10 awesome lakes accessible by public transit
This story was updated in June 2023. It was first published June 22, 2022. Sunny days are here, and we’re itching to take a dip in some fresh water. No car? No problem. Some of Halifax’s best lakes are accessible by public transit. If you’re looking for a quick nature getaway, here are the lakes…
How to get out on the water in Halifax
This story was updated in June 2023. It was first published June 21, 2022. The weather in Halifax has finally let up, and with the warm temperature comes the opportunity to get outdoors this summer. Hiking is one thing, but seeing Halifax and Nova Scotia from the water gives you a whole new perspective on…
15 great lakes within 30 minutes of downtown Halifax
This story was updated in June 2023. It was first published July 11, 2022. It’s officially summer, which means it’s the perfect time to visit a local lake. Whether you want to take a quick plunge after a long day of work, spend a sunny Saturday paddling on the water or stroll through a lakeside…
How to have a berry sweet summer
Why should apples have all the fun? When it comes to cosplaying cottagecore, there’s an endless bounty in Nova Scotia to harvest—and yes, we mean this quite literally. Berry picking is a summer tradition for many families in Halifax, an embodiment of the slow living this season is meant to be all about. To join…
8 lighthouses to visit within one hour of downtown Halifax
This story was updated in June 2023. It was first published June 27, 2022. If you asked someone to list the popular icons of Nova Scotia, along with lobsters, tartan and the Bluenose, lighthouses would certainly come to mind. They’re on our postcards, promotional websites and keychains. It makes sense—our coastline is dotted with over…
3 beaches you can bus to from Halifax
This article was independently produced by our editorial team with financial support from Develop Nova Scotia, connecting our city to the water. Visit Halifax waterfront this summer for food, art, shopping and adventure. Find a list of things to do and see here. It’s an unfortunate truth that you need to get in a car…
Trouble at the Tattoo over a thin blue-green line
What’s the difference between teal and blue? This question of hue is at the centre of a controversy this week at the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo, which caused the Tattoo to break off its relationship with one of its partners. The partner in question is VALOUR Maritime Society, a “non-profit company” that sells branded…
Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition comes to Halifax Exhibition Centre July 7
If Sobeys’ plan to phase out Air Miles meant you cashed yours in, and it ain’t much, the Halifax Exhibition Centre has your back: Another globe-trotting projection art show is preparing to set up shop at 200 Prospect Road. It was announced today that a digital rendering of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel—simply called Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel:…
This year, Halifax is celebrating July 1 differently
There’s an audible inertia of background flurry on the line as Cheryl Copage-Gehue, Indigenous Community Engagement Advisor for HRM’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion, answers The Coast’s phone call, stepping into another room so she can hear and be heard. Speaking from the cusp of the last minute (hence the office hubbub around her), she’s…
So, you wanna see some fireworks in Halifax this weekend?
The fireworks celebration typically held on the Halifax Waterfront is not taking place on July 1, 2022. A new vision for the long weekend—a festival called Kana’ta Day 2022—is taking over The Common from 11am-4pm with a cultural village for families to enjoy music, crafts, games, authentic Indigenous cuisine and more. Meanwhile, down at Grand…
The first-ever Halifax Mural Festival takes place July 11-17
Correction: An earlier version of this article stated Duane Jones was curator of an art show at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia when he is, in fact, the exhibition space designer of the show. The Coast regrets the error, and has updated the text below. A celebration of street art and those who create it,…
How to get an abortion in Nova Scotia
In Nova Scotia you can call the provincial self-referral line 1-833-352-0719 from 9am to 3pm Monday to Friday. When calling this number, you can book an appointment or just ask questions. You can also discuss which abortion procedure is right for you. There are two kinds of abortion: surgical—also called an aspiration procedure or D&C…
Cool nerdy stuff to do inside this summer 7 days a week
This article was independently produced by our editorial team with financial support by LÜVO wines in 250ml cans—unpretentious, refreshing and perfect for adventures! Locally grown, all natural, gluten-free, & vegan. Try Sparkling Rosé, L’Acadie Pinot Grigio, Cold Press Red, Muscat+Mint, Piquette+Peach and Piquette+Berry. The Coast is great at telling people how to get out and…
10 beautiful beaches within an hour of downtown Halifax
This article was independently produced by our editorial team with financial support from Develop Nova Scotia, connecting our city to the water. Visit Halifax waterfront this summer for food, art, shopping and adventure. Find a list of things to do and see here. Whether you like to surf, swim or sunbathe, Nova Scotia has you…
The end of Roe v. Wade is leading to misinformation about abortion in Canada
On Friday, June 24, America’s Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that made abortion a constitutional right. And as when any big news breaks south of the border, the story dominated our news feeds and conversations as well. The next day, there was a “rally for abortion rights and access” in downtown…
Jessica McMann is making history with her free, Halifax concert June 29
Multidisciplinary artist Jessica McMann didn’t set out to be a history-making composer and flutist. She took to the instrument in childhood and a natural talent kept it in her orbit, a steady yet quotidian pull like the tide. But when she takes to the stage at Halifax Central Library’s Paul O’Regan Hall on June 29,…
Screen Nova Scotia announces senior director of $20 million sound stage project
The movie biz in Nova Scotia is on the up, with record-breaking numbers of productions being shot here and the government doubling down on supporting the industry, giving a combined $23 million investment to the sector this past March. (The provincial government also raised the local film tax credit to $10 million, from a previous…
Atlantic Filmmakers Cooperative announces Erica Meus-Saunders as new executive director
Today, the Atlantic Filmmakers Cooperative—a non-profit community organization supporting indie filmmakers and their works—announced who would be taking its helm after the departure of longtime executive director Martha Cooley. (Cooley is trading her decade and a half at AFCOOP for running the show over at FIN Atlantic International Film Festival, part of a seismic shake-up…
AfterWords Literary Festival announces 2022 dates, first wave of lineup
AfterWords Literary Festival—the annual celebration of authors, readers and the books that bind them—is returning this September 24 to October 2, for a mostly in-person event. The fest will feature conversations, readings and workshops across its nine-day run. So far, the list of luminous literati that’ll headline includes veteran culture reporter and author Jesse Went,…
City staff puts quick car commutes over pedestrian safety
The city’s Transportation Standing Committee met on June 23, and chair Waye Mason ran a tight meeting. A committee meeting with as many presentations and motions as Thursday’s meeting did normally takes up its full allotted time and then some. Perhaps since the committee was considering motions of relatively little consequence or controversy—like a motion…
Nova Scotia soprano one of 12 semi-finalists in international competition
Nova Scotia will be represented at this year’s prestigious Voice of Black Opera—an annual showcase that aims to highlight the best Black and South Asian opera singers in the Commonwealth—thanks to the golden pipes of Shanice Skinner. Skinner is a soprano whose resume-to-date includes winning the Portia White Award (an annual offering from the Nova…
Halifax’s Pillow Fite and Dali Van Gogh drop new albums
When it comes to the hard rock scene in Halifax, Dali Van Gogh is a stalwart. Over the last 10 years, the band has dropped four records—making a name for itself with international tours and a steady hometown presence. Over the pandemic, the band recorded five new tracks with producer Eric Ratz (whose credits include…
There’s two sweet yard sales happening in Halifax this weekend you won’t wanna miss
There’s a billion ways to spend a summer Saturday, but a solid one your great aunts have been hip to for decades? Yard sale hunting—especially when the sales in question aren’t your average front-yard affair. This weekend, two such sales are happening in Halifax, making it the perfect time to break your piggy bank/shake the…
Getting Ready for Rocky Horror with Allister MacDonald
When I meet Allister MacDonald—after a winding trip through the bowels of Neptune Theatre, where a service elevator spits me out on a subterranean level—they’re in a grey terry cloth robe, shoulder-grazing brunette hair in a half-up, messy bun. The star of Neptune’s current production of The Rocky Horror Show both in role (MacDonald plays…
Halifax shoots a new scene
The wind is bending, the tides are pulling: A newness in the air as sure as a change in season is descending on Halifax’s art scene, as familiar names and longtime community pillars vacate top posts at galleries, organizations and festivals all over town. The reasons for leaving aren’t clear-cut or widely applicable: This isn’t…
From China, with Pride
Victor Jin is lying awake when he’s startled by a noise. He bolts up from his mattress on the floor. “The back door is made of glass; it would be easy to break,” he thinks, and rushes downstairs to check for an intruder. No burglar is smashing through the door. Victor, 30, is alone. It’s…
Hal-Con 2022 announces dates, first wave of guests
The good-time geekery of Hal-Con will return to its full-capacity, in-person glory this fall. The festival announced this week it’ll be holding its 2022 event from October 28-30 at the Halifax Convention Centre. Tickets are going on sale tomorrow, June 24, at 7pm on Hal-Con’s website. But what can you expect to see at the…
HRM lacks oversight to ensure respectful workplaces
At a meeting of the city council’s audit and finance committee on Wednesday, Halifax auditor general Evangeline Coleman-Sadd presented her look into HRM’s policies around respectful workplaces. She found that the city has a strategic initiative to enhance workplace respect, but no policies to enforce or measure it. The city also cannot see if its…
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Develop Nova Scotia wants you to host your next event on the Halifax or Lunenburg waterfront!
The Halifax and Lunenburg waterfronts are home to tasty restaurants, eclectic shops, and are known for their bustling crowds of both locals and tourists; now, what if these high-traffic hot spots could also be home to your next event? Whether it be an innovative and large-scale event or one that’s simple yet engaging, Develop Nova…
Here’s your 2022 Screen Nova Scotia Awards recap
When Halifax filmmaker Stephanie Joline dropped her debut feature Night Blooms earlier this year, it felt like a grenade landing: The movie—set in nowheresville, Nova Scotia in 1998—traces the late teen years of Carly, a high schooler who makes bad choices and, eventually, hooks up with her best friend’s dad. (It, uh, doesn’t go well.)…
Take it outside: All the movies, musicals and more under the sun this summer in Halifax
The best thing about summer, aside from it being the official season of iced coffee, might just be doing all the stuff you do inside the rest of the year in the great outdoors, instead. Movies under the stars? Sunset-backed plays? This is the time of year for all that and more, as we’re showing…
All the summer’s a stage: Your guide to seasonal, out-of-town theatre
A sure sign of summer in Nova Scotia? It’s high harvest for local theatre, with venues across the province lining up schedules of plays that are most certainly worth building a day trip (or longer!) around. Many are re-stagings of big-deal productions you might’ve missed when performed in Halifax; many more are performed outdoors. All are…
It‘s time to throw a Halifax hot dog party
Every year around this time, I start to crave a hot dog. For me, the perfect dog is the classic all-beef frankfurter, grilled to a blistery brown and black mottle, topped with yellow mustard and relish, and served on a soft, sweet bun. Along with drinks on patios, games of bocce in the park and…
Summer 2022 festivals and events in Nova Scotia and beyond
Indigenous Peoples Day X Grand Oasis Right outside City Hall, the Grand Oasis Festival Series begins on June 21—both Indigenous Peoples Day and the official first day of summer. The day kicks off with opening speeches and a Mi’kmaw flag raising. The musical performances begin in the late afternoon, starting with openers Iron Tide, Boogát…
Pedal your way through summer on these bike trails
This article was independently produced by our editorial team with financial support by LÜVO wines in 250ml cans—unpretentious, refreshing and perfect for adventures! Locally grown, all natural, gluten-free, & vegan. Try Sparkling Rosé, L’Acadie Pinot Grigio, Cold Press Red, Muscat+Mint, Piquette+Peach and Piquette+Berry. You’ve experienced Halifax and beyond on four wheels, but how about two?…
David Sedaris has some travel tips for you
David Sedaris is known for many things: his essays about his family, his funny observations about the strangeness of everyday life and his ability to tour seemingly nonstop. While most famous authors venture out on the road begrudgingly, accepting the odd bookstore appearance and convocation speech, Sedaris says yes to everything, spending months on the…
Police board votes for a review of sexual assault cases
The bulk of the Halifax Board of Police Commissioners meeting on Monday, June 20, was devoted to a presentation from Sunny Marriner, who joined the Zoom meeting shortly after it began. Marriner has been helping and advocating for survivors of sexual assault for 25 years, and appeared before the police board to talk about “Violence…
Meet the artist who inspired Halifax’s new approach to parking tickets
Someone, somewhere in the annals of city hall must have seen I’thandi Munro’s 2020 Nocturne Festival art installation, titled Wejku’agamit > Owed: That was the only explanation I could think of when I saw the news earlier this month that Halifax was offering residents a chance out of their parking tickets, swapping the fee for…
Everything you need to know about the 2022 Halifax Jazz Festival
A sure sign of summer being in full swing, the Halifax Jazz Festival is (arguably) the biggest music fest of the season, a set of concerts offering some of the brightest and fastest-ascending names in music. It’s brouhahas on the waterfront as big stars take the stage for open-air, seaside shows; it’s a summer sunset…
Halifax Fringe Festival is seeking a new executive director
Every September for the last seven years, Halifax Fringe Festival executive director Lee-Ann Poole has steered a mighty ship into port. The Fringe is an eleven-day blitz of indie, un-juried, uncensored theatre, bringing everything from one-person shows to conceptual circus performance to venues all over the city—in a total of 55+ productions and over 350…
Media, money and misdirection: our Titanic investigation wraps
Last week, Halifax found out the city was getting a $300 million Titanic tourist attraction, complete with a hotel, restaurant and aquarium. We’d be treated to “the best of food and wines from Nova Scotia and around the world,” “escape hatches and virtual reality rooms” and a “revolutionary 4Dp holographic stage,” whatever that is. These…
New noise rule aims to shut down construction sites early
A new noise reduction bylaw is heading to council for approval, thanks to a city committee meeting Thursday. The Community Planning and Economic Development Standing Committee’s motion, if approved by council, will only allow construction noise from 7am to 8pm weekdays, 8am to 7pm on Saturdays, 9am-7pm Sundays. Rock breaking would only be allowed Monday…
Halifax Urban Folk Festival announces 2022 dates, lineup
Summer might not feel fully here yet (thanks, rain) but the season’s swan song is already set in the queue, thanks to the Halifax Urban Folk Festival’s lineup and date announcement released this week. The cap to festival season/summer in general, HUFF routinely brings bright singer-songwriters from a swath of genres to The Carleton for…
Everything you need to know about the 2022 Halifax Pride Festival
From drag shows to fetish parties to wellness workshops to big-name concerts to, yes, the parade, it might be easier to list what Halifax Pride *doesn’t* do than all that it does. The annual celebration of gender and sexuality expression and inclusion, Pride brings the party, make no mistake. But, it also builds community. Here…
Everything you need to know about Ribfest 2022
For a July 1 holiday weekend feast, the Rotary Club of Halifax Harbour has announced that the its 8th annual celebration of ribs will be back in person after the last two pandemic years of delivery only. With five different rib trucks, and local vendors to shop from, the festival is hoping to once again…
How the city blew its budget for modular housing
August 18, 2021, was a defining moment for Halifax. That was the day city hall decided to evict houseless people from public lands, sending municipal workers and police out at dawn to tear down shelters and tents. And it was that Wednesday afternoon hundreds of citizens amassed at the former Halifax Memorial Library, hoping to…
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How a unique gym in Halifax is revolutionizing the training industry
We’ve spent the last two years working…from home, hanging out…at home, so it’s time to get back out in the world, and get back into the gym. It might initially feel intimidating, but nothing sparks motivation and accountability like finding a community of like-minded individuals — which is exactly what Proedge Elite Training is all…
Canadian punk legends The Dayglo Abortions play Halifax July 3
Every pot has a lid, or so the saying goes—and when it comes to band and venue reaching match-making perfection, we can’t think of a better combo than Canadian punk legends The Dayglo Abortions playing Gus’ Pub, a longtime home to some of the city’s scrappiest sounds. DGA has been doing their shock-rock thing since…
City council opens some parks for unhoused Haligonians to sleep in
Halifax city council voted at its Tuesday meeting to allow people without a home to sleep in parks legally. This change was specifically presented to council because changing the bylaw for park use “is the only legislative or administrative option that we have,” said Max Chauvin, parks and recreation special projects manager in his presentation.…
Halifax speeds up the process to slow down streets
Speed bumps and other methods of making cars drive slower—known as traffic calming measures—were a major topic of discussion at Tuesday’s meeting of Halifax Regional Council. Right now the city has a long list of streets awaiting traffic calming, and council was considering administrative changes designed to address that backlog. The city’s current legislation that…
Parking tickets going up to $45 and more council business
The two biggest things on council’s agenda this week were making cars driving slower and letting unhoused Haligonians sleep in Halifax parks. Here is the other stuff is from Halifax Regional Council’s regular meeting of June 14, 2022. Thanks to the budget debates earlier this year, council decided to raise the fine for parking tickets…
Mo Kenney’s self-titled, debut album gets 10 year anniversary vinyl re-issue
When The Coast reaches Mo Kenney on a June afternoon, they’re on break from soundcheck. Their five-week European tour is wrapping up soon—but tonight, the singer-songwriter is performing the Netherlands stop. It’s been a decade since Kenney dropped their self-titled debut album (“It feels like that record came out maybe four years ago—but it definitely…
Halifax-based artist Jordan Bennett unveils new mural in Toronto
Halifax-based artist Jordan Bennett’s Air Miles card must never be in his wallet: The mixed-media, archival-revival installation artist—whose resume includes two years in a row on the Sobey Art Award long list, winning the 2020 Masterworks Art Award and co-designing the new Art Gallery of Nova Scotia design—has been to the likes of New York,…
These Pride bagels will brighten up your day and support 2SLGBTQ+ charities
From now until the end of August, you can enjoy some very insta-worthy bagels while supporting a good cause, thanks to the Rainbow Bagel Campaign. In a collaboration between Dreadlocks & Kindness and Stone Hearth Bakery, for every six-pack of Pride-themed bagels sold, 25 percent of the cost will go to the Youth Project and…
Comedian John Mulaney announces Halifax show for November 4
The last time John Mulaney came to Halifax, tickets sold out in the time it took us on Team Coast to write a concert announcement. He was playing at the Rebecca Cohn auditorium, and a second show ended up being added (and selling out). This time, things feel a little different: Mulaney will be playing…
Michael Bublé announces Halifax concert for October 22
Michael Bublé has been crooning his way to the top since the early 2000s, angling to be a one-man Rat Pack revival, with the slim-cut suits to match. It’s worked: The singer’s got enough Grammys and Junos to fill a shelf, and fans the world over who can’t get enough. The Halifax contingent of this…
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How to travel more this year with Aeroplan (without changing your everyday life)
The spontaneous jetsetter’s life once felt out of reach for the average person, but the cost of everyday life doesn’t have to hold you back from travel anymore, not with Aeroplan. Aeroplan has bridged the gap between the seemingly impossible and turned those someday plans into tomorrow’s actual adventures with Air Canada — without compromising…
Everything you need to know about Every One Every Day
Ever wanted to learn how to make Indian cuisine? How to make beaded earrings? How to start a garden? For the next four weeks, Every One Every Day is offering free workshops at their Neighbourhood Shop on Gottingen Street. The workshops have a wide range of topics, such as cooking, walking tours, cultural traditions and…
Everything you need to know about the StArt Festival
A blend of visual art, music, fashion, dance and more, the StArt Festival is a two-day blitz of creativity, held at The Bus Stop Theatre. Aimed at uplifting and amplifying both emerging and marginalized artists, the event is always a trove of on-the-come-up greatness mixed with names you’ve been meaning to check out. What is the…
Here’s your recap of the 2022 Atlantic Book Awards
Correction: An earlier version of this article referred to Lesley Choice, publisher of Pottersfield Press, as ‘she’ instead of ‘he’. The Coast regrets the error. On June 9, the red carpet unfurled at Halifax Central Library’s Paul O’Regan Hall, as the first Atlantic Book Awards ceremony since 2019 took place. Past winners—like former Halifax poet…
A Titanic fraud?
One of the fun things about working for The Coast is that sometimes we get to write stories like “Hey, do you think there are enough funny tweets about that Titanic hotel to do something with?” Related And there are, there are some absolute bangers, like these: For a lot less than $300 million, I…
Jenny Berkel is ready to folk up The Bus Stop Theatre
When listening to Jenny Berkel’s soft-edged LP, 2022’s These Are The Sounds Left From Leaving, the ripe-fruit taste of melancholy takes hold of your tongue. You’re pre-nostalgic for a heartache that hasn’t happened yet, walking around the rooms of your mind’s house while sunlight streams in. Written before the pandemic—and before Berkel swapped Toronto, where…
HRM announces its official Canada Day/Kana’ta programming
The city has changed its approach to how it’ll celebrate July 1 this year: In today’s announcement from HRM sharing info on the programming planned for 155th anniversary of the confederation, it stated that consultation with “the Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre and local Indigenous artists” was part of the 2022 planning process, aiming for “a…
700 Bliss, the buzzy club music duo Pitchfork is obsessed with, plays Halifax Friday June 10
Moor Mother, the Afrofuturist, sonic shape-shifting MC and poet, has long been a favourite of EVERYSEEKER Festival: The artist first came to the annual Halifax event back in 2017, when she was still scaling the rock face of the come-up. These days, she’s arguably at the mountaintop: The sort of known entity that music nerds…
Serena Ryder announces Halifax concert for December 1
Toronto-based singer-songwriter Serena Ryder must be sick of winning Juno awards (she’s got seven) and getting platinum certification on her albums (two of her streaming-age offerings, 2012’s Harmony and 2017’s Utopia managed this increasingly rare feat). One thing we hope she won’t get sick of? Bringing her heralded live show out east, like she’ll be…
Halifax author Andre Fenton’s newest novel is the book of the summer
Andre Fenton started writing unmissable books when he was still firmly within the age range of the Young Adult demographic, selling so many copies of his self-published debut—2016’s Ode to Teen Angst—that he could barely keep them in stock for the hungry, word-of-mouth fans who’d ask. Since then, the poet and author has racked up…
Afroman announces Halifax concert August 25
The Grammy nominated king of the Napster era, Afroman, is coming to Halifax this August as part of his Higher Times tour. He’ll play Level 8 nightclub (the new club and cabaret located on the, yup, 8th level of 1800 Argyle Street) on August 25. Tickets to see the mind behind jams like “Because I…
When is Pride Month in Halifax?
While June is the month most cities around the world hold their annual Pride festivities and every brand under the sun opts for a rainbow logo, in Halifax we celebrate our Pride Festival in July. This made us wonder if June even counts as Pride Month in Halifax. The answer is: sort of. “June is…
What cruise ships do with all that poo
When The Coast posted a picture of the massive Halifax-bound cruise ship Oasis of the Seas to our Instagram page, the number one question we got was about number two. So what happens to poop on a cruise ship? Glad you asked. They have to follow the same rules I had to follow as a…
After two years of take-out, Greek Fest is back with an in-person festival this weekend
A team of volunteers is getting ready to serve up donairs, souvlaki, spanakopita and all manner of Mediterranean cuisine your heart may desire when Greek Fest launches on Thursday. This year’s festival runs from June 9-12, and promises authentic homemade food, dance performances and the best of Greek hospitality on display. “Greeks are known for their…
HRM’s environmental policies take a back seat to development
The city’s Environment and Sustainability Standing Committee met last Thursday and got a presentation from Our HRM Alliance. The alliance is a group focused on preventing climate change, and it’s noticed that Halifax Regional Municipality’s big planning documents are announced with much fanfare but then poorly implemented, if at all. “The problem that we were…
Province’s latest housing scheme barely passes muster
On May 31, 2022, the media were invited to an announcement where the provincial minister of municipal affairs and housing, John Lohr, unveiled the PC government’s latest plan to help ease the housing crisis. The policy, titled Land For Housing Initiative, is quite simple. The province owns at least 50,000 parcels of land—maybe as many…
FIN Outdoor announces its return to the Public Gardens this summer
Not since 2019 has FIN: The Atlantic International Film Festival been able to bring its off-season specialty, FIN Outdoor, to life. But now, the event—a series of outdoor screenings, held on July Fridays at dusk, in the Public Gardens—is back, bringing all its wistfully summer feelings with it. And what will the event be screening?…
“Like meeting a long lost relative”—host families welcome Ukrainian refugees
With Canadian flags and baseball caps in hand, Michelle and Tom Hunter waited eagerly at the airport for three hours, ready to welcome the Ukrainian family they will be hosting. They were part of a crowd of other host families, government officials, organizations, translators and other well-wishers who gathered at the Halifax Stanfield International Airport…
Halifax’s cryptic treasure hunt kicks off
In the depths of Reddit lies the subreddit r/HalifaxTreasureHunt, a guide to an adventure meant to provide Haligonians with something to do over the summer months. Every few weeks a cryptic clue is posted that, if deciphered correctly, leads to a location someplace around town where a prize container is hidden; the first person to…
Here’s all the shows we can’t wait to see during Symphony Nova Scotia’s 2022-2023 season
At the end of May, Symphony Nova Scotia announced its upcoming fall season—the fullest programming slate the organization has put together since the pandemic. It’s chock-full of the sort of stuff that makes classical music lovers excited, but here’s a handful of gigs we’re already clicking marking our calendars for. -Marc-André Hamelin playing Grieg The…
Everything you need to know about the 2022 Stages Theatre Festival
The annual Stages Theatre Festival shows new works of theatre at all phases of creation: From table readings to full-on performances, this is the place to witness how the three-act structure gets made (and how it gets subverted). Run by Eastern Front Theatre (and housed in EFT’s home base, the Alderney Landing Theatre) the festival…
How cop Nicole Green’s pursuit of justice leaves injustice in its wake
When a non-lawyer watches the legal system in action, a vague sense of injustice lingers in the aftermath. It’s often hard to nail down exactly what’s causing the malaise. There’s always a hint—a certain je ne sais quoi d’injustice. And, unsurprisingly, the same malaise that permeates courtroom proceedings also crept its way into the recent…
Nova Scotians prepare to welcome Ukrainian refugees
Nova Scotians are preparing to welcome over 300 Ukrainian refugees to the province Thursday evening, when a flight chartered by the federal government will land at Halifax Stanfield International Airport. Host families from across the province who have offered up space in their homes to Ukrainians will be at the airport to greet the new…
Halifax-made film Compulsus to show at Toronto’s Inside Out Festival this week
It’s a not-well-enough known statistic that two-thirds of Canadians know a woman who has been abused physically, emotionally or sexually—but it’s a fact that’s been seared on the brain of director Tara Thorne. A former Coast staffer (we shared a double-wide desk in the summer of 2016), Thorne’s simmering, provocative debut feature—titled Compulsus—stems from this figure,…
Everything you need to know about the 2022 Atlantic Book Awards & Festival
The biggest regional celebration of reading, the Atlantic Book Awards & Festival combines panel discussions, story circles and its marquee event—an annual awards gala—to deliver a bookworm’s dream every spring. As the yearly event returns, it’s embracing a hybrid online and in-person model that’s sure to sharpen up your reading list, stat. What is the…
Stop signs and crosswalks arrive early in north end neighbourhood
It’s been an eventful few weeks for Steve MacKay, the “raccoon” who helped slow down traffic on a stretch of Robie Street plagued by car crashes. In May, the city announced it would install new all-way stop signs and painted crosswalks at the Robie/Stairs, Robie/Stanley and Robie/Columbus intersections, after years of being pestered. And MacKay,…
Nova Scotia government increases film fund cap to $10 Million
When the Disney+ limited series Washington Black took over a section of Young Avenue in Halifax this spring, covering two blocks with cars as it shot on location, it was easy for pedestrians passing by to fancy themselves extras. A quiet slice of the south end hummed, lit up at night with a big-money production…
CBC announces new seasons of four Nova Scotian shows
It might feel too early-bird to discuss yet—the equivalent of shopping for back-to-school sweaters before vacation even begins—but on this not-yet-summer afternoon, the CBC dropped its fall/winter 2022-2023 TV lineup. Amongst the new offerings (Polaris Prize winner Lido Pimento is getting a variety show; a medical drama set in the north called SKYMED), four Halifax…
William Prince announces Halifax concert November 13
Last fall, Juno-winning singer-songwriter William Prince sold out two shows at Halifax’s Rebecca Cohn Auditorium (6101 University Avenue)—and today it was announced he’s out to do the same, with a concert slated for November 13 at the venue. Blending gospel and outlaw country influences, Prince dropped two albums in 2020 that’ll most likely factor heavily…
Arkells announce Halifax concert September 30
The Juno-winning band Arkells announced today it’ll be expanding its upcoming tour, adding a date in Halifax to the list. The band will hit the Scotiabank Arena stage on September 30, with indie pop legend Lights warming the stage. Promoting Arkells’ latest album, Blink Once, the tour thus far is mostly festival dates—but by the…