Halifax

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Explore Nova Scotia, Circa 1934

Back in 1934, Nova Scotia’s selling points for vacationers included dustless highways (ah, luxury!) and 22 golf courses (it has 80 today) among many of the natural and historic attractions it still showcases, like Louisburg and Cape Breton Island.

It was, to quote the Official Motor Guide of Nova Scotia, a place where you could “Generally Enjoy Your Holiday In a Sportsman’s Paradise.” Plus, in 1934 you could pick up this guide to Nova Scotia for a mere dollar.

This and other historic Nova Scotia guidebooks are viewable online at the Nova Scotia Archives. Browse the entire 136-page 1909 Sporting Guide to Nova Scotia, the 24-page Storied Halifax (1917), and the pamphlet 7 Days in Halifax, which advises visitors of the wide range of dinner prices in that city in 1930: from 50¢ to $1.50.

Hot Dates: Art highlights

"Belmont Park" at the MSVU Art Gallery.

Continuing through November 20 at Mount Saint Vincent University Art Gallery: Works by photographer Lisette Model (1901–1983), famed for her shoot-and-run portraits of strangers.

Continuing through November 27 at Dalhousie Art Gallery: Stealing the Gaze features symbolic portrait photographs and video installations by Canada’s most celebrated Native artists.

3 Easy Fall Day Trips from Halifax

By Candice Walsh

One of the joys of travelling Nova Scotia is the ease of getting around the province by car. When Halifax starts feeling a little too close for comfort, you can hightail it out of there with a moment’s notice. You don’t even need to go overnight—just go.

map the sites

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Hot Dates: Funny guy

In the midst of a third-successful season of The Ron James Show, the acerbic comedian hasn’t lost a bit of his sharp edge. On November 4 and 5, Ron James returns home to Halifax for two nights of raucous comedy, as he deconstructs a world gone mad.

Hot Dates: Perpetual motion

Live Art Dance Productions is in the midst of a busy season of contemporary dance, with three shows at the Dalhousie Arts Centre on University Avenue. On November 2, BJM Danse from Montreal offers an evening of playful jazz dance. Following them on November 18, contemporary dancers Bill Coleman and Laurence Lemieux perform three works by James Kudelka. And from December 1 to 3, O Vertigo makes its Halifax debut with Onde de choc, a “hymn to the body’s internal forces.”

Hot Dates: Editor’s Choice

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.

Editor’s Choice: Live Art Dance Productions

Photo: Chris Randle

September 29 to October 1: Live Art Dance Productions kicks off another season of contemporary dance at the Dalhousie Arts Centre with Four Quartets. Deborah Dunn’s company, Trial & Eros, melds social commentary and historical inquiry, inspired by the poetry of T.S. Eliot.

Canada’s Best New Attractions for Summer 2011

Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta

For travellers planning their summer trips in Canada this year, the regional editors of Where magazine have released their top picks for summer travel. The winners of Where Canada’s Best New Attractions for Summer 2011 represent the most exciting attractions – new, significantly improved, or celebrating major milestones this year. A diverse group of attractions from coast to coast, this year’s winners offer a wide range of activities and events suitable for any family, art lover, sports fanatic, nature lover or adventurer. Together, these attractions serve as the top must-see and must-dos for anyone travelling in Canada this summer. (more…)

Weekend Roundup: What’s Happening Across Canada

Where is lucky to enough to have editions all over the country, so here at Where Ottawa, we rounded up the fun events and activities taking place in the different cities. Check them out if you’re on the road this weekend!

Casino du Lac-Leamy Sound of Light takes place annually in Ottawa. Photo credit: Mike Alexander.

Ottawa kicks off the annual Casino du Lac-Leamy Sound of Light, an annual competition that pits country against country in a battle between the best pyrotechnics in the world.

Funny guy Jerry Seinfeld takes a break from producing his TV show The Marriage Ref and heads to Calgary for a good old fashioned stand-up performance.

Halifax hosts its yearly Halifax Seaport BeerFest, which is expected to draw some 5,000 attendees who love their beer and cider.

Get over your fear of dancing in public with Sunday Afternoon Salsa at Robson Square in Vancouver.

Why are Canucks so attached to the outdoors? The exhibition Play > Nation, on view at the Design Exchange in Toronto, explores the notion.

Got young ones? Then a trip to the newly renovated, highly interactive Children’s Museum in Winnipeg is in order.

If you’re in Muskoka, put an exciting spin on date night with the dinner theatre production of the British farce Beyond a Joke, on now at the Gravenhurst Opera House.

Hot Dates: 3 Sure Things

• June 8 to 25: Dartmouth Players wraps up a season of community theatre with Be My Baby by Ken Ludwig. Warm and funny, it’s the story of an irascible Scotsman and an uptight English woman, travelling from Scotland to San Francisco to pick up a baby for their young relations.

• June 10: The Cottars return to their Maritime roots, performing their unique fusion of Celtic, folk and pop music at Casino Nova Scotia on Upper Water Street.

• June 19: Take a 45-minute drive down the Eastern Shore to Memory Lane Heritage Village for a Father’s Day outing that’s ideal for car buffs. The Father’s Day Antique Car Show showcases a range of vehicles, and features special prize draws and live music.

Hot Dining: The Halifax Pub Experience

The rooftop patio at Your Father's Moustache is a summer hot spot.

• The Maxwell’s Plum on Grafton Street: Large sidewalk patio, 60+ beers on tap, sports on big-screen TVs, kitchen open until 2am.

• Your Father’s Moustache on Spring Garden Road: Live music, rooftop patio, daily food specials.

• The Red Stag Tavern on Lower Water Street: Top-notch fish and chips, rooftop patio, located in the
historic Alexander Keith’s Brewery building.

Hot Dates: Sea It All

The Tall Ship Silva offers daily sailing tours around Halifax Harbour.

Various tour companies ply the waters around Halifax, offering visitors dozens of unique ways to explore. The Harbour Hopper offers amphibious tours. Tall Ship Silva plies Halifax Harbour with a three-masted schooner. Whale and nature tours sail from Murphy’s Cable Wharf. And A&M Sea Charters is based in Fisherman’s Cove, offering whale, nature and fishing tours.

Hot Dates: Editor’s Choice

Continuing through September 5, the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia on Hollis Street hosts a major retrospective of key works from Jacques Hurtubise’s five-decade career. Hurtubise showcases career highlights. Featuring over 60 paintings and prints, the exhibition provides an unparalleled overview of this key figure in abstract art’s history.

Hot Dates: No bones about it

Meet Sue the T.Rex at the Museum of Natural History.

Halifax’s favourite Tweeting dinosaur is at the Museum of Natural History on Summer Street throughout the month. A T.Rex Named Sue features a life-sized skeleton cast of the largest, most complete and best-preserved Tyrannosaurus rex ever discovered. The exhibition also includes videos and interactive displays.

Hot Dates: The real McCoy

Jason McCoy performs at Casino Nova Scotia.

Music fans first discovered singer/songwriter Jason McCoy when he was fronting for the Road Hammers. Known as “the hit-maker,” he’s emerged as one of the hottest talents in Canadian country music. For this concert, he makes a rare visit to the East Coast, playing an intimate solo show at Casino Nova Scotia on Upper Water Street on April 21.

Hot Dates: Editor’s Choice

Left to Right: Kim Deal (bass); Joey Santiago (guitar); Frank Black (vocals, guitar); David Lovering (drums).

Alt-rock purists have been salivating for months: alternative godfathers The Pixies are finally coming to Halifax. The Halifax Metro Centre on Duke Street hosts the most hotly anticipated concert of the season on April 9.

Ha ha Halifax

Bob Marley headlines the Halifax Comedy Fest. Photo: Chris Smith

Top comics from across the country descend on the city for a side-splitting month

By Trevor J. Adams

Spring is always a laughing matter in Halifax. Every April, comedians from across the country (and further afield) take over the city’s stages for the Halifax Comedy Fest.

The festival kicks off on April 13 with the Opening Gala at Casino Nova Scotia. Comedian Bob Marley (not to be confused with a certain reggae singer) headlines the lineup. A darling of the 2009 festival, Marley is a local favourite. Lately, Marley has been winnning fans stateside with a successful nightshow circuit, performing on The Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson and Craig Kilborn. Joining him are John Wing, Andrew Grose, Derek Edwards, Doug Funk, Elvira Kurt, Mike Wilmot and Pete Zedlacher.

On April 14, the show goes back to the Casino for Comedy All Stars. One of the highlights of that show is sure to be the insanely funny Sean Cullen, most famous for his raucous parody songs (such as the Meatloaf send-up “Never Too Fat to Rock and Roll”). The lineup also includes comedian Trevor Boris, the acerbic pop-culture commentator from Much Music’s Video on Trial. On the same day, the Seahorse Tavern on Argyle Street hosts Dylan Mandlsohn, Graham Clark, Jon Steinberg, Jonny Harris, Ted Morris and Lachlan Patterson.

The party moves to the Dalhousie Arts Centre on University Avenue on April 15. Newfoundlander Mark Critch, famous for his portrayal of firebrand Danny Williams on This Hour Has 22 Minutes, headlines The Gala of Laughs. Marley, Edwards and Kurt also return for encore performances.

The Lower Deck pub in the Historic Properties hosts a comedy matinee on April 16. With two live shows in the afternoon, the cozy pub
welcomes Dylan Mandlshon, Graham Clark, Heidi Foss, Jon Steinberg, Peter Anthony, Sunee Dhaliwal, Debra DiGiovanni, Graham Clark, Jen Grant, Lachlan Patterson and Nile Seguin. DiGiovanni, another Video on Trial alumnus, is one of Canada’s top unappreciated comics and at her best in a small venue like this—it’s sure to be a memorable show.

The festival concludes on the evening of April 16 with the Gala Finale at the Dalhousie Arts Centre. Several festival favourites return for one last laugh. Mark Critch hosts; the roster includes DiGiovanni, Jonny Harris, Jen Grant, Wing, Nile Seguin, Scott Falconbridge, Cullen, Stewart Francis and Greg Hahn.

A MONTH OF COMEDY
In addition to the Halifax Comedy Fest, the city hosts great live comedy events throughout the month.

•   Joker’s Comedy Club on Spring Garden Road and Yuk Yuk’s on Hollis Street host regular shows, with new comics weekly.
•   The Newfoundland comedy group Buddy Wasisname and the Other Fellers bring their warm-hearted take on East Coast life to the Dalhousie Arts Centre on April 8 and 9.
•   Montreal’s fabled Just For Laughs comedy festival presents Irish hot shot Tommy Tiernan at the Dalhousie Arts Centre on April 29.

Hot Dining: Roll the Dice

Need a break from the action at Casino Nova Scotia on Upper Water Street? Its Trapeze Restaurant is open daily until late, serving a variety of bar and grill favourites—nachos, burgers and more.

Hot Shopping: Lookin’ Smart

In Halifax, discerning gentlemen find their fashions at Dugger’s Men’s Wear. Located on Spring Garden Road, the popular shop offers the latest styles from Canali, Hugo Boss, Diesel and many others.

Hot Dining: Around the World

Pipa Restaurant & Bar has offered many Haligonians their first encounter with the rich flavours of Portuguese cuisine. Chef Luis Gaspar specializes in Old World and Brazilian dishes such as Moqueca (fish stew) and Feijoada (a stew of meats and black beans). Seafood dishes abound, including fresh grilled sardines. On Thursdays, it hosts Latin jazz.