June 1-24 Theatre Arts Guild presents Double Indemnity The Billy Wilder version of James M. Cain’s book is a film noir classic, and was turned into a radio play in the ’40s. Based on a famous murder in New York in 1927, it manages to turn an insurance policy into a thrilling plot point awash […]
out of town
Posted inArts + Music
Going deep in the shallows with Gilbert van Ryckevorsel
When the weather’s nice, there’s only one place you’ll find Gilbert van Ryckevorsel: Skulking along the bottom of a river, documenting what he finds. The diver/photographer has been exploring down there for nearly 50 years, and snapping pictures of it for almost as long. “It gives us a unique view of the underwater world, because […]
Posted inFood + Drink
Highway to shells: 6 lobster suppers to try
Baddeck Lobster Suppers (Cape Breton) Akin to our friends at the Shore Club, Baddeck Lobster Suppers is a charming family-owned biz serving lobster, salmon, snow crab and steak to tourists and locals alike, every night from 4-9pm during the summer season. Any opportunity for a community meal in Cape Breton should be taken. 17 Ross […]
Posted inArts + Music
Two Planks and 25 years of passion
It’s show time on a Saturday night at the Ross Creek Centre for the Arts, and the sun is peeking out from behind wispy clouds as people make their way toward the “stage”—a meadow surrounded by forest. The crowd walks through grass, still wet from an afternoon shower, along a path marked by unlit tiki […]
Posted inFood + Drink
Mad about Mateus
Mateus Bistro beckons, bright and orange, on Main Street in Mahone Bay. It’s a bright exclamation point on the end of a meandering observation, a dawdle of a drive down along the Lighthouse Trail as it wraps itself around the curves of the coastline. The south shore was made for summer. Fishing villages sit tucked […]
Posted inFood + Drink
Flying Apron soars in Summerville
Summer sunshine means the bumpy tangle of country roads in Hants County is dotted with rust-tinged yard sales and rickety signs advertising fresh eggs and homemade jams and pickles. On our drive up to Summerville we pass cows leaning lazily into the wind-rustled grass and horses, bored and dozy in the sunshine, serenely staring at […]
Posted inFood + Drink
Feeling the Strasbourg
Somehow La Cave de Strasbourg has just never been on my radar. Probably because it’s in Fall River, which, frankly, only pings my radar when I’m on a bus to the airport. Sorry, Fall River. I have failed you. And, frankly, I now realize that I have failed myself. For the record, I love Strasbourg. […]
Posted inArts + Music
The show must go on the road
Summer in Nova Scotia is the perfect time to embark on a magical mystery tour, theatre-style. Head to the Annapolis Valley and take in three delightful, chilling and thrilling plays. The Tempest (Ross Creek Centre for the Arts), as adapted by Ken Schwartz, is touching and wonder-filled, anchored by a layered performance by Graham Percy […]
Posted inArts + Music
The show must go on the road
Summer in Nova Scotia is the perfect time to embark on a magical mystery tour, theatre-style. Head to the Annapolis Valley and take in three delightful, chilling and thrilling plays. The Tempest (Ross Creek Centre for the Arts), as adapted by Ken Schwartz, is touching and wonder-filled, anchored by a layered performance by Graham Percy […]
Posted inFood + Drink
Jonny’s be good
Jonny’s Cookhouse and Ice Cream Shop is likely a familiar site to anybody who includes capybaras and maras in their summer schedule with a visit to the Oaklawn Farm Zoo in Aylesford. A small bungalow with a broad porch, it’s only about 10 minutes from the zoo, on the Evangeline Trail. With decor that is […]
Posted inFood + Drink
Seaside Shanty retreat
A drive down the Lighthouse Route on the south shore is never a terrible way to spend an afternoon, so this weekend my friends Sarah, Megan and I wandered out to Chester Basin. Our destination: a Maritime postcard of a restaurant, the Seaside Shanty. Sitting right on the edge of the Chester Basin, the Shanty […]
Posted inFood + Drink
Tourist de force
The Sou’Wester 178 Peggys Cove Point Road, Peggys Cove, 902-823-2561 Ryer Lobster Lyd. 8494 Peggys Cove Road, Indian Harbour, 902-823-1070 It seems, at times, like the perception of authenticity in Nova Scotia can be as hard to grasp as the overpriced cloud of steam wafting up from a freshly cooked lobster. But what is authenticity, […]