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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 new Halifax Central Library is officially set to open on Saturday, December 13. But today media got a backstage tour of all the exciting features Halifax will soon get to sample. Share the wow, indeed! [Image-1] [Image-2] [Image-3] [Image-4] [Image-5] [Image-6] [Image-7] [Image-8] [Image-9] [Image-10] Related Stories
This is just a list of all the things I witness multiple times a day, driving around Halifax. Cars NOT yielding when there’s yield signs at the roundabout on Larry Uteck. They’re there for a reason jerks. People cutting through parking lots in Bayers Lake. I cannot count the number of times I’ve almost been…
You painted a pretty little picture with your post. All sweet and sad wrapped up into one. I loved you too…though I’m going to paint another side of the same picture. You thought it was time for us to go our separate ways. Well, my dear…I’m thinking it was because I called you on your…
[Image-1] As Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis advised, in his famous Whitney v. California opinion in 1927, “If there be time to expose through discussion the falsehood and fallacies, to avert the evil by the processes of education, the remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence.” Why ban him from entry? Why…
[Image-1] I would love if people (in general) would stop being so goddamn shallow. Learn to like and love a person for who they are, not for what you see. Because when you’re only using your eyes you aren’t experiencing all the other things a well rounded human really is. Also how about acting and…
Why does everyone around here just follow the crowd when it comes to opinions? Nova Scotia needs progress but we can’t progress because people go apeshit for the common opinion! Read the actual research and evidence! Fracking would help our province’s economy and has been proven to be safe. Come on people! —Sick of it
We met about a year ago on the bus. You are sax and trombone graduates from the Dalhousie music program. Would love to make sweet reggae music together in Halifax!! Contact me at reginaldarnold@yahoo.com. —Halfway Tree
Outlier Film Festival brings “acclaimed, strange, and remarkable films” from all over the world to a select few venues across the city from November 27-29, this year featuring What We Do In The Shadows, Wetlands, Kung Fu Elliot, Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead and more. The festival specifically explores the genres of cult, fantasy,…
A little Hodor goes a long way. Hal-Con is quickly gaining ground as one of the premier comic book conventions in Canada with a keen focus on Canadian-based comics. After the packed, chaotic crowd from last year, Hal-Con organizers made a few changes that helped in having a smooth, pleasant environment. No more long lines…
Over brunch in Truro, Music Nova Scotia gave out 49 awards to conclude Nova Scotia Music Week. The Town Heroes took home five, Kim Harris made off with three, and GroundSwell Music and their affiliates got a whopping 11 awards. Here’s the complete list of lucky ducks. Entertainer of the Year: The Town Heroes Female…
[Image-1] man am I sick of the statement on news covers and in conversation that “there is some thing disrespectful about putting up Christmas decorations before remembrance day.” Really? Is it either you are excited for the holidays or you take a moment to remember the fallen, you cannot do both. It’s that black and…
“Car-pedestrian collisions are on the rise in Halifax, soaring 70 per cent from January to September, compared to the same period last year.” I know the drivers vs cyclists and pedestrians issue is getting very tired and excessively bitched about but the latest stats in the Herald are very damning – especially for male drivers…
Lenore Kinsman wants to bring art and your dirty clothes together. Since taking over ownership of The Cranberry Laundromat (575 Main Street) in July she’s been working ot renovate the space to make it about more than spin cycles and dry-cleaning. Her vision for The Cranberry Laundromat & Gallery is to create an alternative space…
While we were laying together last night I ask you why you bother with me, why you deal with the ups and downs that are a natural part of life and my job, why you rub my back each and every night with very little return rubbing. As a man of few words I expected…
[Image-1] You’re not new here anymore…you’ve been doing this job for over four months now and are out of your probationary period. I’m sick of fixing your mistakes and having to hear you say it’s because you’re new. You’re still asking the same questions you were asking during your first month here…about stuff you should…
I am sorry I bumped you going 10k an hour. I am sorry for the two specs of paint on your car and denting your license plate. Did you have to be that much of a douchebag about it? Threatening to call the police, your lawyer and now you are claiming you are sore. Its…
[Image-1] It’s getting worse if that were ever possible. Do real people exist? Am I the only one left? “Please hold; your time is important to us”…BULLSHIT. Hire some warm goddamn bodies with brains that can speak somewhat intelligle Engleesh. Yes by gum I’m a bigot agin machinations an phone picker-uppers in other nations. See…
Foxxy Cleopatra; I can’t get you out of my mind. We’ve met a couple of times, both happily married with kids. Sorry to be the creep staring from across the room, but you surpass my limitations.. I need to stay away. Marriage isn’t always easy, but you’re making it hard:/ —Can’t hide it in tights
A haiku uses just a few words to capture a moment and create a picture in the reader’s mind. It is like a tiny window into a scene much larger than itself. Traditionally, haiku is written in three lines, with five syllables in the first line, seven syllables in the second line, and five syllables…
Outfitter of beautiful men, Frank & Oak, is opening a location in downtown Halifax. Born in Montreal from the brains of Ethan Song and Hicham Ratnani, Frank & Oak’s become one of Canada’s most lauded menswear brands (it’s so cool it even publishes its own quarterly mag called Oak Street) and we’ll be home to…
It’s my favourite time of year! When every single sidewalk is closed and all the roads are a mess of rubble and neon vests! Haha! What a time to be alive and a pedestrian! “Sea Change,” Construction & Destruction Cousins/Construction & Destruction Split by Construction & Destruction “Last Road Trip,” Holy Shit! KBD OOP by…
Dartmouth icon Beazley’s Bowling Lanes (613 Main Street) broke many nostalgic hearts last week when it announced via its website it would be closed for good as of Halloween. Offering good times in the form of mini-putt, bowling and cold beers since 1927, the Halifamous hangout was forced to close due to an increase in…
Name: Amanda Wenek Age: 28 Spotted: Granville Street Wearing: Jacket, Forever 21; toque, Zara; boots, Clark’s; shirt, Urban Outfitters; jeans, H&M If your clothes could talk, what would they say about you? I’d rather be in a cabin with six books, endless wine and a dance floor with all my best friends. What are you…
Haligonians go ape-shit for the locally focused organic fare at The Wooden Monkey. While satisfied with its free-range, vegan- and gluten-friendly menu, the Curious George in you would probably like to know where this monkey business got its name. Founder Lil MacPherson dreamed up the Wooden Monkey post-Hurricane Juan, when questioning the reliability of imported…
What a fantastic year. Thanks to all Haligonians who voted in this 20th anniversary survey. voted by Halifax ||| written by Coast staff
Gold Winner Locas Billiards Silver Winner Charlie’s Club Bronze Winner Oasis Bar & Grill Here’s another easy shot to call. For all the serious sharks and casual players, Locas has been the place to play for years. The members-only club offers casual and league games, as well as the cold beer, tasty food and all-important…
Gold Winner Anchor City Rollers Silver Winner Halifax Sport & Social Club Bronze Winner East Coast Rainbow Softball Association One of the main reasons the Anchor City Rollers (the sports league formerly known as the Halifax Roller Derby Association) is a repeat winner in this category is because they scare the shit out of their…
Gold Winner Bill Wood Silver Winner Megan McDowell Bronze Winner Mark Little It seems Bill Wood didn’t expect to be crowned Halifax’s Best Comedian: “Last year I hosted the [Best of] awards, and did a moderately bad job of it, if I do say so myself.” He’s far too modest. Not only did he do…
Vision and elbow grease. It’s taken a lot of both to transform the former Acadian Lines bus terminal on Almon Street into The Waiting Room, Halifax’s newest black box theatre. The vision belongs to Kazan Co-op, a theatre company founded in 2011 with a mission to produce compelling contemporary Canadian works. “We started thinking about…
Gold Winner Halifax Public Gardens Silver Winner Point Pleasant Park Bronze Winner Halifax Common The Public Gardens is that pretty classmate who makes the rest of Halifax’s public spaces look like wrinkled garbage. Like, we get it, Public Gardens. You’ve got gorgeous flowers and waterfowl up the wazoo. You don’t also have to corner the…
Gold Winner Strange Adventures, Halifax Silver Winner Quantum Frontier Games & Comics Bronze Winner Cape and Cowl Comics and Collectibles Strange Adventures POWs! BIFFs! and THWACKs! its way to gold yet again, but owner Calum Johnston remains humble: “It’s a tight race as the Halifax area is very lucky to have a number of top…
Gold Winner Freak Lunchbox, Halifax Silver Winner Biscuit General Store Bronze Winner J&R Grimsmo Signs, signs, everywhere a sign, but your pick for best goes to Freak Lunchbox, Halifax location. It could be the weight-lifter cut-out thing that makes for a perfect Instagram; it could be the technicolour cartoons that make sad, old, mostly vacant…
Gold Winner The Wardroom Silver Winner The T-Room Bronze Winner The Boardroom Game Cafe Chilling out is not optional at the University of King’s College’s clubhouse-meets-watering hole The Wardroom. Carpeted for your comfort, The Wardy has a distinct basement hangout vibe to it—that is, if your basement features local beer on tap, regular performances from…
Gold Winner Darren Cobb Silver Winner Brett Balser Bronze Winner Fred Bowdrige The secret’s in the smile, says Darren Cobb, Halifax’s Best Bus Driver. A two-time gold medal winner, Cobb is “still lovin’” his job driving Haligonians around the crowded city streets, even after nine years. It’s one reason he tries to go that much…
Gold Winner Beck Gilmer-Osborne Silver Winner Nick Brunt Bronze Winner Mitchell Wiebe Beck Gilmer-Osborne has been kicking ass left, right and centre. Featured in The Coast’s New Artists issue last January, Gilmer-Osborne won the 2014 Starfish Award just a few months later, and now takes gold as your choice for Halifax’s Best Visual Artist. Gilmer-Osborne’s…
The door to Hum’s Kitchen sticks a bit when I try to open it. After almost tripping inside after a forceful push, my friend Rachelle and I are greeted and told to sit down anywhere we like in the almost empty dining room. Hum’s is a small, tidy restaurant. The chairs are solid, carved wood…
Gold Winner Tom’s Little Havana Silver Winner Board Room Game Cafe Bronze Winner Halifax Waterfront Provided it’s summer, a walk along the waterfront is always a nice date, and depending on how competitive they are, a trip to the Board Room Cafe can be a great time too. But the tasty drinks, gorgeous atmosphere and…
Gold Winner Bookmark Silver Winner Woozles Bronze Winner J.W. Doull Bookseller Halifax is #blessed with its indie bookstores, the silver and bronze Best of winners being gold-standard in their niches: Doull the legend in used titles, Woozles for kidlit, from picture books to angsty teen fantasies parents want to borrow. But Bookmark is the champion,…
Gold Winner Colonial Honda Silver Winner Hillcrest Volkswagen Bronze Winner O’Regan’s Toyota, Robie Street There’s a saying in the car biz that “when you’re only number two, you try harder.” Sure, it was first said about a car rental company, but it applies to Colonial Honda, too. The family business earned the silver award in…
Gold Winner Ecology Action Centre Silver Winner Solidarity Halifax Bronze Winner South House Don’t say the Ecology Action Centre isn’t busy. The winners of this year’s Best Activist Organization have the continued honour of existing in a province with abundant natural resources and a government that keeps messing them up. The EAC had been…
Gold Winner The Dart Gallery Silver Winner Argyle Fine Art Bronze Winner Art Gallery of Nova Scotia Owner Jane MacDougald was a bit flustered to get the call that her Dartmouth art hotspot had won our Best Gallery award. No need to worry though, Jane! The Dart Gallery’s welcoming, accessible approach to art means the…
Gold Winner CBC Silver Winner CKDU Bronze Winner Live 105 To hell with your satellite radio pumping out ’50s big band hits in between cricket scores. Halifax knows what it likes and it likes CBC. From *Information Morning* to *Mainstreet* and everything in between, CBC is the Best Radio Station for this city’s ears. Those…
Gold Winner Todd’s South End Car Care Silver Winner Hydrostone Auto Repair Bronze Winner Tom McDonnell Service Centre Todd’s South End Care Car is a repeat winner as your Best Mechanic Shop, and that’s been pretty good for business. Twenty-year Todd’s veteran Derrick Munro says it’s amazing how many first-time customers arrive having heard of…
Gold Winner Taz Records, Halifax Silver Winner Obsolete Records Bronze Winner Select Sounds Records You gotta hear this one. It’s a reissue of last year’s classic Taz Records’ album entitled Best Record Store in Halifax. The group really broke through after leaving behind their Sackville and Market Streets label and joining up with Grafton Street.…
Gold Winner Jubilee Junction Silver Winner Daily Sweets Bronze Winner Hydrostone Groceteria Jubilee Junction, with its seas of snacks, cornucopia of candy and reliable selection of essentials, has snagged gold in this category yet again. But let’s get real, what we’re really talking about when we talk about Jubilee Junction is those ice cream sandwiches.…
Gold Winner Hope Blooms Silver Winner Common Roots Urban Farm Bronze Winner Dartmouth Carousel Sometimes, on really bad days, I watch the clip of Dragon’s Den where north end Halifax’s group of young community gardeners and entrepreneurs, Hope Blooms, wins four times the amount of money they asked for. (They even wooed meanie supreme…
With its origins in Japanese fashion, cosplay has become a comic-con phenomenon and a form of art and design that reaches competitive levels. Hal-Con’s own Costume Contest has strict criteria and various categories of awards depending on the intensity of fabrication. For local cosplayers, it’s game time. “I started going to Hal-Con in the ‘80s…
St. Vincent takes place in a world where Naomi Watts is funnier than Melissa McCarthy, which should be enough of a warning that this dramatic comedy doesn’t quite have all its issues worked out. Bill Murray (not on that train, sorry) cribs from Bad Santa-era Billy Bob Thornton and sands the edges off like Bad…
Gold Winner Elana Liberman, Cyclone Cycling Silver Winner Lyndsay Anderson, GoodLife Bronze Winner Jarvis Googoo, GoodLife Elana Liberman left her career as a lawyer to bring Halifax a spin-centric fitness studio in 2012, and she hasn’t looked back since, continuing to expand the facilities, class offerings (which now include barre, yoga, TRX and kettlebell) and…
Gold Winner Maritime Travel, Barrington Street Silver Winner Flight Centre, Scotia Square Mall Bronze Winner Adventure Travel Company The times are changing, the internet makes researching cities and accomodations simple and Google Flights is the best thing ever. But clearly, despite having the world at our fingertips, voters still have love for their traditional travel…
Gold Winner Long & McQuade, Halifax Silver Winner Halifax Folklore Centre Bronze Winner Gig Street Music Friendliness is key at a musical instrument store. Long & McQuade staff do a great job of not snickering at a wannabe guitar god struggling through “Smoke on the Water” in the testing area. They know everyone’s gotta start…
Gold Winner Marina Smith, Arcane Angel Silver Winner Isabelle Pineau, An Oddity or Two Bronze Winner Blythe Church, Sewn by Blythe Marina Smith, maker of one-of-a-kind wearable art, has been melding art and craft for 30-plus years under the moniker of Arcane Angel. She uses recycled, reimagined and repurposed odds, ends and antiques, and alters…
Gold Winner Lisa Drader-Murphy Silver Winner Connie Zafiris Bronze Winner Taye Landry Lisa Drader-Murphy has been pretty busy lately. Burning the midnight oil to get ready for her latest event, the Turbine Showcase 2014, the designer has been working on over 250 new pieces for the show. Inspired by a recent trip to Italy, the…
Gold Winner Yuk Yuk’s Silver Winner Geeks vs Nerds, The Bus Stop Theatre Bronze Winner LaughterBurner, Bearly’s House of Blues & Ribs Stand-up comedy is having a bit of a renaissance these days. Gone are smoky clubs with old touring veterans playing to middle-aged crowds. Comedy today has gotten more accessible and more energetic. Third-place…
Gold Winner Halifax Central Library Silver Winner Keshen Goodman Public Library Bronze Winner Alderney Gate Public Library OK sure, it’s not technically open yet, but was there any doubt the cutting-edge new Halifax Central Library wasn’t going to wow readers this year and take home top prize? All that glass, so modern, very wow. The…
Gold Winner @ScotiaPharmacy Silver Winner @allisomething Bronze Winner @sack_vegas Hello, welcome to Halifax! First thing’s first, are you following the locally owned Scotia Pharmacy (and lil bro Nova Pharmacy) on Twitter? If not, please remedy that. Scotia Pharmacy is the Rx for all that ails you online, with sunny all-caps missives coming at you straight…
Gold Winner Point Pleasant Park Silver Winner Shubie Park Bronze Winner Lake Banook Point Pleasant sprints at the finish to win gold again in this category, also known as Best Place To Walk Your Human. A fierce competitor that gives 110 percent, the park has lots to appeal to runners. Hills, for example. Steep hills,…
Gold Winner Peak Audio Silver Winner Best Buy, Dartmouth Crossing Bronze Winner Glubes AVU This year’s repeat as your Best Home Entertainment Store is Peak Audio’s sixth gold place win in our Best of Halifax. The almost 30-year-old audio powerhouse has earned its sterling reputation by offering top-of-the-line equipment with expert-level service from its comfy…
Gold Winner Halifax Crafters Winter Market Silver Winner Have Yourself a Gothic Little Christmas Bronze Winner NSDCC Christmas Craft Show It’s the most wonderful tiiiiiime of the year. No no, not that winter holiday with the dude in the red suit, and the indoor spruce tree…CRAFT FAIR TIME! Gift inspiration and treat yo’ self moments…
Gold Winner Hot, Wet and Shaking, Kaleigh Trace Silver Winner Never Been To Mars, Larry Gent Bronze Winner Day Trips from Halifax, Jon Tattrie Kaleigh Trace’s book is a frank, poignant and funny look at sex, informed by her frank, poignant and funny blog, The Fucking Facts. The sex educator put knowledge, research, warmth and…
Gold Winner Menz & Mollyz Bar Silver Winner Reflections Cabaret Bronze Winner The Company House Yes, you’re reading correctly. Reflections has somehow been knocked off of its longtime throne and it’s time for Gottingen Street fixture Menz & Mollyz to take a seat. Last spring brought a change in management for the north end bar—longtime…
Gold Winner Halifax Central Library Silver Winner Bike lanes Bronze Winner Switch/Open Street Sundays Halifax friggin’ loves reading. Nobody really hated the old Spring Garden Road Memorial Library, with its ancient facade and Churchillian adornments. But give us a fancy new library and our pulse starts racing. Show off with some risqué photos of…
Gold Winner Heidi Rofe, Beauty Starts Hair Silver Winner Robyn Touchie, One Block Barbershop Bronze Winner Lauren Arbuckle, Bowtique Hair & Makeup Heidi Rofe of Beauty Starts Hair is over the moon about two things: Her clients and hair colour, which she believes should change with the season. Taking the gold win for the fourth…
Gold Winner Colleen O’Dea, The Curtains are Open Silver Winner Kayla Short, Short Presents Bronze Winner Gillian Wesley, The Local Traveler Colleen O’Dea welcomes anybody and everybody into her living room, dining room, the backseat of her car and into her brain via her blog. It’s a very real, very honest glimpse at day-to-day life…
Gold Winner Point Pleasant Park Silver Winner Shubie Park Bronze Winner Long Lake The Coast’s Investigative Reporting Unit was curious about Point Pleasant’s countless dog-walking wins. To humans, it’s hard to distinguish the city’s many lovely, albeit repetitive, parks. Yet the dogs voting in the Best of Halifax obviously have a favourite. To figure out…
Gold Winner Octopi Computers Silver Winner Apple Store, Halifax Shopping Centre Bronze Winner Downtown Digital “I think it’s doing our best to look after our customers,” says co-owner Kris McCann of why his still-brand-new Octopi Computers took home this year’s Best Computer Store award. Barely three months old, Octopi has been making a name for…
Gold Winner Halifax Jazz Festival Silver Winner Halifax International Busker Festival Bronze Winner Hal-Con Dear Jazz Fest, thank you so much for bringing St. Vincent to us this summer. We haven’t forgotten how fucking awesome and otherworldly that was, and we we probably never will. We also thank you for bringing the Robert Glasper Experiment,…
Gold Winner Tribe of One, The Doppler Effect Silver Winner Mary Poppins, Neptune Theatre Bronze Winner Cinderelly, Shakespeare by the Sea Earning the top spot from a year’s worth of Halifax theatre is no small endeavour—but The Doppler Effect’s Fringe Hit wasn’t one either. Michael McPhee’s Tribe of One shone at this fall’s Atlantic Fringe…
Gold Winner Katherine Hanlon, ZigZag Hair Studio Silver Winner Angela Bishop, Remedy Facial Bar & Spa Bronze Winner Saskia Roch, Saskia Roch Aesthetics “The relationships I have created with my clients are by far the greatest joy of my job. It is my personal success of these last eight years,” says ZigZag’s star Katherine Hanlon.…
Gold Winner Tara Dawn Patriquin, One to One Wellness Centre Silver Winner Courtney Nickerson, Agricola Holistic Health Bronze Winner Kelly Donald, Yogassage It was her own experience with chronic pain—and the results she got from massage therapy—that lead Tara Patriquin to pursue massage therapy. For six years she’s been helping others feel that same relief…
Q I have a spanking fetish. I love to be spanked. I live in Oakland, California, so San Francisco is 10 minutes away. Seems like I’m in one of the best places in the country to have a kink, but I’m having a hard time figuring out where I can find a spanking community. I…
Casey Kennedy began stuttering when he was seven. He knew right away what was happening—but no one else did. “I would cry myself to sleep,” he says. ”I remember saying to my mom, ‘I can’t talk. Why can’t I talk?'” Even as a child, Kennedy would instinctively use techniques like avoidance—not saying words he knew…
Gold Winner Mic Mac Tailors Silver Winner Daniel’s Tailor Bronze Winner Vasso’s Tailoring Mufit Halef’s busy shop deals with all kinds of clothing issues, including fashionable people in what Halef calls “a state of emergency.” What’s a fashion emergency? Prompted by a colleague—one of a team of three sisters who work with him—Mulef retrieves a…
Gold Winner Gaudet Optical Silver Winner Ocean Optometry Bronze Winner Lang Optometry & Eyewear Doug Gaudet owns about 50 frames at any given time, which probably explains why you don’t often see him wearing the same pair. It sounds a little excessive but can you blame him? When you’re constantly surrounded by one-of-a-kind, gorgeous, weird,…
Gold Winner Geeks vs Nerds Silver Winner Background Noise Bronze Winner Halifax is Burning Now is the moment to nerd out about geeks. Not only is pop culture supersaturated with comic book costumes and internet minutiae, but intense discussions of those subjects fill the rest of the media landscape. Best podcast Geeks vs. Nerds was…
Gold Winner Spirit Spa Silver Winner Remedy Facial Bar & Spa Bronze Winner ZigZag Hair Studio Whether you pamper yourself once a week or once a year, you’d do well to book yourself into a session at Spirit Spa. From the ends of your fingers to the tips of your toes, Spirit is in the…
Gold Winner Halifax Central Library Silver Winner #ProLove Bronze Winner Plans to destroy the Cogswell Interchange We don’t often get new libraries, so is it any wonder the yet-to-be-opened Halifax Central Library earned the top spot for Best Thing To Happen In Halifax This Year? Thankfully, it had stiff competition with all the other good…
Gold Winner One Block Barbershop Silver Winner Bowtique Hair & Makeup Bronze Winner Thumpers Salon and Spirit Spa (tie) The haircutting experience at One Block Barbershop is pure sensory pleasure. With R&B on the stereo, a haircut is preceded by a transformative head, neck and shoulder massage with aromatherapy, exciting photographs from regular salon shoots…
Gold Winner Mitch Benvie, Evolve Fitness Silver Winner Devin Sherrington, 360fit Bronze Winner Scott Robinson, Palooka’s Executive Fitness Only very special people in this world can get away with telling a roomful of sweaty, exhausted people to “suck it up” (while smiling, of course) as they struggle to get through a set of burpees. Mitch…
Gold Winner Long Lake Silver Winner Canada Games Centre Bronze Winner Chocolate Lake We’re truly spoiled for choice when it comes to bodies of water in Halifax. How you made this very difficult decision we will never know, but clearly Long Lake has charmed you with its crisp waters, its multiple entry points, its lack…
Gold Winner Mountain Equipment Co-op Silver Winner Aerobics First Bronze Winner Cleve’s Source for Sports, Spring Garden Road Two floors of adventure await you at Halifax’s location of the Canadian outdoor gear shop. This isn’t your standard source for sports though, it’ll outfit your backcountry wilderness escape, put a roof over your head for your…
Gold Winner Flag on the Play Silver Winner Geeks vs Nerds Bronze Winner Metal Mouth Media This gold win is a goodbye for your favourite football and wizard-themed web production as last season was the swan song for the Hugh Stewart and Paul Doucette-hosted joint. Was this some Illuminati conspiracy? Did they get too close…
Gold Winner Transit system Silver Winner Cycling infrastructure Bronze Winner Fracking Buses here suck. They’re impossible to understand or to predict, and it’s a nasty part of living in Halifax that we’ve all put up with for too long. Some hope appeared on the horizon earlier this year, when Regional Council requested the transit authority…
Gold Winner Museum of Natural History Silver Winner Maritime Museum of the Atlantic Bronze Winner Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 There’s never a dull moment at the repeat-winner Museum of Natural History. Whether its welcoming a new permanent exhibit (like Sable Island: Over the Dunes, Beyond the Wild Horses) celebrating steampunk (Science Fiction…
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s…Nelvana? Nelvana of the Northern Lights is Canada’s first superwoman, an Inuit demigoddess whose job was to protect the Arctic in the 1940s. Her history, including her adventures, was forgotten until Hope Nicholson and Rachel Richey resurrected her story. This tale of Canadian comic book history is part of…
Gold Winner Evolve Fitness Silver Winner 360fit Bronze Winner Cyclone Group Fitness While studying kinesiology at St. FX, Matt Benvie started to reconsider his plans to become a gym teacher. After getting inspired by some courses on personal training, and being encouraged by a couple of trusted profs, Evolve Fitness was born in 2009. Now…
Gold Winner Peggys Cove Silver Winner Oceanstone Seaside Resort Bronze Winner Lunenburg You know what we have a lot of here in Nova Scotia? Huge crashing waves and extremely dangerous terrain surrounding them. Yet many of us don’t get to see evidence of it unless an aunt comes to visit and we go trotting out…
Gold Winner Cyclesmith Silver Winner The Bike Pedlar Bronze Winner Nauss Bicycle Shop Two thousand fourteen ushered in a big move for Cyclesmith—after 28 years on Quinpool Road, the popular bike store spun its wheels over to Agricola, into a swanky new building tailored for its clients’ specific bike-friendly needs. Inside is your favourite collection…
Gold Winner Brendan Maguire Silver Winner Maureen MacDonald Bronze Winner Joanne Bernard “Are you joking?” Brendan Maguire asks when he’s informed he’s won Best Member Of The Provincial Legislature. The Halifax Atlantic MLA for the Liberals has been a longtime reader of The Coast, and has joked with friends that his legacy can be gauged…
Gold Winner Fat Apollo Silver Winner Rouge Fatale Bronze Winner The Dawgfather PhD Fun fact! Fat Apollo knows a surprising amount of trivia about Joey from Friends, and that’s just one of the many reasons you love him, we’re sure. Travelling Atlantic Canada as a special guest for Atlanti-Con, Scifi on the Rock and Hal-Con,…
Gold Winner Mark Peyton, Sailor Bup’s Barbershop Silver Winner Michael Phillips, One Block Barbershop Bronze Winner Rob Oxner, Saint Lou’s Gentlemen’s Barbershop Sure, you might not be able to get a beer anymore due to some Hunger Games-level dystopian police work, but Mark Peyton and Sailor Bup’s Barbershop are still the people to see for…
There’s a sense of triumph in Amelia Curran’s epic release, They Promised You Mercy (Six Shooter Records). She revels in maturity and grace November 12 at the Rebecca Cohn with a full band, and fierce heart. “It’s one of the only records I’ve had to make once,” says Curran. “I’ve had to make previous albums…
Remember the story of Kim and Nicole? The two women who used pseudonyms to go public with allegations that an ex-boyfriend was harassing them with revenge porn? The women who complained local police mishandled their case? Halifax police confirmed last week they have handed Nicole and Kim’s case to police in Pasco County, Florida,…
Gold Winner Sarah Mayfield, Oodles of Poodles Grooming Salon Silver Winner Jennifer Sinclair, Down Home Dog Bronze Winner Devon Ross, Jollytails Sarah Mayfield and her sister, business partner and pup photographer Emma, have six dogs of their own—so when they opened Oodles of Poodles in north end Halifax, they were coming at it from a…
Gold Winner and Hall of Fame Inductee Atlantic News Silver Winner Blowers Street Paper Chase Newsstand & Cafe Bronze Winner Chapters, Bayers Lake The first-ever Best of Halifax poll—then known as “The good, the bad and the ugly”—didn’t have a Best Newsstand/Magazine Store category. The next two Best ofs, in 1996 and 1997, saw Daily…
Gold Winner Megan Leslie Silver Winner Geoff Regan Bronze Winner Peter Stoffer NDP MP Megan Leslie is a busy lady, making time for public events—most recently as Hal-Con parade’s grand marshall, dressed as a member of the NDP Starfleet—hosting art openings featuring the work of local artists for her constituents at her community office on…
Gold Winner Spirit Spa Silver Winner Remedy Facial Bar & Spa Bronze Winner Interlude Spa, Halifax Whether you pamper yourself once a week or once a year, you’d do well to book yourself into a session at Spirit Spa. From a brow tint to all-out, full-day spa experiences, Spirit is in the business of making…
Gold Winner Heartbeat Silver Winner Relative Happiness Bronze Winner Two Penny Road Kill It shouldn’t be surprising to anyone who attended one of three simultaneous sold-out screenings at the Atlantic Film Festival that Andrea Dorfman and Tanya Davis’ stirring love story Heartbeat has won Best Film. Poet Davis buoyed the colourful feature with her honest…
Between working her 40-hour-a-week co-op job and studying at Mount Saint Vincent University, Sarah Linders is already pretty busy. But the public relations student has taken on another challenge—competing, once again, in National Novel Writing Month. Linders took some time away from her lunch hour to chat with The Coast about NaNoWriMo, word counts and…
Gold Winner Kristin Johnston, Bikram Yoga Silver Winner Helen Fong, various studios Bronze Winner Estelle Thomson, Shanti Hot Yoga Bikram is no joke. It’s hot, it’s sweaty, it’s tough—but it’s rewarding, feels great and requires an instructor who’s knowledgeable, encouraging and firm. Bikram Yoga Halifax’s Kristin Johnston won your yoga-loving heart yet again by pushing…
Gold Winner Patch Halifax Silver Winner Cape and Cowl Comics and Collectibles Bronze Winner Sailor Bup’s Barbershop This summer Patch became the first of its kind in Halifax—a fabric store/sewing room hybrid, offering both a fleet of sewing machines and sergers and an adorable selection of patterns and fabrics to both experts and wannabes. We…
Gold Winner Attica Furnishings Silver Winner Kept Bronze Winner Bellissimo Minimalism is in, but no one wants to take it so far that they’re sitting on a single chair in the middle of an empty room. Attica, thankfully, offers many alternatives to that. (Though, if you insist on that single-chair style, at least they can…
Gold Winner Waye Mason Silver Winner Jennifer Watts Bronze Winner Matt Whitman Two Best ofs in two years of being a councillor isn’t a bad start to Waye Mason’s hopefully lengthy political career. The downtown Halifax councillor and former Pop Explosion head honcho took a close race in the last election, and has been hard…
Gold Winner Alan Brown, MSVU Silver Winner Randi Warne, MSVU Bronze Winner Roberta Barker, Dalhousie “I’m pretty non-traditional,” says Alan Brown of his teaching methods, which included getting the bridge of his nose pierced in front of his Deviance class. He moved to Halifax from the US to join the Mount’s sociology and anthropology department…
Gold Winner Andrea Dorfman Silver Winner Stephanie Young Bronze Winner Jason Eisener The poppy and vibrant Heartbeat is filmmaker Andrea Dorfman’s third feature, but the first to actually screen in Halifax. That’s “pretty cool,” Dorfman says. She’s currently busy on a National Film Board documentary following a human rights group in Canada and Kenya,…
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Scorpio (Oct 23-Nov 21) Near the end of the 19th century, an American named Annie Londonderry became the first woman to ride a bicycle around the world. It was a brave and brazen act for an era when women still couldn’t vote and paved roads were rare. Her 15-month journey took her through…
Gold Winner Dalhousie Silver Winner Nova Scotia College of Art & Design Bronze Winner Mount Saint Vincent University All hail Dalhousie University, the biggest kid in the class, who dominates this category yet again with its banner-winning varsity teams, grade-A academics, first-rate research and almost 20,000 students hailing from all over the world. But,…
Gold Winner Biscuit General Store Silver Winner Sweet Pea Boutique Bronze Winner Vivacious Vixen Apparel You could visit Biscuit General Store just for Biscuit the horse, a mechanical stallion of the sort that used to be abundant at grocery stores. But you’d be missing a lot. Biscuit—the shop—is an impeccably curated boutique that brings great…
Gold Winner Attica Furnishings Silver Winner Statement Bronze Winner Abode Minimalism is in, but no one wants to take it so far that they’re sitting on a single chair in the middle of an empty room. Attica, thankfully, offers many alternatives to that. (Though, if you insist on that single-chair style, at least they can…
Gold Winner Jay Aaron Roy Silver Winner Allison Sparling Bronze Winner Rebecca Faria It’s a meaningful win for Halifax’s Best Activist Jay Aaron Roy. The mentor who inspired him, Leighann Wichman, passed away just a few weeks ago. The director of Geeks vs Nerds actually first met Wichman years ago when she came into his…
Gold Winner Ellen Page Silver Winner Joel Plaskett Bronze Winner Fat Apollo Sure, she starred in one of the summer’s superhero juggernaut blockbusters. But what really made our love for Ellen Page shine brighter this year was her courageous coming-out speech back in February. “I’m here today because I am gay,” Page told the attendees…
Gold Winner Glen Matthews Silver Winner John Dunsworth Bronze Winner Stewart Legere If you attended the Atlantic Film Festival this year, you may have noticed that Glen Matthews is a machine. He had a busy year, and AFF was evidence of that—six movies he worked on, including Saving Face (which he wrote, directed and starred…
Gold Winner Lydia K., Gem Tattoo Co. Silver Winner Helena Darling, HFX Tattoo Bronze Winner Amber Thorpe, Adept Tattoos Getting something permanently inked on your body can be a choice hastily made or painstakingly deliberated over. It doesn’t matter really—in the words of Philly’s scuzz rockers The Tough Shits, a tattoo is just a cool…
Gold Winner Moksha Yoga, Halifax Silver Winner Bikram Yoga Bronze Winner Halifax Yoga Some like it hot. Actually, lots like it hot…that’s what we’ve learned since Moksha Yoga first opened in downtown Halifax in 2008, teaching us the ways of hot yoga and the detoxification, relaxation and exercise that comes with it. A popular spot…
Gold Winner Duggers/D2 Silver Winner Biscuit General Store Bronze Winner RCHMND Today, a stylish man can have serious fun with his credit card in Halifax. But this town was a men’s fashion wasteland when Duggers opened over 40 years ago, and the store has been leading the implicit call for men to look better ever…
Gold Winner Finer Things Antiques Silver Winner Urban Cottage Antiques & Collectables Bronze Winner Plan B Merchants’ Co-op It’s maybe fitting Halifax seems to like what’s tried and true when out antiquing. Finer Things Antiques and Curios once again tops the list for your Best Antique Store. In fact, the entire podium is a repeat…
Gold Winner Reflections Cabaret Silver Winner The Seahorse Tavern Bronze Winner The Marquee Ballroom A new look and a new location haven’t changed who Reflections really is inside. This crazy party animal is up for anything at all hours of the night, any night of the week—whether its a drag competition, a dubstep dance party,…
Gold Winner Rouge Fatale Silver Winner Contessa Bosse Bronze Winner Eureka Love Seven years running, Rouge Fatale has lip-synced, vamped and shimmied her way into gold. “It’s unbelievable,” says Fatale (AKA Jason Rose-Spurrell). “Thank you from the bottom of my heart.” Fatale understands there’s strength in numbers and 2015 will bring some new projects with…
Gold Winner Ellen Page Silver Winner Sarah Dunsworth Bronze Winner Jackie Torrens Once again demonstrating her mutant power for box office blockbusters, Ellen Page suited-up again as Kitty Pryde and stood tall against Patrick Stewart and Hugh Jackman in the money train that was X-Men: Days of Future Past. Page is also trying her hand…
Gold Winner Nova Scotia SPCA Silver Winner Ronald McDonald Family Room Bronze Winner IWK Health Centre Oh, me? I’m just headed into my weekly volunteer shift at the SPCA where I’m required to fill a basket with puppies and kittens, skip to a field of wildflowers and let them crawl all over me! OK, in…
Gold Winner Prince George Hotel Silver Winner Lord Nelson Hotel Bronze Winner Westin Nova Scotian A hotel should be many things—clean, peaceful, convenient, professional, a good place to get a bite to eat. Prince George Hotel has ticked those boxes for you and then some. The hotel restaurant Gio is a gem of a spot,…
Gold Winner Crimson Clover Consignment Silver Winner Value Village, Bayers Lake Bronze Winner Makenew Curated Thrift Shop Michael Kors. Lululemon. Gucci. Dior. Fendi. Canada Goose. Steve Madden. J Crew. Hunter. Tory Burch. Lucky Brand. What’s in a name? A lot at Crimson Clover. This trend-setting boutique introduced downtown to pre-loved luxury clothing, shoes and bags…
Gold Winner My Mother’s Bloomers Silver Winner The Flower Shop Bronze Winner Props Floral Design Owner Neville MacKay has neatly tied up this category since 2007, adding in sprigs of fresh greenery and an accent tulip here and there. A beloved personality who shares his floral and design expertise through frequent guest appearances on *Breakfast…
Gold Winner Reflections Cabaret Silver Winner Pacifico Nightclub Bronze Winner Menz & Mollyz A new look and a new location haven’t changed who Reflections really is inside. This crazy party animal is up for anything at all hours of the night, any night of the week—whether its a drag competition, a dubstep dance party, $Rockin…
Gold Winner Sidney Crosby Silver Winner Nathan MacKinnon Bronze Winner Ellie Black We love our homegrown hockey dudes, we really do. We love to brag that these prodigal players were raised on our rinks, in our suburbs, by our coaches. And we’re proud of their international fame and glory, we really are. But Best of…
Gold Winner Stewart Legere Silver Winner Rhys Bevan-John Bronze Winner Ben Stone “The main reason I’m so touched by this is because it gives me something to hold over all the other actors in town when they start getting too big for their britches,” says the victorious, and humble, Stewart Legere. You’ll see a lot…
Gold Winner Adept Tattoos, Quinpool Road Silver Winner HFX Tattoo Bronze Winner Sin on Skin Tattoos Three years, three gold place wins for Adept Tattoos as Halifax’s Best Tattoo/Piercing Joint. Owner Amber Thorpe was your 2010 and 2011 choice for Best Tattoo Artist herself, so the attention to detail Adept crafts with their craft shouldn’t…
Gold Winner Marco DiQuinzio Silver Winner Rob Scanlan Bronze Winner Rosie Porter “I didn’t like being knocked from number one,” laughs Marco DiQuinzio, who’s back on top after a year in silver standings. The light and hilarious DiQuinzio, recognized from his Bruce MacKinnon-drawn caricature and known as “the friendly agent,” says a good relationship with…
Gold Winner John David Shoes Silver Winner Soled Out Sneakers Bronze Winner Mahone Bay Trading Company Quality Footwear Happy birthday, John David Shoes. The perennial silver winner earns the gold in its 25th year. “I believe the key to success is a formula of several things,” says owner John Ingram. “The staff, along with a…
Gold Winner Planet Paws Silver Winner Jollytails Inc. Bronze Winner Best Friends Pet Supplies, Clayton Park “I want to start a pet food revolution,” says Planet Paws’ Rodney Habib. “The reason I started was because I destroyed two of my pets with pet food, and there was no one to report it to.” That’s what…
Gold Winner The T-Room Silver Winner Rogues Roost Bronze Winner Gus’ Pub A good trivia night is made of many parts: stellar hosts, clever trivia team names (and equally clever teams) and great questions. Stan Selig and new co-host Ben Schulman (taking over for Matt Morrison) have perfected this trifecta, winning the T-Room trivia night…
With Hal-Con fast approaching this weekend, my every free moment will be spent surrounded by piles of fabric, spray-paint bottles, wigs and empty coffee mugs. Why would someone surround themselves with such ludicrous items, you might ask? For cosplay. What the frack is that? Cosplay is the act of dressing up as specific fictional characters. It’s…
Gold Winner Mary Fay Coady Silver Winner Stephanie MacDonald Bronze Winner Sue Leblanc-Crawford There’s something about Mary Fay Coady. A completely magnetic stage presence and a killer sense of timing are just a couple of the reasons why it’s a real treat to watch her perform. And Halifax gets to do that fairly often—this year…
Gold Winner Information Morning, CBC Silver Winner Mainstreet, CBC Bronze Winner Halifax is Burning, CKDU Don Connolly’s going to have to pay more for cab rides now that Information Morning, and the rest of CBC, is moving out of downtown and over to Chebucto Road. But he and co-host Louise Renault will hopefully still offer…
Gold Winner Munden’s Moving & Storage Silver Winner Short Notice Movers Bronze Winner Freshman Storage & Moving It’s a commonly known fact that moving sucks. The packing, the unpacking, the inspection-ready cleaning, the wrapping of the tchotchkes—Munden’s Moving understands your pain and aims to make a potentially difficult day as smooth as silk. Family owned…
Gold Winner Fireworks Jewellery Silver Winner The Vault, Spring Garden Road Bronze Winner Lady Luck Boutique There is simply nothing Fireworks doesn’t have. Classic downtown location? Check. Drool-inducing collection of local, Canadian and international designers? Check. Prices ranging from ridiculously affordable to “three months’ salary guidelines were made to be broken” levels of ostentation? Clever…
Gold Winner P’lovers, Halifax Silver Winner Nurtured Bronze Winner Local Source Market For 22 years, P’lovers has been the city’s beloved eco-store, one of the first of its kind in Canada and an exemplary made-in-Halifax environmental success story, up there with being early to municipal green box composting. But there’s been a lot of change…
[Image-1] One of the city’s busiest health clinics is at risk of gang retaliation after expanding its operations to new neighbourhoods. Direction 180’s mobile clinic has been helping some of the most vulnerable members of the HRM for the last two years. They’ve been able to increase their service to four different locations around the…
[Image-1] A couple of weeks back the city got around to issuing an RFP for public Wi-Fi. It’s part of a $50-million capital upgrade plan, and is designed to “enhance the experience of residents” while supporting “Halifax’s growing reputation as an innovative, forward-thinking city.” Okay, sure. There’s already 20 Canadian cities and plenty of other…
Pick your poison. Your Poison Pear, that is. The Halifax-based, one-woman operation (the woman being crafter extraordinaireBeth Ardron) known for its hand-drawn, hand-printed scarves, hats, shirts and accessories has your back—and your neck—in these crisp times. We recommend Poison Pear’s much-loved wool-acrylic button scarf, it’ll stay put on the most blustery of days (“I even…
