryder and Side Hustle website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Amanda Riley Elsy Makhlouf Mike Lloyd Where Giants Once Stood
Best Beer Garden
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Stillwell Beergarden website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Good Robot Brewing Co. Commons website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Battery Park Beerbar & Eatery website HONOURABLE MENTIONS The BG Evan’s Fresh Seafoods The Maxwell’s Plum The Oxford Taproom Picture this: It’s a summer afternoon and you’ve wandered off Spring Garden Road into Stillwell Beergarden. The sun…
Best Chocolatier
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Peace By Chocolate website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Rousseau Chocolatier website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Pane e Circo website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Gourmandises Avenue Chocolaterie King & North Chocolate Michelle Ashley’s Bakery Whim Chocolate By now, you’ve heard the Hadhad family’s inspiring story: Refugees from Syria, the Hadhads arrived in Antigonish in 2015, three years…
Best Gluten-free Options
GOLD WINNER 🥇 The Wooden Monkey website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Easy Street Diner website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Schoolhouse Gluten-Free Gourmet website HONOURABLE MENTIONS 2 Doors Down Food + Wine The Bicycle Thief Black Sheep Restaurant Studio East
Best Salad
GOLD WINNER 🥇 HARVEST Clean Eats website SILVER WINNER 🥈 The Canteen website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 The Wooden Monkey website HALL OF FAME 🏆 Pete’s Frootique and Fine Foods website Inducted to the Hall in 2018 HONOURABLE MENTIONS Fawn Restaurant il Mercato Trattoria The Mercantile Social Stillwell Freehouse
Best Esthetician
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Alanna Byrne at Blair Beauty Bar website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Jill Stephenson at Jill Stephenson Makeup Artistry + Esthetics website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Claire Crawford at The Wine Spa website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Alexis Clark at Urban Hair Clarissa Legalley at YOLOve Beauty Van at Fancy Nails Emma Zinck at The Ten Spot…
Best Independent Bookstore
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Bookmark website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Agricola Street Books website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Woozles website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Dartmouth Book Exchange King’s Co-op Bookstore Otis and Clementine’s Venus Envy
Best Pet Supply Store
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Ren’s Pets website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Jollytails website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 East Coast Dog website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Best Friends Pet Supplies Chews Raw Planet Paws Portland St. Pets
Best Film / TV Actor
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Elliot Page website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Jonathan Torrens website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Mark Critch website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Brian George Kristyn Green Anna Mona-Pia Jordan Poole
Best Theatre Company
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Neptune Theatre website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Shakespeare By The Sea website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 The Villains Theatre website HONOURABLE MENTIONS 2b Theatre Company Eastern Front Theatre Theatre Arts Guild Two Planks and a Passion Theatre Make that seven Gold Awards in the Best Theatre Company category for Neptune Theatre. The 61-year-old theatre…
Best Electronic Artist / Band
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Neon Dreams website SILVER WINNER 🥈 KittyBass website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 ENOGEN website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Aftertouch Chasing Luma Maqām Omnirock
Best Breakfast
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Ardmore Tea Room website SILVER WINNER 🥈 The Cheeky Neighbour Diner website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 The Armview Restaurant & Lounge website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Almonak Black Sheep Restaurant Bliss Caffeine Bar Café Goodluck After a particularly wild night out, Ardmore Tea Room is always there to revive you. This comforting classic diner has…
Best Chowder
GOLD WINNER 🥇 The Canteen website SILVER WINNER 🥈 The Bicycle Thief website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Esquire Restaurant website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Black Sheep Restaurant Creative Cup Durty Nelly’s Authentic Irish Pub McKelvies Restaurant
Best Hotel Restaurant
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Gio website SILVER WINNER 🥈 CUT Steakhouse website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Drift website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Harbourstone Pour House Latitude 44 Bar and Restaurant Le Rouge TEMPO Food + Drink
Best Sandwich
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Luke’s Small Goods website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Kaiser’s Sub & Sandwich Shoppes website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Salvatore’s Pizzaiolo Trattoria website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Creative Cup Dilly Dally Coffee Cafe Larry’s Sandwiches and Sides The Osney Café & Social
Best Halifamous Person
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Elliot Page website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Alicia Mccarvell website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Rouge Fatale website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Drew Douris-O’Hara Kristyn Green Hope MacPherson Dani Squires For the second year in a row, Elliot Page is our gold winner for the Best Halifamous Person award. Page is a Nova Scotian icon, having appeared…
Best Place To Go Swimming
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Rainbow Haven Beach website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Martinique Beach website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Long Lake website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Canada Games Centre Centenial Pool Chocolate Lake Lake Banook
Best Real Estate Agent
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Robert Scanlan at Royal LePage Atlantic website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Rosie Porter at Royal LePage Atlantic website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Nas Klayme at RE/MAX nova website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Pete Clive at Six Eight Realty Jessica Corkum at Royal LePage Atlantic Kimia Nejat at Exit Realty Metro Anne Pryde at Domus Realty
Best Travel Agency
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Maritime Travel website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Atlantic Tours & Travel website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 TravelBug Travel website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Absolute Travel Specialists Almon Travel Altitude Travel Blue Turtle Travel
Best Bus Driver
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Susan Boutilier SILVER WINNER 🥈 Billy Georgakakos BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Denyelle Ingraham HONOURABLE MENTIONS Janet Boutilier John Boyd Chris MacRae Ashley Winsor
Best Folk Artist / Band
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Joel Plaskett website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Adam Baldwin website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Jenn Grant website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Bill Ricky Alexander Gallant Jackson & Wirchenko The McMillan’s Camp Boys Would you believe us if we told you that Plaskett has never won a BOH gold for Best Folk Artist until now? A perennial…
Best Breakfast Sandwich
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Dilly Dally Coffee Cafe website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Ramblers Coffee website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 The Osney Café & Social website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Bramble Cafe Creative Cup Port City Cafe Terra Cafe
Best Cidery
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Lake City Cider website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Annapolis Cider Company website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Chain Yard Cider website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Bulwark Island Folk Cider House Maritime Express Cider Co Sourwood Cider Make that four Best of Halifax golds in a row for Dartmouth’s Lake City Cider. The Portland Street cidery and taproom…
Best Ice Cream / Gelato / Frozen Yogurt
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Dee Dee’s Ice Cream website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Cows website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Dairy Bar website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Booza Emessa The Fog Company The Halifax Cheese Shop Pane e Circo For 20 years, Dee Dee’s has been scooping out handmade ice cream and sorbet to hungry Haligonians. The Nora Bernard Street shop…
Best Sushi Restaurant
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Doraku website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Sushi Nami Royale website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 JUKAI Japanese & Thai website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Sushi Cove Sushi Jet Sushi Shige Tokyo Roll For 30 years, Doraku has been a staple of Dartmouth’s downtown—and one of the city’s best-kept secrets from the tourists who flood the boardwalk every…
Best Fashion Designer
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Thief & Bandit website SILVER WINNER 🥈 tREv Clothing website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Lisa Drader Murphy website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Kaidáin Ivy’s Sanctuary for Magical Misfits Michnat Fashion House Poison Pear Twigg & Feather
Best Jewellery Store
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Fireworks Gallery website SILVER WINNER 🥈 The Black Market website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Touch of Gold website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Charm Diamond Centres House of Moda Norm’s Niche Violeta Izquierdo Fine Jewellery Design
Best Book
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Pageboy: A Memoir by Elliot Page website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Death and Other Inconveniences by Lesley Crewe website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Grey Dog by Elliott Gish website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Luscious Love by Katerina Bakolias Crazy Apologetic Canadians by Cathryn Fox You and Me: Travel, Misadventures, and Love Around the World by Kristen…
Best Filmmaker
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Koumbie website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Jason Eisener website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Tara Thorne website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Thom Fitzgerald Andy Hines Brielle LeBlanc Katelyn McCulloch
Best Trivia Night
GOLD WINNER 🥇 East Coast Queers website SILVER WINNER 🥈 The Board Room Game Cafe website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Freeman’s Trivia Night website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Celtic Corner Durty Nelly’s Stillwell Beergarden Mega Trivia Tusket Falls Trivia
Best Hip Hop Artist / Band
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Classified website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Aquakultre website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Kayo website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Eazy10 HODDER Universal Soul Wild Oscah Classified wasn’t planning on releasing a record in 2024. Not at first, anyway. He’d stopped going to the studio during the COVID-19 pandemic, until he realized he missed the routine of it…
Best Brunch
GOLD WINNER 🥇 The Cheeky Neighbour Diner website SILVER WINNER 🥈 The Canteen website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Ardmore Tea Room website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Almonak Black Sheep Restaurant EDNA Le Bistro by Liz Quinpool’s Cheeky Neighbour Diner pays tribute to old-fashioned brunch classics while offering a playful spin on the iconic diner genre. Drew Voegeli, owner…
Best Clayton Park Area Restaurant
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Easy Street Diner website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Tako Sushi & Ramen website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Le Rouge website HONOURABLE MENTIONS 9 + Nine Chinese Cuisine Arirang Korean & Japanese Restaurant Aster Cafe Canton Garden
Best Bar
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Durty Nelly’s Authentic Irish Pub website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Dear Friend Bar website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Stillwell Beer Bar website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Bollywood Bar & Lounge Highwayman Jellies Bar The Local
Best Taproom
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Battery Park Beerbar & Eatery website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Stillwell Beer Bar website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Good Robot Brewing Co. website HONOURABLE MENTIONS The Oxford Taproom Propeller Arcade Tusket Falls Beer Project The Village Taphouse
Best Instagram Account
GOLD WINNER 🥇 @hfxnoise website SILVER WINNER 🥈 @halifaxretales website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 @dal_memes website HONOURABLE MENTIONS @aliciamccarvell @evilpez4 @hfxpublib @sheridaningalls Last year’s bronze winner for Best Instagram Account has taken the top spot this year: Halifax Noise (@hfxnoise) is golden for 2024. The account, marketing itself as the city’s group chat, is a perfect…
Best Place To Volunteer
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Feed Nova Scotia website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Hope for Wildlife website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Nova Scotia SPCA website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Halifax Fringe Festival Hope Cottage Hospice Halifax Mission Mart
Best Record Store
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Taz Records Dartmouth website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Renegade Records website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Obsolete Records website HALL OF FAME 🏆 Taz Records Halifax website Inducted to the Hall in 2022 HONOURABLE MENTIONS Black Buffalo Records Halifax Vintage Co-op Lost World Games Toys and Records Retro Revolution Records
Best Yoga Instructor
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Nikki Martin at various locations website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Barbie Leggett at On the Mat Yoga website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Kelly Wadden at East Coast Wellness Clinic website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Jalisa den Hartog at Synergy Physio Pilates Jody Rice-Gallagher at Halifax Yoga Amy Tattrie at The Practice Energy Movement Centre Estelle Thomson…
Best Community Project
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Hope Blooms website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Dartmouth Community Fridge website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 The North Grove website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Cruikshank’s Unplugged Open Mic Everyone Everyday Halifax Mutual Aid Meals Park Avenue Community Oven
Best Jazz Artist / Band
GOLD WINNER 🥇 The Mellotones website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Jeff Goodspeed website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Laura Gallant website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Back Alley Big Band Gabe Mink James Shaw Sam Wilson
Best Bakery
GOLD WINNER 🥇 LF Bakery website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Luke’s Small Goods website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Pane e Circo website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Birdies Bread Co. Bramble Cafe Michelle Ashley’s Bakery Suda Table There are a lot of things that make this French bakery an absolute Gottingen Street gem: The traditional croissants, the decades-old sourdough starter…
Best Cocktails
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Dear Friend Bar website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Bar Kismet website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Bar Sofia website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Black Sheep Restaurant Field Guide Highwayman Restaurant & Bar The Ostrich Club
Best Indian Restaurant
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Naan n Curry website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Rasa—Flavours of India website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Besharam Bar & Grill website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Amin Bollywood Bar & Lounge Chaii Samosa Tawa Grill Quinpool’s Naan N Curry opened its doors right before the pandemic in 2019. Since then, it has become a two-time BOH gold…
Best Tea
GOLD WINNER & HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE 🥇 World Tea House website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Pane e Circo website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Fawn Restaurant website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Bramble Cafe Eastern Tea Bar Suda Table Tea for Turtle
Best Fitness Instructor
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Demetrius Ferguson at Evolve Halifax website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Victoria Scully at R Studios website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Brittany Burke at Just Cycle website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Laura Albert at The Strength & Wellness Studio Leanne Bacich at Orange Theory Adam Nicholson at North Endurance Shannon Platt at Pelvico
Best Makeup Artist
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Selena Marchand website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Elle Munster website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Jill Stephenson website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Janine Gerrits Zeina Klayme Alex Poirier Monique Ryan
Best Comedian
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Kristyn Green website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Dan Hendricken website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Travis Lindsay website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Sharon McCormack Shayla Shenanigans Alva Sparkles The Understudies (Erik Garf & Sara Graham)
Best Gallery
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Art Gallery of Nova Scotia website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Argyle Fine Art website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 The Dart Gallery website HONOURABLE MENTIONS 14 Bells Fine Art Gallery Dalhousie Art Gallery The Prow Gallery Togetherland Art Gallery Since 2018, the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia has continually won our gold award for the…
Best Visual Artist
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Meg Ryan website SILVER WINNER 🥈 Jenny R Johnson website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Kristen Herrington website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Anisa Francoeur KDP Letters Molly Margaret Deirdre Sokolowska
Best Music Video
GOLD WINNER 🥇 Adam Baldwin, “Lighthouse in Little Loraine” website SILVER WINNER 🥈 The Town Heroes, “Hockey Fights” website BRONZE WINNER 🥉 Brooklyn Blackmore, “Been There Too” website HONOURABLE MENTIONS Alexander Gallant, “Come Slowly” Wild Oscah, “The Dire Soul” Michelle Ryder, “Lie To Me” Where Giants Once Stood, “Try as I May”