The Thermals at the Halifax Pop Explosion.
Running from October 18 to 22, the Halifax Pop Explosion is one of Canada’s coolest music festivals. It showcases top indie acts from across the country performing at small venues around the city. Highlights include The Thermals, a collaboration between Amelia Curran and Symphony Nova Scotia, Stars, Thee Oh Sees and many others.
Ducks on the Moon at FemFest 2011: Staging Inspiration.
SEPTEMBER 17 TO 24 Stories of identity and struggle by Canadian and international female playwrights are brought to life in FemFest 2011: Staging Inspiration by Sarasvàti Productions. New to the 9th annual festival this year is theatre for young audiences. Don’t miss Ducks on the Moon—this courageous documentary looks at one mother’s struggle to raise her autistic child. Tickets: $10 single show, $25 platinum pass (three shows), $50 festival pass. Canwest Centre for Theatre and Film, 400 Colony St, 586-2236.
Dobson at a noodle house in Tokyo, Japan.
Andrew John Virtue Dobson started his blog DobbernationLoves (on Twitter: @dobbernation) after his first solo backpacking trip through Europe. The Toronto-based blogger’s day job is at Planeterra Foundation, the charitable arm of Gap Adventures, the Canadian-based travel company that hosts tours around the globe. The blog’s title is a clever play on Dobber (a nickname) and Nation (which he sees as “an authoritative stance on what I was doing and where I was going”). Dobson describes DobbernationLoves as a “lifestyle blog with an encyclopedia’s worth of information on travel, Toronto-based restaurants, cheese, wine and beer. I post consistently throughout the week all of the things I love, whether it be covering a fashion or arts based event, or some recipe I came up with over the weekend. I share whatever makes me smile.”
Running from August 4 to 14, the Halifax International Busker Festival is Canada’s oldest and largest celebration of street theatre. Myriad Canadian and international performers take to the Halifax waterfront for 11 days, performing hundreds of shows on five outdoor stages. Performances include acrobatics, music, visual arts, comedy fire shows and more.
With nearly 200 varieites on offer, this annual festival is heaven for beer lovers
By Trevor J. Adams
Taps Magazine picked Halifax’s as Canada’s “favourite beerfest” and it’s not hard to see why. Running from August 5 to 6, the Halifax Seaport BeerFest on Marginal Road features some 200 beers and ciders from around the world.
Now in its fifth year, the festival has been growing steadily and is now a beloved rite of summer for the city’s committed tipplers. “For the past two years, evening sessions have sold out,” says festival co-chair Bruce Mansour. Organizers are expecting 5,000 attendees
this year.
This year’s highlights include an expanded Quebec pavilion, Baxter Brewing (Maine), King Brewery (Ontario) and Canada’s newest brewer, Spearhead Brewing from Toronto. In addition to the ample array of ales, vendors will sell beer-inspired food on-site. Forget about the stereotypical hot-dog-on-a-barbecue vendors, though. Some of the city’s most popular restaurants will be serving up sample-sized creations. They include Saege Bistro, Fid Resto and Brussels Restaurant & Brasserie.
Once again this year, organizers are offering a Ladies VIP Brew Tour with Mirella Amato. For a $10 surcharge, women can skip the line-ups and enjoy a 30-minute talk, sampling and food pairing.
The weekend kicks-off on August 4 with a one-of-a-kind beer dinner at Brussels Restaurant & Brasserie. Troy Burtch of Taps Magazine hosts. The meal features four courses paired with five festival beers, each introduced by a brewery representative. New this year is the Beer Brunch at The Maxwell’s Plum on August 6 from 10 a.m. to noon. It’s a chance for attendees to meet some of the brewers in town for the festival.
BeerFest Survival Guide
With dozens of vendors, hundreds of beers and thousands of dedicated drinkers, BeerFest can overwhelm newbies. Organizers have provided these survival tips to help you get the most out of the experience (without doing yourself permanent harm).
• Pace yourself. It’s not a race and there’s plenty of beer to go around.
• Protect yourself. The event is predominantly outdoors. Check the weather and bring rain gear or sun block as needed.
• Carry cash. The beer is included in the ticket price but the food isn’t. After a
couple hours, you’ll want food. Trust me.
• Eat before you go. Trying 200 different beers on an empty stomach will end badly.
• Do a quick circuit and pick out some must-try highlights before you start
drinking with gusto. You probably won’t get to try everything, so be strategic.
• Drink water. If you’ve had beer before, this one is self-explanatory.
The Details
Tickets are available at some Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation stores and online. The cost is $40 per session or $45 at the door. Sessions run Friday night 7:00 p.m. to 9:30pm, Saturday afternoon 2:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Saturday night 7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Tickets sell quickly, so it might be wise to buy in advance. Follow the link for more information.
Colin Stetson performs at the Halifax Jazz Festival on July 9 at Saint Matthew's Church.
The Halifax Jazz Festival celebrates 25 years of swingin’ sounds
By Trevor J. Adams
The city’s biggest annual music event, the Halifax Jazz Festival returns July 8 to 16. This is the 25th edition of the festival and, as befits a silver anniversary celebration, it boasts an array of established masters and hot innovators. While venues around the city host concerts, the Festival Tent is always the busiest spot. For years, Spring Garden Road hosted the party but this year it moves to the waterfront. The tent will plant its stakes at the foot of Salter Street.
The Tent is home to the biggest concerts. Things kick off there on July 8 with The Bad Plus and Yaron Herman. On July 9, the Tent hosts one of the Festival’s most anticipated concerts: Idle Warship (the latest project from MC extraordinaire Talib Kweli) with local hip-hop stars The Extremities opening the show.
The tent will be jumping on July 10, too, as the legendary Preservation Hall Jazz Band from New Orleans takes the stage. And on July 11, chanteuse Jill Barber returns to her roots. Now living in British Columbia, she began her career here. “I am very excited,” she said in a recent interview with Halifax Magazine. “I have performed at almost every venue and festival in and around Atlantic Canada but I have never played the JazzFest… Halifax will forever feel like home to me. It is the place where I found my voice and it is where I came of age both as a woman and as a musician.”
Busy every night, the Festival Tent closes in fine fashion on July 16, as the Digable Planets return to Halifax. The tent is also jumping during the day, when it hosts free matinee concerts with Samba Nova, the Ghostrider Blues Band, Jeff Torbert and many other acts. Bluesman Morgan Davis takes the stage around 2:50pm on July 11. If you’re a fan of old-school guitar blues, this is probably going to be the best free concert you’ll ever see.
There will also be free shows on the new Whirligig Stage (the waterfront helipad). Australian expatriate Daniel Matto, now living in Halifax, performs there at about 4:50pm on July 10. Matto is a smooth jazz crooner—just the thing for a sultry summer afternoon.
You can even enjoy jazz on the waves of Halifax Harbour. There are concerts for kids aboard Theodore Too tugboat, while the Tall Ship Silva hosts shows by the Carson Downey Band and Gypsophilia.
Other venues include Saint Matthew’s United Church, which hosts the free JazzEast 25th Anniversary Big Band show on July 14, the Schooner Showroom at Casino Nova Scotia (Freddy Cole on and Kenny Barron), the Imperial Ballroom at the Lord Nelson (Keren Ann, the Jubilee Swing Orchestra), 1313 Hollis (Paul Cram’s 4 Flavours, The Unsupervised), The Company House (Wordrhythm, Friendly Rich and the Lollipop People), the Georgian Lounge at the Lord Nelson and several pubs and lounges.
Clubs, pubs and bars around the city will host Festival performances too. Participants include Stayner’s Wharf on George Street, Pipa on Argyle Street, The Press Gang on Prince Street, Bearly’s on Barrington Street, Onyx (page 90) on Spring Garden Road and Elephant & Castle on George Street.
The colourful Caribana Parade
JULY 15 TO AUGUST 15 The colourful sights and sounds of the Caribbean arrive as part of the Scotiabank Caribana Festival. On top of its massive Caribana Parade (July 31), which packs Lake Shore Boulevard with pageantry, the annual celebration offers many ways to enjoy tropical culture. Preview the festivities at the official Yonge-Dundas Square launch party (July 15), or visit the Royal Ontario Museum to see more than 100 works by African-Canadian artists (opens July 22). For music lovers, Pan Alive (July 30) showcases the talents of steel pan drummers from across Ontario. Various venues and times; call 416-391-5608 or visit here for more information.
Photo of Kickstart by Chris Randle
Now celebrating its 10th anniversary, this annual fest (Mar. 12 to 21) truly is an international affair. Artists from all around the world come here to dance on local stages. This year, featured troupes include Los Angeles’ Michael Sakamoto, Denmark’s Kitt Johnson, Taiwan’s LAFA & Artists, New Zealand’s Black Grace and New York’s Evidence. But we’re not short on home-grown talent: Vancouver dancers include Flamenco Rosario, Kickstart, Out Innerspace and Mascall Dance.—Sheri Radford
The Talking Stick Festival celebrates aboriginal performance and art
While some of the world’s best athletes compete for top spot on the podium, some of the world’s best artists are flexing their creative muscles at the Cultural Olympiad 2010 (to Mar. 21). This festival features both home-grown and international talent that ranges from traditional theatre and dance to cutting-edge digital media experiences. An opera about Richard Nixon, the Talking Stick Festival (pictured), pop-star concerts and a searchlight show above English Bay are just a few of the diverse performances taking place at various venues from Vancouver to Whistler.—Leszek Apouchtine
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Stay, Dine, Do
