Be the first to know about breaking news, articles, and updates.
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.
I’m not sure what I’ve gotten myself into and I’m not sure you are either! I would say I wouldn’t change a thing but of course that isn’t true. I would magic you next to me if I could. You can clap your hands over your eyes and blush all you want, it doesn’t change…
Grandma’s House Dee Dee’s Ice Cream’s vanilla ice cream, Helen B’s Preserves’ strawberry rhubarb jam and Smith’s Bakery ginger cookies Cocoa-loco Humani-T Cafe’s dark chocolate gelato, 24 Carrots Bakery’s chocolate-dipped shortbread and coconut flakes Sweet Enough Common Confections’ salted caramel dairy-free frozen dessert, LF Bakery’s milk bun and toasted sesame seeds Pool Party Scanway Catering…
Julius Caesar August 4-September 2 Cambridge Battery, Point Pleasant Park $20-$25 shakespearebythesea.ca In June, New York’s Public Theater lost the support of two corporate sponsors that objected to its production of Julius Caesar, which portrayed the titular character as a Donald Trump-like dictator. (Spoiler alert from 500 years ago: Caesar is quite assassinated.) It sparked…
Transfiguration Day at King’s Chapel Sunday, August 6, 7:30pm King’s College Chapel, 6350 Coburg Road free This coming weekend, the members of Transfiguration Day mark their first anniversary of performing together as a musical group. The name comes from the Feast of the Transfiguration: A Christian festival celebrated on August 6, commemorating the transfiguration of…
Urban gardens have been sprouting up all around the city in the last several years, as Haligonians become more concerned about where their food comes from and the ethics behind it. Each garden faces its own challenges: Some have long waitlists, some are lacking volunteers and some are struggling with theft. Despite setbacks they’re all…
Gottingen Street is one of Halifax’s busiest, most historic sections of road. Once stigmatized as unsafe and crime-filled, Gottingen is now in transition to a vibrant, dynamic and livable neighbourhood. A major component of that transition is how people move into, out of, and around the area. Where people can go and what places people…
I hate to say this but the city’s decision makers need to work harder to improve the quality of life for its people. Why is it losing smart individuals to other places? Simply because higher powers are looking for short term let’s make rich folks happy type of solution. Look into the laws, educate business…
You walked to my cashier station with a cell phone glued to your face while you conversed with some one: You told the phone, “Sorry, gotta go—I’m at the cash and need to think. Call you back in 10 minutes.” I LOVE YOU! Hope you thought I gave you my best service ever, and cheerfully…
Ever try to get a job in Hellifax? Impossible because they hire all their relatives. Ever try to get something settled in court in this city? Impossible because it never gets completed because the greedy lawyers in this town won’t settle because they lose their cash cow flow. Ever try to talk to the politicians,…
Nothing Less! It’s 1918 in Apple Tree Landing, and the women of the small Nova Scotia town are fighting for their right to vote. They also sing and dance and practice Suffrajitsu. This is Nothing Less!, a new play by Ami McKay and Ken Schwartz, performed outdoors at the beautiful Ross Creek Centre for the…
Governments change—along with laws, regulations and priorities. It’s the nature of democracies. In Canada, we’ve seen environmental laws implemented, then weakened or overturned, then strengthened and re-instated. But the basic necessities of health, well-being and life shouldn’t be subject to the shifting agendas of political parties. That’s why Canada should recognize the right to a…
The municipality is spending a lot of money bringing Halifax Transit’s technology up to speed. Council voted on Tuesday to pay Trapeze Software nearly $14 million to overhaul Halifax Transit’s tech by creating new back-end scheduling software and installing some fare boxes. It’s more exciting than it sounds. “This sounds like the least exciting part…
Teenanger w/Booji Boys, Protruders, Sweet Dave & The Shallow Graves Thursday, August 3 at 9:30pm The Seahorse Tavern, 2037 Gottingen Street $8 before 11pm, $10 after Toronto’s Teenanger are a solid, solid band of solid, solid people. Coming to Halifax on Thursday before their SappyFest show, and bringing their newest album—Teenager, their fifth record, released…
Starts power drilling and hammering shit at 8am on a Saturday morning in 12-unit apartment building. I hope a piece of wood flies up and takes out both your eyes. —Up Early All Week, Was Looking Forward to the Extra Sleep
Arjun Lal’s Queer Gardens July 8-August 15 Closing ceremony Tuesday, August 15, 6-8pm The Khyber Centre for the Arts, 1880 Hollis Street A rainbow filled window-front is nothing unusual this time of year, but the rainbows in one Hollis street window are not your standard Pride fare. In Arjun Lal’s Queer Gardens, the current exhibition…
Tastes as good as the wood fire smells! Hope they are a huge success. @HalifaxReTales pic.twitter.com/zeLu8ZvufD — Roy Francis (@MrFrancis_Music) August 1, 2017 When Labana Sukhchan Singh first came to Halifax in January, he didn’t know a soul. But he did know was that there was no one in town making wood-fired Montreal style bagels. “Every…
To the wonderful paramedic who paid my way when my transfer ran out thank you so much. You all do so much and it showed with your kindness. —Extremely Grateful
To the men in the red car who catcalled me on my bike while we were both stopped at a red light on Quinpool: Why? First of all, I’m not sure what you were trying to get out of that. Is it that you want to make your introductions to women as brief as possible…
Your voices were heard, your nominations counted and now—drumroll please— we present the final ballot for 2017’s Best of Halifax Readers’ Choice Awards. And from now until September 15, it’s ready for you and your opinions, Halifax On this ballot, you’ll find the top six nominees in each of our 200+ categories—nominees picked by you,…
I try to think of myself as an understanding and patient person… but how can I be when the 15-minute drive home is made into a trek that involves at least three buses and more than an hour to get to Halifax from Dartmouth? 311 is as useless as me asking my house cat when…
Ease into the week with Sarah Denim’s audio equivalent of an iced mango green tea, brand new single “We Are Always.” Cool, calm and organic-sounding, the track is a preview of Denim’s upcoming album, due for release in September, following up 2016’s gorgeous Left Side Trilogy EP. Produced by Sarah Denim, engineered by Evan Cox,…
My main motivation for going to the show was to explore Georges Island. However, due to strict fencing and security, exploring was out of the question, and my focus shifted to the afternoon’s concert. The Brood and Port Cities both played good opening sets but it was clear that the crowd was really there to…
He might be getting interviewed by Peter Mansbridge on a national stage these days, but city councillor Lindell Smith is still a man of the people. Case in point: he just had his bike stolen. “Yeah, no one’s immune,” says Smith about the Halifax rite-of-passage. The councillor’s grey Halfway folding bike was stolen from his garage…
I love(d) you, and I miss you. Some times it hits me, out of nowhere, dead centre of my chest. This raspy ache, perches on my collarbone and rests in my throat. Days to months to year, and what a dark year. Sometimes I tell myself it was all for the best, a blessing in…
Purchasing my meal at a checkout one day at the store where I work, and while scanning the item, I am snarled at by a crusty old bastard who barks “Do you work here?” I say, “Yes, I’m just going on my meal break. Did you need help?” He yells that he’s on the verge…
Last summer, my organization published an evaluation of the 39 P3 schools built in the late 1990s. We concluded that it was a failed experiment marred by cost overruns, massive private profits, mismanagement and an overarching lack of evidence-based decision-making (echoing the Auditor General). We recommended that the province take the discount rate (43 percent…
Doug Bamford, the WORKSOpens Monday, July 31 at 5:30pm Runs to August 5 Anna Leonowens Gallery, 1891 Granville Street Retirement party to follow at 7pm at Art Bar + Projects, 1873 Granville Street Beloved NSCAD ceramics technician Doug Bamford is closing the chapter on 23 years at the college with a goodbye exhibition at the…
A three-year-old idea to let pets board harbour ferries is dog-paddling its way back to city hall. Councillor David Hendsbee is asking for a staff report on the feasibility of letting dogs ride Halifax Transit’s ferry service. “Residents have been discussing and requesting that pet owners be given permission to take their dogs on the…
Pugwash follows the story of the first Pugwash Conference in July of 1957. On its 60th anniversary, it’s a piece of Nova Scotian history that doesn’t get much attention, but is here in the capable hands of playwright Vern Thiessen. The play is a fictional narrative following two kids, 13-year-old Conni McPhee (Gina Thornhill) and…
OK, kids, it’s gonna be one wild week on the waterfront: The Tall Ships are back for the first time since 2012, and this port city is ready to welcome them in full force. Here’s what you need to know to make your Tall Ships weekend all smooth sailing: The ships will be arriving throughout…
An evening with Scaachi Koul Sunday, Oct 29, 7:30pm (doors open at 7pm) Paul O’Regan Hall, Halifax Central Library $20 You may have heard of Scaachi Koul. The BuzzFeed senior writer, unapologetic tweeter and recent author has garnered fans (and her fair share of haters, too) over the past few years. Through it all, she’s…
“I never thought of being a performer. It had never been a dream, until it happened. At that point, I was 15, I couldn’t see myself doing anything else. And it’s been that way since. The first time I was in front of an audience was an event at my mother’s company. I got to…
Bastid’s BBQ w/Lord Finesse, Jorun Bombay, OkayTK and more Sunday, July 30, 2pm Olympic Hall parking lot, 2304 Hunter Street $15 The DJ Skratch Bastid began throwing parking-lot barbecues as a way to mix things up, way back. “It was an early-evening concept, where I would grill up burgers and dogs in the afternoon before the…
Life at sea seems romantic. A Tall Ship’s foresails fraught with salty wind, and mist breaking on the bowsprit as it stabs its way through the cold, pounding waves of the Atlantic. Nimble deckhands scramble up webbed rigging to a perch high above—unfathomable waters swirling darkly below while the horizon stretches boundless and bright—to shade…
Halifax Busker Festival August 2-7 Halifax waterfront buskers.ca I’m Mighty Mike—AKA Mike Johns AKA brother of Stephanie Johns, Coast arts editor, AKA the world’s funniest strongman. I’m performing for the first time in my hometown at this year’s Halifax Busker Festival, and I’ve compiled a list of 10 things that every busker wants you to…
Tegan and Sara w/Japanese Breakfast Thursday, July 27, 8pm Rebecca Cohn Auditorium 6101 University Avenue $49.50 The title of Soft Sounds from Another Planet, Michelle Zauner’s second album under the Japanese Breakfast moniker, suggests a supernatural focus that doesn’t entirely capture her decidedly worldly concerns. Aside from the iridescent lead single “Machinist,” which sees Zauner…
Halifax Busker Festival August 2-7 Halifax waterfront buskers.ca Sharon Mahoney—AKA Sharon from Canada—is a busker in demand, on the road most of the year, and travelling the globe performing her street performance/comedy show. Sharon from Canada is a passive-aggressive, patriotic and apologetic character, who, throughout the course of the show, breaks down and turns into…
AgitProp: Soviet Propaganda, 1905-1945 Through July 30 Saint Mary’s University Art Gallery Loyola Building, 5865 Gorsebrook Avenue The collection of prints, primarily reprinted in the 1970s and originally collected by a local professor of Russian history, showcases Soviet propaganda from the Russian revolution to WWII, with a curatorial bent highlighting the role of women in…
From its 1858 debut in the French Navy’s uniform, the striped shirt has felt nautical by nature, so it’s the perfect wardrobe pick for the Tall Ships visit. If you’re new to the look, let these examples of Halifax street style be your inspiration to start striping right. Related Stories
It happens “all the time.” That’s what Dawn Gaudet says of boating incidents in the harbour. Gaudet has worked at the Canadian Coast Guard as a marine communications and traffic services officer for over 25 years. This means she responds to everything from a cruise ship collision to a motorboat out of gas. But the…
Business on the boardwalk got off to a rocky start this season. The Queen’s Marque construction site— a $200-million, five-acre development slated to be finished in 2019—has disrupted the walk along the waterfront as crowds descend on Halifax Harbour for events like the Canada 150 festivities, the Tall Ships Regatta and the Halifax International Busker…
Mac Mackay has been taking photographs of the ships in Halifax Harbour for the last 51 years. Some of those photos can now be seen at a new exhibit in the Nova Scotia Archives. Other photos and harbour news can be found on Mackay’s Shipfax blog. Recently he shared some of his favourite images with…
This week, Global reported Nova Scotia’s Public Prosecution Service will take over Marlene Brown’s groundbreaking private prosecution of the Harrietsfield water case. It’s a glimmer of hope for area residents who’ve been pleading to hold RDM Recycling accountable for the poison in their water. It’s also a reminder of how little agency Nova Scotians usually…
Q I’m a reader in Kansas with two teenage daughters, 16 and 18. My girls recently met a boy where they work and both took an interest in him. The 18-year-old was devastated that he was more interested in her younger sister. I spoke to the 16-year-old about it, which is when I found out…
Angels & criminals I actually agree with you that the return of the Hells Angels is a bad thing, but your attempt to turn this into a race subject is pathetic (“Hells Angels resurgence not something to celebrate,” City story by Christy Somos, July 20). I also agree there is racial bias against Black criminals,…
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Leo (Jul 23-Aug 22) Do you really have to be the flashy king or charismatic queen of all you survey? Must all your subjects put on kneepads and prostrate themselves as they bask in your glory? Isn’t it enough for you to simply be the master of your own emotions, and the boss…
Spring is humming With its core bookended by the award-winning Halifax Central Library and world-renowned Halifax Public Gardens, you can have a world of experiences when you step foot in the Spring Garden area. Grab lunch, do some shopping and stroll through the streets with friends. So go out and explore your favourite neighbourhood, and…
