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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 only way to fix this mess with the teachers is to send it to arbitration. The government and the union would identify the key compensation issues—wages, long service award and retirement health benefits and then establish a floor and ceiling for potential choices for the arbitrator. For example, the parties could agree to having…
I would like to thank the driver of my bus for serving some moral justice to a jaywalker this morning. This woman was in such a rush to catch the bus that she darted out in the middle of the road, causing the driver to slam on the brakes. The woman was still running to…
Start polishing your dancing shoes (er, platform sneakers?), The Argyle Grill & Bar’s (1575 Argyle Street) plan to convert its basement into a new weekend dance party. The restaurant/bar’s mostly unused downstairs space will be re-vamped to become Vinyl Retro Dance Lounge, a concept The Argyle’s parent company Urban Sparq Hospitality has tried—with much success—in…
Yo, check your pagan calendars. We are halfway between the winter solstice and equinox and if you don’t care about charging your crystals in the Imbolc moonlight then here’s the deal: It means more daylight, more daylight means the days stretch longer. Add in a couple of art-focused outings in that extra time and improve…
Seems alot of people are trying to make a quick buck by selling iPhone’s that are iCloud locked and its fucking ridiculous. Lazy asses too stupid to go get a job, would rather scam money off others probably so they can buy their lame ass crack! I hope karma gets her good! —#NotImpressed
Almost witnessed a death on Barrington the other day, not by a rogue lightning strike or a horde of vicious vermin that run rampant downtown, but by careless acceleration of your imported automobile. If that young women wasn’t paying attention while stepping out onto the crosswalk, or didn’t hear you push that engine to speeds…
To all emergency responders and their legions of support staff: Thank you very much for doing what you do. Especially ambulance and EMS personnel who I feel are often overlooked and undervalued/ paid. Thank you. And while we’re at it…the Harbour Bridges shuttle bus drivers (over the MacDonald)—you guys and gals are damn near flawless.…
OK. I’m just gonna say it. Stephen McNeil you’re hot. I love your quiet command of power and unassuming ways. Blue eyes—you make me tingly. —From afar
[Image-1] After hearing news of the mosque shooting in Quebec City, Masuma Khan felt it was important for members of the Dalhousie Muslim Student Association to “take matters into our own hands” by organizing a vigil. “The Muslim students here at Dal are sort of in a sense of panic and sorrow,” says Khan, the…
While microbreweries and craft beer locales pop up all over the city, The Muse Cafe and Pub (1252 LeMarchant Street) is taking a step back from drinking culture, opting instead to fill the role of safe-space. The rebranded Dalhousie student-owned and-operated venue—formerly The Grad House— launched in September, coinciding with the debut of the building’s…
I feel intense fear and sadness for the hatred and discrimination other people face. Seeing the bans in the US, the decriminalization of family violence in Russia. The future seems dismal and dark. Here I am, all shiny and white. I want to be your ally. I want you to know I don’t want you…
I can’t believe the gall of this government. First they stab the teachers in the back by publicly raising the issue of the professional development trips taken abroad during collective bargaining, then they try to portray themselves as caring deeply about the education system while at the same time undermining those people who work in…
Love the pedestrians wearing glitzy dollar store ribbon held on by packing tape so I can see you walking around – YEAH! Make yourself visible, especially in these dark, rainy times. Light yourself up for safety and staying alive! –Happy Driver
To the police officer who almost ran me over in a CROSSWALK the other day, what the hell?! I was in the middle of the crosswalk, with the flashers flashing and you just blew through it. Maybe you should follow the rules you’re supposed to enforce. —Lucky to be alive
Let’s talk? It sounds good but nobody will listen. You let your employees bully new staff and turn a blind eye and what is that excuse for a manager that stomps around the office with her head down and fake hair. Look after your office babies! overpriced wine drinkin snobs. –You don’t want to hear…
Thank you for being the man I always wanted in my life. Kind and caring. I have never known what I feel when I am with you. You make me happy when skies are grey. I love you. —My only sunshine
[Image-1] Media “significantly shapes public opinion,” says Naiomi Metallic, so the way reporters write about marginalized communities has an impact on them. “The media has not been neutral in its history of how it deals with Indigenous people,” says the Mi’kmaw lawyer and assistant professor at Dalhousie. Metallic was one of three panelists at a…
Australian playwright Andrew Bovell’s Speaking in Tongues begins with much promise. The set, music and lighting design are eerie and evocative, and the opening scene is a beautifully choreographed introduction to the characters and their world. The first half of the play tracks two couples coincidentally cheating with one another, their infidelities trapped in a…
[Image-1] The Everything To Do With Sex Show Friday, January 27, 5:30pm To January 29 Cunard Centre (Pier 23) halifax.everythingtodowithsex.com The sex industry has long been a leader in technological advancement, including recent developments like streaming video on the iPad or RealDoll’s push to design AI sex robots. Naturally, Halifax’s largest sex show will be…
[Image-1] A group of advocates against gendered violence is pushing for better communication between university researchers, government policymakers and community service providers. “It’s really important and it’s surprisingly rare that this conversation across sectors happens,” says Marina Gonick, a professor at Mount Saint Vincent University. She’s also the Canada research chair for Gender. “We each…
To my lovely angel women: it is goddamn pleasure to know you and to be a witness to your strength and intelligence. Never I have I felt so empowered and listened to by a group of women. I feel that friendship is a category of love that is not given nearly enough credence in this…
More talk of a stadium and a CFL franchise. That’s what this city is missing! Maybe they can dismantle the Convention centre and use old bridge parts to build a stadium on the cheap. And call the team the Halifax Boondoggles. —Taxed out
[Image-1] “I heartily recommend taking a look at @Trump_Regrets,” writes billionaire tech investor Chris Sacca to his 1.7 million followers on Twitter. “It’s cheaper than therapy.” Countless hot takes have been ignited since November trying to understand how the hell Donald Trump became president of the United States of America. Halifax student Erica Baguma was…
[Image-1] Downtown drivers should brace for changes in how they park on city roads. The cost of an expired parking meter in HRM could double later this year—up from $25 to $50 per violation. Planning chief Bob Bjerke said during budget talks this week at City Hall that the revenue is needed to cover increasing…
To all the teachers: don’t go along with the latest contract offer. You’re being sold down the river by your own executive and if you go along with it then you’ll just end up taking every other public sector worker with you. This government is a sack of poison laying waste to everything it touches.…
10 Lisa Richard’s album release show Sunday The 2015 CBC Searchlight top-10 finalist shares her country-infused debut with a matinee show at Freeman’s in Sackville. 9 Sip ‘n’ Shuck Friday This delicious evening of Nova Scotia’s finest is all about local booze (the sip) and seafood—including, of course, oysters (the shuck). It’s the perfect way…
FLIM FLAM To February 4 Panel discussion February 4, 6pm The Khyber Centre for the Arts, 1880 Hollis Street In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, The House of Gonzaga—an old royal family that ruled in Northern Italy—is the inspiration for his play-within-the-play. The play is called The Murder of Gonzago. “It’s basically the idea of a thing…
[Image-1] A horrifying American election season was capped off this past weekend. It was two surreal days that seemed completely unfathomable 12 months ago. In 2016, America’s liberal and conservative establishment were blindsided not just by Trump’s success or the aggressive bigotry of his most loyal supporters, but also by the indifference of traditional Republican…
Jeska Grue has always been inspired by the forgotten, the discarded and the left behind. The now Sackville, New Brunswick-based seamstress and designer grew up loving pre-loved clothing, sparking her imagination by sifting through the colours, patterns and fabrics of piled-high Frenchy’s bins. As a rural-living teen dealing with anxiety and depression, she says fashion…
Leon Qiu wants to share dumplings, one of the most popular traditional Chinese dishes, with people from different cultures. “I found that in Halifax there is no restaurant that just focuses on making dumplings, which is a traditional Chinese food that all Chinese people know,” says Qiu, who opened Qiu Brothers Dumplings in September, after…
“Some of the recipes just kind of come to you—you’ll know you want to work with a certain spirit or ingredient and you’ll know it just works,” says Little Oak bartender Andy Dunphy. That’s how he struck gold with current menu standout Two Thyming, an approachable, earthy and seasonally affective cocktail, inspired by both bourbon…
[Image-1] The municipality will be negotiating four of its collective employment agreements during budget season, all while trying to anticipate compensation costs for the next two fiscal years. Since compensation makes up most of HRM’s expenses, that’s going to add “significant” pressure to this year’s budget according to Bedford-Wentworth councillor Tim Outhit. “Any business plan requires…
We are the Griots Opening Monday, February 13, 5:30pm To February 18 Anna Leonowens Gallery, 1891 Granville Street Jade Byard Peek can meet an hour after the interview request. She’s running on a tight schedule but that afternoon she has a rare hour to talk, maybe the only one she’ll have that week. In addition…
Xiaoyi Dong has made strides since moving to Halifax for an arts education. Known as Patrice to her Canadian friends and teachers, she’s found a medium she loves and confidence as a community leader. Dong is a second-year graphic design student at NSCAD, and is the international student representative on SUNSCAD, the school’s student union.…
“Being a sculpture student, I always felt like I had to be working with materials, but I don’t actually like to make anything,” states artist Abby Bent. “Sometimes I gather materials that I am drawn to and then I try to find patterns between them, through definition, use and how my body can interact with…
From the tartan to the Canadian flag, Raven Davis’s latest project is taking time-honoured Canadian symbols and challenging their place. Through gallery pieces and public performances, the 2-Spirit Indigenous multidisciplinary artist is creating a critique of Canada’s 150 festivities, The De-Celebration of Canada. By highlighting everyday reminders of colonization–such as the noon cannon at the…
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Aquarius (Jan 20-Feb 18) A London-based think tank does an annual study to determine which of the world’s countries offers the most freedom. The Legatum Institute measures indicators like civil liberties, social tolerance and the power to choose one’s destiny. The current champion is Luxembourg. Canada is in second place. France is 22nd,…
Q I am quite the follower on social media—Facebook and Twitter in particular. I make no trolling comments, no #MAGA hashtags; I just look with my male gaze. I’ve lost interest in pornography, so I use everyday pictures of women, typically selfies. It helps me to know the story behind the face and body. None…
Ins Choi’s play, Kim’s Convenience, now also a CBC television series, follows a Korean family in Canada running a convenience store. Walking into the theatre is like entering a very familiar place; the set is a realistic replica of a typical store with the same things on the shelves, the same colours on the wall,…
Raising a stink I wish to address the issue of automatic annual raises for our city councillors (“Brampton delays Halifax council’s pay raise,” Reality Bites by Jacob Boon, posted January 20 at thecoast.ca). As a taxpayer it is insulting to me to watch year after year three percent, four percent and higher salary increases for…
Transparent Saturday, January 28, 6pm The Bridge, 5553 Bloomfield Street Kate MacDonald and Emma Paulson huddle outside a Starbucks. Sheltered from winter wind by a small alcove, they eagerly tell their story over speakerphone. They run The Magic Project, an organization dedicated to empowering Black and queer Canadians through art and photography (find them on…
For two hours a performance has been unfolding inside the Anna Leonowens Gallery. A figure rotating within a wooden framework, deftly turning turmeric-coloured thread into a hand knitted cocoon that finally enveloped its maker. The show, Present Ground, took place in December 2016. The performer, and co-curator of the show, was Venezuelan-Canadian artist Camila Salcedo.…
Surfaces and Subtleties Vicky Gallagher, Shelby Johnson and Steven Zuo Opening February 27 at 5:30pm To March 4 Anna Leonowens Gallery Tiandongding Zuo (you can call him Steven) doesn’t always know what art should be, but he knows what it isn’t. It’s not the rigourous, literal recreation of things—like painting bowls of fruit or posing…
Graduating from NSCAD this April, Emily Lawrence’s grad exhibition at Anna Leonowens Gallery, Hodgepodge, showed colourful soft sculptures creating a dreamscape that you might enter after a particularly indulgent buffet of party food, capped off with Ricola-flavoured cotton candy. A creator of “scrumptious and playful work,” Lawrence’s multi-sensory experiences are funny, fresh and endlessly charming.…
Je vous emmène Opening Feb 10, 5:30pm, performance at 6pm. To Feb 21 NSCAD Port Loggia Gallery, 1107 Marginal Road “I am incredibly drawn to the way materials look,” says Montréal-born artist Geneviève Brideau, “also the way they function, how they facilitate the creation of spaces or certain activities such as sliding down smooth surfaces…
[Image-1] In the 1990s, the David Suzuki Foundation embarked on a program to develop community economic projects with coastal First Nations. Between 1998 and 2003, my wife and foundation co-founder, Tara Cullis, established relationships with 11 coastal communities from the tip of Vancouver Island to Haida Gwaii and Alaska, visiting each several times. She encountered…
Tonight, the Halifax North Memorial Library kicks African Heritage Month off to a slightly early start. With a theme of passing the torch and a full month of programming ahead, we’re rounding up some of the related events we’re most excited for. Don’t miss these picks! Black Music Biographies Every Tuesday in February, the Dalhousie…
