Every big show coming to Halifax in 2023
This year is over now, but we’re always keen to hear about any shows happening locally at any point in the future, so always let us know by emailing details to concerts@thecoast.ca. PAST 2023 SHOWS APRIL Gerry Dee, April 5, Rebecca Cohn Auditorium, tickets $49.50 – $85.50 [Comedy] Chris De Burgh, April 6, Scotiabank Centre,…
How to buy tickets for Come From Away and The Book of Mormon in Halifax
UPDATE Monday July 17: When the production company Broadway in Halifax announced these two shows back in March, they were both far in the future and the producers had an obvious interest in selling packages to both shows at once. These “season packages” were the source of much confusion, as we discuss below if you’re…
UPDATED: Alehouse bouncers plead not guilty in assault case
Halifax Alehouse bouncers Alexander Pishori Levy and Matthew Brenton Day are pleading not guilty to a pair of assault charges after claims they attacked a pub patron while on their shift last October. The defense lawyer representing Levy, 37, and Day, 33, entered their pleas before Halifax provincial court judge Kelly Serbu on Friday, March…
Here’s what an environmental report says about the DND’s Hartlen Point plans
For months, Canada’s Department of National Defence has promised Haligonians it would share the results of four third-party environmental studies of a controversial Canadian naval testing facility soon to be built at the edge of Eastern Passage. Last week, for the first time, the DND made those full-length reports public on its Trident newspaper website.…
The Lemonheads’ Evan Dando loves Halifax. The feeling can be mutual.
Evan Dando pinballs through the flat he’s occupying in Buenos Aires. His phone camera pointed up toward his perennial scruff, his hair unchanged after decades in the pseudo-spotlight—long and unkempt and long unkempt. Then we’re on the balcony. “Look.” I look. “It’s like Las Ramblas.” “You mean in Barcelona?” “Yeah. Las Ramblas.” I toss my…
The Lemonheads playing It’s A Shame About Ray in Halifax and more things to do this weekend
Finally, the precious days you’ve been waiting for since Monday are here. But how, exactly, are you gonna make the most of this weekend? Team Coast’s gotchu with this curated list of must-see, must-do fun to be had in Halifax from March 30-April 2. See The Lemonheads perform It’s A Shame About Ray (March 30)…
Award-winning play Take d Milk, Nah? comes home to the east coast
Jivesh Parasram has more than the usual pre-show jitters when he answers The Coast’s phone call days before he’s set to perform his play Take d Milk, Nah? at Dartmouth’s Alderney Landing Theatre March 29. “I don’t know how it’s gonna be received. I was just going for a jog and was like: ‘Oh, what’s…
What’s up with all the ships bypassing Halifax Harbour?
In normal circumstances, the 39,938-tonne Vayenga Maersk container ship would stop in Halifax on its cross-Atlantic voyage from Montreal to Bremerhaven, Germany—only this week, it’s skipping Nova Scotia altogether. That it’s doing so isn’t altogether unusual—from time to time, shipping lines omit port calls to make up for delays or scrap stops if demand dwindles—but…
Tim Houston and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad budget
Politicians don’t like to say what they mean anymore. It’s an annoying habit they’ve picked up over the years, but it’s one that helps them avoid accountability. Which, in turn, increases the odds they can screw up in office and still get re-elected. Being able to deflect questions is an important skill where avoiding accountability…
A surprise sweep at Theatre Nova Scotia’s 2023 Robert Merritt Awards
At Monday night’s Robert Merritt Awards—the biggest celebration of Nova Scotian theatre—betting on Neptune’s 2022 production of The Rocky Horror Show felt like playing with house money: The ritzy-and-risqué production led the pack of award nominees with nine nods overall. It was also one of the year’s most buzzed-about productions, drawing crowds for its cult-classic…
Matt Andersen sells out three Halifax concerts this May, adds fourth show
Halifax just can’t get enough of Matt Andersen and his band The Big Bottle of Joy—as proved by a trio of instantly sold out shows the band is mounting in the city this May. If you don’t count yourself amongst the lucky ticket-holding few, consider this your hail Mary shot: Today Andersen announced he’ll be…
A major play about growing up in Dartmouth comes to Dartmouth, and more things to do in Halifax this week
Get ready to light up the group chat: here’s your weeknight going-out guide for March 27-29, proof that there’s tons to do and see in the city every night of the week. Feast at Burger Bash (March 23-April 1) The Coast’s annual patty party—a city-wide burger-eating extravaganza—is back for year 11, with special menu items…
Can you identify the Boxing Rock beer bandits?
Boxing Rock Brewing Co. taproom manager Linnea Swinimer had just settled in with her morning tea on Wednesday when a text message from her neighbour at the Local Source Market gave her the news: Thieves had broken into their Windsor Street storage locker overnight and made off with a whole lot of beer. Her first…
Why Wednesday night is special in Dartmouth: A must-see play makes its east coast debut
Jivesh Parasram grew up in Dartmouth, where his white neighbours assumed he was Black—and his Black neighbours assumed he was Arab-Canadian. (Both camps struck out: He has Indian and Trinidadian roots.) In a move Nora Ephron would no doubt have approved of, Parasram—a noted playwright and actor now based in Vancouver—turned this childhood rife with…
Inflation is slowing, but not at the grocery stores—and food banks are bearing the brunt
Last summer, for the first time in her career as program and outreach coordinator at Halifax’s Brunswick Street Mission, Cassie Sinyerd and her colleagues did something they wish they never had to: They started capping how many people their food bank program served every week. Nestled between Proctor and Nora Bernard Streets, the Mission has…
Acadian music superstar P’tit Belliveau announces Halifax concert for May 18
P’tit Belliveau, one of the most exciting and eccentric voices in Canadian indie today, announced this week that he’ll be performing in Halifax May 18 at The Marquee. A Polaris Prize long-listed artist who’s been riding the same franco-rock wave of fellow critical darling Lisa LeBlanc, P’tit Belliveau strikes a similar fancy as early kd…
Province leaves rent cap loophole open for landlords
In a press conference Wednesday about proposed legislative changes, Colton LeBlanc, the provincial cabinet minister responsible for the Residential Tenancies Act, said his government will extend Nova Scotia’s current rent cap through the end of 2025, and raise the cap on rent increases from 2% to 5% starting Jan. 1, 2024. When asked about landlords exploiting…
IPCC says act now to prevent global warming. HRM says nah.
The International Panel on Climate Change released a report last week. It’s pretty dire. Even though our politicians have spent years touting policies that will eventually fix climate change, they haven’t actually done much to implement them. This means the earth is on track to blow past its 1.5-degree warming threshold. The report warns our…
Dal students rally for Houston to extend rent cap amid housing crisis
When Dalhousie University student Katie Cheslock and her roommates were coming up to the end of their one-year lease on their Jubilee Road-area apartment last August, they took comfort that, in re-signing, they would be covered under Nova Scotia’s temporary 2% rent cap. Introduced in November 2020 under then-provincial housing minister Chuck Porter, the temporary…
The Brooklyn Bridge is coming to Halifax Harbour this week (just not the one you’re thinking of)
St. Patrick’s Day weekend was bound to end in a hangover, wasn’t it? It certainly feels that way looking through the Port of Halifax’s expected arrivals this week. Take a glance, and you’ll spot a whole flotilla of familiar names that were supposed to reach port last week, only to run into slowdowns and other…
A world premiere play about Ukraine and more things to do this week
Get ready to light up the group chat: here’s your going-out guide for March 20-22, proof that there’s tons to do and see in the city every night of the week. Try Trivia at Freehouse (March 20) General knowledge trivia kicks the week off right at Stillwell Freehouse, Mondays from 8-10pm. See Ballad of the…
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Levelling up the experience at The Pint Public House Halifax
The Pint Public House Halifax is known as a staple for its eats, its games, the live performances—and we can’t forget the killer rooftop patio. Good times are always guaranteed at our favourite neighbourhood pub, and they’re only going to get better under new ownership. With two seasoned restaurateurs at the helm like Cesar Mesen…
Coast readers: St. Patrick’s Day cheer alive, but waning in Halifax
How green will Halifax be under a blanket of St. Patrick’s Day snow? Perhaps not very green at all, if The Coast’s latest poll results prove true. This week, we asked you to share your St. Paddy’s traditions. The results? Turns out most of you would be happy to skip the holiday entirely. Nearly seven…
This weekend in Halifax
The days are slowly getting longer and Halifax’s calendar of events is filling up with all kinds of must-see, must-do fun, from a Cape Breton-packed music showcase for St Paddy’s to a DJ night for a good cause. Here’s where to go and what to do in Halifax to maximize those precious hours this Saint…
Theatre Nova Scotia announces nominees for 2023 Merritt Awards
Awards season rolls on with today’s announcement of the 2023 Merritt Awards nominees, the top honour for live theatre in Nova Scotia. The celebration itself will be held March 27 at Alderney Landing Theatre, and here’s a rundown of who’s in the running to win in two of the major categories: Outstanding performance in a…
Video premiere: Leona Burkey’s “Groundrush” is about to make mom rock a thing
Leona Burkey knows it couldn’t have happened any other way. A self-described musical offspring of Brandi Carlile and Jimmy Rankin, the singer-songwriter swam against the popular current, coming home to Nova Scotia to launch her music career (instead of the common reverse route). Her landing on the scene was interpolated with the arrival of her…
‘A pattern of predatory behaviour’: King’s shares damning review into Wayne Hankey sexual assault accusations
More than a year after former University of King’s College professor Wayne Hankey was set to stand trial in the first of three sexual assault cases brought against him, an independent report commissioned by the university he spent his career at finds the professor not only showed a “pattern of predatory and abusive behaviour” throughout…
5 new Halifax records you need to hear, now
It’s time to spring clean your playlist: to pick up some fresh, new music to go with the (as-of-yet alleged) arrival of warmer, brighter days. As always, Halifax’s music scene has your back, ever at the ready to help you discover your next favourite album or artist. Here, we’re rounding up some recent album releases…
Great Lake Swimmers announce May 26 Halifax show
Great Lake Swimmers announced today that the band will be coming to Halifax for a May 26 show at St. Matthew’s Church. A Canadian indie staple that’s 20 years strong, Great Lake Swimmers has been compared to Neil Young, Gram Parsons and Sufjan Steeves, making over a dozen albums that sit on the sonic spectrum between…
One behemoth of a ship arrives in Halifax Harbour this week
Do you remember the first time you watched Star Wars? There’s a moment right at the beginning of Episode IV: A New Hope that fundamentally changed my understanding of scale and shattered any imagined limits of just how utterly enormous a thing could be. I’ll describe it for you if you’re unfamiliar: The scene opens…
Nova Scotia’s primary care reporting is delayed (again). Here’s why that matters.
If you have bad news to share, wait for a Friday afternoon. That tenet, if you’ve worked in newsrooms or followed corporate and government communications for any stretch of time, is well-worn and polished enough to have earned its own moniker: The “Friday afternoon news dump.” The logic behind The Dump is dead simple: Whatever…
This week in Halifax
Get ready to light up the group chat: here’s your going-out guide for March 13-15, proof that there’s tons to do and see in the city every night of the week. See Isabella Samson take the stage with Factory Girls (March 13) The Stage at St. Andrew’s makes Mondays lit with its series of women…
Halifax is one step closer to a reopened Khyber building
“I think at some point, I thought that I was running a marathon. And then I realized that it was an Ironman,” Emily Davidson, president of the Turret Arts Space Society says. After almost a decade of working to preserve Halifax’s original Khyber building (the gothic-looking manse at 1588 Barrington Street that’s been closed since 2014—not…
From long shot to contender: A Halifax outsider’s chances in the 2023 Juno race
You’ll be excused for thinking that the only red carpet being unfurled right now is the one for this year’s Oscars (happening Sunday, March 12). But, on March 13, the 2023 Juno awards kick off in Edmonton. This year, as Halifax preps for its turn to host Canada’s answer to The Grammys (it was announced…
Coast readers: A four-day workweek in Nova Scotia? It’s not as far-fetched as you think
Workers of the world, take note: Findings from what has been billed as the world’s largest trial of a four-day workweek suggest that paying workers the same wages for less work not only improves employees’ well-being, it might actually (surprise, surprise) benefit a company’s bottom line. A team of scientists at the University of Cambridge…
Nova Scotia reaches 800 deaths on quiet COVID anniversary
Nova Scotia’s very first cases of COVID-19 were announced Sunday, March 15, 2020. The province’s newest weekly disease numbers were released at the data dashboard Thursday, March 9, 2023, making it the last pandemic report before the three-year COVID anniversary. So what is the pandemic news three years in? Pretty darn good, actually. There were four COVID…
Excavation, tree removal underway at planned Hartlen Point military test site amid opposition
The first omen that Hartlen Point’s newest arrival—a controversial Canadian naval testing facility that’s soon to be built on three acres of Halifax’s shoreline popular with birders, hikers and surfers—might not begin as smoothly as Canada’s Department of National Defence leaders had hoped came this past Sunday, March 5, the same day that construction crews…
Halifax-shot series Sullivan’s Crossing airs March 19
When you’re in the mood to see and be seen, Agricola Street is always a safe bet—but perhaps never more so than last June, when the north end street’s busy-ness reached a new crescendo as it became a central filming location for the new series Sullivan’s Crossing: Scott Patterson (of Gilmore Girls fame) was snapping…
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Immerse yourself in French language and francophone culture: Alliance Française Halifax
Celebrating its 120th anniversary this year, Alliance Française Halifax has been a staple in the area since 1903 and has shown the community that it is never too early (or too late) to start learning a language. The Alliance Française Halifax mission is to promote the French language through classes aimed at different audiences and…
This weekend in Halifax
The days are slowly getting longer and Halifax’s calendar of events is filling up with all kinds of must-see, must-do fun, from a screening of Ashley McKenzie’s buzzy new flick to Villages’ big album release show at The Marquee. Here’s where to go and what to do to maximize those precious weekend hours: Witness War…
Meet the fibre artist who made a sweater of her favourite Maud Lewis painting
Fibre artist and avid crafter Grace Tompkins wasn’t expecting to go viral when she started sharing pics-in-progress of her latest creation, a crochet sweater inspired by Maud Lewis’s famous painting “Three Black Cats”. “I think the best part has just been connecting with other people and their love for something that I made: That’s so…
Halifax beefs up fire spending in Musquodoboit
The city’s final regular-season budget meeting was bleak. Fire chief Ken Stuebing often has depressing updates for HRM council, all of which generally revolve around the theme that Halifax’s growth has so far been unsustainable for his department. Stuebing spent a lot of time explaining how this is apparent in his department’s response time. Essentially,…
Halifax will host the Junos in 2024
Next year is already shaping up to be a big one for the local music scene—and for your eardrums: An announcement from the Junos released this morning says that the 2024 awards will be held in Halifax, at the Scotiabank Centre. Days of programming from March 21 to 24 will precede the March 24 ceremony,…
Here’s what happened at HRM council’s March 7 meeting
It’s hard to explain to the layperson how significant the start of this year has been in municipal politics in the HRM. How significant Tuesday’s council meeting may be in the history of policing in this city. In order to understand the significance of this meeting, we first need to understand the history of police…
Women in art history celebrated with new national exhibit that highlights 3 Nova Scotians
It feels like the sort of art show Hannah Gadsby would love, an antidote to the male-focused visual histories the comedian spent ample time dismantling in her 2018 breakout special, Nanette: This women’s history month, the National Gallery of Canada is highlighting what it bills as “a lesser known chapter of art history”—that is, the…
Marvel comics meets Shakespearean tragedy in Halifax Harbour this week
As a rule, I loathe emails and would spend a fortune to never read another. But there are exceptions: Coast readers are a wonderful bunch, and I’ve been nothing short of delighted with many of the correspondences I’ve had with them. This past week was no different. One reader, Al, wrote in about our weekly…
It’s almost Halifax budget playoff time, baby!
HRM has one more budget meeting in its regular season, and then we’re into the budget playoffs! The budget playoffs are the meetings at the end of the budget process where council debates and decides what items get taken off the budget adjustment list and funded in the budget. Or, councillors will decide to take…
Finding community in cold water
On the last day of February at Rainbow Haven beach in Cole Harbour, where the water temperature was a brisk 1℃ and the air was -4℃ (though it felt like -12℃ because, as any east-coaster will tell you, it’s the wind that gets ya) despite the flurries in the air and ice on the ground,…
This week in Halifax
Midweek blues? We don’t know her. We’re too busy soaking up the vibrant cultural scene Halifax has on offer all nights of the week—like intimate concerts at one of your favourite craft beer haunts (that’s Dan Vorstermans’s March 8 Stillwell Freehouse set) or world-class live performance (that’d be Live Art Dance bringing Montreal sensation Compagnie…
7 burning questions as the HFX Wanderers enter soccer pre-season
Patrice Gheisar is pacing across the indoor BMO Soccer Centre pitch in Clayton Park, brow furrowed in concentration. For the better part of an hour, the 48-year-old HFX Wanderers FC head coach has been running his new charges through drills, 8v8 scrimmages and line sprints. The intensity seldom wavers. It’s day three of the Wanderers’…
Beleaguered Halifax transit budget approved
Wednesday, HRM’s budget committee finalized the transit budget, and will consider hiring four new security guards at a cost of $379,000. Otherwise, the $38 million budget sailed through the debate largely untouched. This transit budget is 12% more than last year, due largely to an increased cost of fuel, and an increase in the cost…
A host of Halifax’s hottest drag royalty wants to take you to the Moulin Rouge!
Halifax drag queen Anita P’s entrance to Moulin Rouge!—the 2001 opus directed by Baz Lurhmann—wasn’t under the neon-soaked main marquee, but rather a side door: Via the music video for ‘Lady Marmalade’ that saw Christina Aguilera, P!nk, Mýa and Lil’ Kim delivering one of the most defining covers of the aughts. (The song—originally released by…
Rapper Pat Stay’s family “shocked,” heartwarmed after weekend benefit event raises $200K
Malyssa Burns wasn’t sure how she would handle the emotions of being in Toronto for a weekend-long memorial held in honour of her late spouse, the celebrated Dartmouth rapper Pat Stay. She brought along his signature sunglasses for comfort—“that helped my crying eyes,” she tells The Coast—but nothing could have fully prepared her for the…