Halifax Magazine July/August 2018

E D T S: I R U PR PO PL AX RE F LI L A IA H EC SP

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CONTENTS

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FEATURES

DEPARTMENTS

28 | HOT SUMMER IN HALIFAX Music, sports, family fun, and more—our favourite things to see and do in the city this summer.

Plus: road-trip ideas

7 | EDITOR’S MESSAGE Nova Scotia’s own Donald Trump might be closer than we think

32 | A LEGACY OF COMPASSION After devoting 16 years to rescuing helpless animals, Inge Sadler takes some time for herself 35 | THE WELLSPRING OF THEATRE Reflecting on Elizabeth Murphy’s legacy with Shakespeare by the Sea

46 | OPINION: YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE Tired of waiting for the long-promised Blue Mountain Birch Cove Lakes regional park?

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The winner’s name will appear in a future issue of Halifax Magazine.

11 | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Readers respond

44 | BEER: A PINT OF MARY JANE Cannabis beer will soon be legal. What does that mean for Nova Scotia’s craft breweries?

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8 | CITYSCAPE Bringing Brazilian jiu-jitsu to the city, Coronation Street’s Ken Barlow visits Halifax, creating art at the Army Museum, and more

38 | DINING: HIT THE DECK The city has many great patios—here are our favourites

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Vol. 18 No. 6 | July/August 2018

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EDITOR’S MESSAGE

It could happen here It’s 2021 and Nova Scotia is having a provincial election. Despite repeated promises of an imminent turnaround, the economy continues to slide. Power rates are among the highest in the country, gas prices reach unimagined peaks, food is more expensive than ever. Nova Scotian workers remain among the lowest paid in the country. Every politician promises tax relief, yet taxes keep going up.

Under relentless legislative assault, unions are the weakest they’ve been in a century.

Employers love the savings that come with parttime and contract workers, so thousands work without pensions and health plans, constantly scrabbling for enough gigs to pay their evermounting bills.

If an accident of DNA has put you among Nova Scotia’s upper class or you somehow bucked the odds and built a thriving business, life is pretty good. But the ranks of the working poor continue to grow. Most of the middle class live on the edge of an economic precipice, with only a layoff or an unexpected major expense away from falling into poverty.

The people governing this near-future Nova Scotia make big promises about lowering power rates and taxes, alleviating poverty. But they lie.

Despite their familiar talk, they shy away from dramatic policy changes. Their main focus seems to be protecting the status quo.

In this ideological and ethical vacuum, a new voice emerges and unexpectedly becomes leader of a political party. Perhaps they’re a city councillor with bigger ambitions or a business person who is tired of pushing their agenda from behind the scenes. Maybe they’re a former backbench MLA who has discovered how easy it is to grab the media spotlight if one has no shame or scruples.

This new leader has a rep for telling it like it is. Sure they lie sometimes, but when you remember “A doctor for every Nova Scotian” or “We will break Nova Scotia Power’s monopoly,” what’s one more lie?

This challenger is the self-described champion of the common folk. They embrace passion, fire, and crass insults thinly veiled as blunt talk. They rail about Canadian values and the creeping evil of political correctness.

This “voice of the people” insinuates that immigration and multiculturalism cause our problems. Commentators are horrified, but supporters eat it up. Emboldened, the challenger’s racism becomes more overt.

When people are frustrated and worried about the future, xenophobia is an easy sell.

Nova Scotia’s sleepily entitled political class is ill equipped to face this insurgency that begins in Hammonds Plains, Canning, or some other unlikely place and spreads across the province.

The incumbents placidly continue with their same old politics, assuming people will vote in the same old way. But in this 2021 election, voters abandon their old party lines. They laugh off the challenger’s rough edges and vote with their hearts. They vote for a promise to stick it to the liberal elites who are scapegoated for the province’s economic malaise.

And in 2021, Nova Scotia elects its own Doug Ford, its own Donald Trump— Whoops, I’m sorry. Summer editorials are supposed to be light cheerful beach reads, and this what-if story is just getting grimmer. My point is, somewhere out there, that nightmare would-be premier is just waiting for their chance, and every day Nova Scotians get poorer, that chance improves.

PHOTO: TAMMY FANCY

BY TREVOR J. ADAMS

tadams@metroguide.ca Halifax Magazine @HalifaxEditor @HalifaxMagazine

But this isn’t the only future available to us.

Politicians: now is the time to forestall this. Take tangible steps to make life better for working Nova Scotians, treat workers fairly and give them a chance to prosper, stop lying to voters, keep your promises, confront racism and xenophobia fiercely and relentlessly. Show Nova Scotians that we aren’t doomed and don’t need a pandering populist to save us.

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CONTRIBUTORS

CITYSCAPE

SARAH SAWLER “Hot summer in Halifax” Sarah is an author and awardwinning journalist whose work has appeared in such publications as Halifax Magazine, Quill & Quire, Atlantic Business Magazine, and ParentsCanada.

KIM HART MACNEILL “Hit the deck” Kim is a freelance journalist and editor of East Coast Living. Read her beer column on HalifaxMag.com. @kimhartmacneill

RICHARD WOODBURY Cityscape Richard is a writer and editor from Halifax whose work has been published

by CBC, Reuters, and the Chronicle Herald. richardwoodbury.ca

OLIVIA MALLEY Cityscape Born and raised in Dartmouth, Olivia is a student journalist currently pursuing her journalism degree at the University of King’s College.

ANDREA NEMETZ “The wellspring of theatre” Andrea has been writing about news, sports, and the arts for more than 25 years. A lover of adventure, she has done Habitat for Humanity builds around the world, sailed a 68-foot racing yacht across the Pacific, and trekked on horseback in Iceland and Peru.

CHRIS MUISE “A legacy of compassion” Chris is a freelance reporter working out of Halifax, with a particular affinity for community journalism.

Ask him about his toyrobot collection if you have about eight hours to kill.

TAMMY FANCY Photos for Editor’s Message, Cityscape Tammy has shot for East Coast Living, Bedford Magazine, Profiles for Success, and Our Children magazines, plus two cookbooks. fancyfreefoto.com

8 | halifaxmag.com JULY/AUGUST 2018

COMBAT SPORTS

Changing lives with grit STORY AND PHOTOS BY RICHARD WOODBURY

When Josh Whalen and Joel Jacquard were setting up the Halifax Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Society, their motivations were simple. “We just wanted our own mat space,” says Whalen. For practitioners of jiu-jitsu in Halifax, there are limited opportunities for them to train as the gyms that offer lessons also share spaces with other martial arts. Whalen thought about setting the operation up inside his home, but there wasn’t enough room, so they ended up renting space on Cornwallis Street in North End Halifax, which opened late last year.

Another thing that was important was how to set up the gym’s business structure. “A lot of people are in the martial art business to make money and I saw how that could create problems because once it becomes a money thing , it’s not about the student’s progression so much as it’s about the overhead and making a living,” says Whalen. “You’re more worried about getting a dollar out of a student than enriching their lives.”

As a result, the business was set up as a non-profit society, meaning that any profits get poured back into it and its directors can’t touch a penny. Whalen and Jacquard bear any cost overruns. In exchange for some mats to train on, they say they’re happy to cover any deficits.

But so far, the society has been generating a profit. (Spryfield Judo Kai is another local non-profit martial-arts group).

For Whalen and Jacquard, running the gym is a hobby. Whalen works with the defence department and Jacquard is a sheriff at Halifax provincial court.

Jacquard says his co-workers think he’ll leave his job because of the gym. “And they’re like, ‘Why are you doing it?’” says Jacquard. “Because I love it.”

Jocelyn Little, 13, has been doing jiujitsu for 5.5 years. When the Halifax Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Society opened up, she started training there as she’d worked with some of the trainers before. In particular, she names one of the female instructors, Christine Fader,

as being a big influence on her. “It’s somebody I can look up to, relate to, have a lot of conversations about our problems that we face and she’s older and more experienced, I can ask her about how I can experience the same thing she did,” says Little, who trains six days a week.

Little has high praise for the gym, noting its cleanliness and organization. She says that as a female, practising jiu-jitsu is tough because it’s a maledominated sport. “Whereas I’m one of the younger ones, well, the youngest one there and I’m really small, I thought at the start a lot of people wouldn’t want to go [train] with me, the coaches are very protective and treat me like another adult, which is really cool.”

THE PITCH

Teichert Gallery In this space, Halifax Magazine invites local non-profit organizations to share what they do and how readers can help.

If you know an organization that would like to share its story, email the editor.

Instructor Christine Fader (in front, wearing black).

Josh Whalen (left), Joel Jacquard (right).

When you purchase original art from Teichert Gallery in Halifax, three amazing things happen: your walls look beautiful, local artists earn a living, and all profits are donated to the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia to buy public art.

So why is original art so popular?

Halifax-based artist Jeremy Vaughan believes there’s something so alive about art. “To me, there’s a story behind every painting,” he says. “It’s like a window in time. And if it’s local, even better.”

Andrea Smith, executive director of Teichert, agrees. “Local subjects are very popular, including urban, rural, coastal, and woodland,” she says.

“Clients love to see Nova Scotia depicted in any style whether it’s painterly, photorealism, or abstraction.”

Through its annual sales and rentals, the non-profit gallery on Hollis Street supports over 200 artists.

To enhance the experience, Teichert created a new website to serve the worldwide market. Browsers can view, rent, buy, and ship worldwide.

Smith points out that some browsers include expatriate Nova Scotians who miss home. Rachael Duplisea, now living in Ottawa, loves being able to look for that perfect piece of home to take wherever she travels.

“As an art lover and a Nova Scotian with salt water in my veins, I may not be entirely objective, but I can truly say the selection in this collection is spectacular,” she says. “It wouldn’t be easy to choose a work or an artist here, but it would sure be fun trying.”

Learn more at teichertgallery.ca.

JULY/AUGUST 2018 halifaxmag.com | 9

CITYSCAPE ART

Turning art into a career STORY AND PHOTO BY OLIVIA MALLEY

Amy Chandler has been selling embroidered patches and hoop art since 2015, a much more successful business venture than one she tried in 2013. “[I] was selling these like really weird shorts and all the strange things I was trying to knit,” she recalls. “[It did] not go well.”

Now embroidering is Chandler’s main source of income. The 25-year-old sells her pieces on Etsy and at markets around the city. She does administrative work on the side but says that only amounts to 10% of her income. Moving from a full-time retail job and steady paycheque to being selfemployed was a big leap. “I really needed to be frugal,” she says. “It was definitely scary at the time.”

When Chandler creates patches she embroiders onto durable fabric like cotton

10 | halifaxmag.com JULY/AUGUST 2018

or canvas and attaches felt to the back.

Before embroidering, she tried things like knitting and crochet but found it hard to finish projects. With embroidering she was finally able to finish pieces. That is when she knew she had to stick with it.

She chose embroidery because the materials are inexpensive and it doesn’t require a lot of talent to get started.

Embroidering also fits her love of textile art. “My mother made quilts and my sister makes her own clothes so I guess [textile] was always around me,” says Chandler.

Embroidered clothing is currently in style, with stores like Forever 21, Stitches, and American Eagle selling embroidered jackets and pants. Chandler believes this is because trends always come back around, saying embroidered patches were a big

thing in the 1970s and ’80s. She also believes it is because people are embracing crafting and making their own unique garments.

Each piece Chandler creates takes a different amount of time. Her three-inch hoops usually take around four hours and some bigger ones take eight. Her biggest piece, on a 10-inch hoop, took close to 45 hours. Her style incorporates lots of hearts, flowers, and other natural themes, depicted in a mixture of threads and beads.

Mariam Phillips, who bought one of Chandler’s pieces, finds her work impressive.

“When she put up the hoops [on Etsy] with the different hearts I was so excited,” she says. “I was expecting a baby in February and I needed one more thing for his room.

It fits in perfectly. You can just tell it took time and thought to make.”

LETTER TO THE EDITOR BEFORE THE SOU’WESTER [Regarding “50 years on the rocks,” July 2018.] My parents started the restaurant that today is known as Sou’wester. It was called Light View Tearoom when my parents sold it to Jack and Elaine Campbell.

I can assure you that it was no lunch counter. Tom Mason should have gotten all the facts. My mother is still alive and so are myself and my siblings and when my sister and myself read this story we were not very happy. The Campbells never really tell the story of Light View Tearoom and the fact that if there was never a Light View Tearoom there never would have been a Sou’wester. There also never would have been a Light View Tearoom if there was not a knock on our house door and a pot of stew on the stove.

Tom missed the real story.

Rick Morash, Dartmouth, N.S. Editor’s note: Tom Mason wrote the story he was assigned. The story was specifically about John Campbell and his ownership of the Sou’wester. It was not presented as a comprehensive history of the property. The story has been updated at halifaxmag.com to reflect the lunch counter/tearoom clarification.

RESPOND Amy Chandler

To comment on something you’ve read in Halifax Magazine, email your letter (300 words maximum) to tadams@metroguide.ca. We edit letters for grammar and clarity. Also reach us via Twitter (@HalifaxMagazine) or Facebook (“Halifax Magazine”).

OLDER

tadams@metroguide.ca Halifax Magazine @HalifaxEditor @HalifaxMagazine

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CITYSCENE ARMY MUSEUM THROUGHOUT THE SEASON, ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE RICHARD RUDNICKI IS WORKING IN THE ARMY MUSEUM AT HALIFAX CITADEL, CREATING DETAILED WORKS DEPICTING NOVA SCOTIAN SOLDIERS’ EXPERIENCES.

Work on the murals continues throughout the season.

PHOTOS: TAMMY FANCY

Army Museum curator Ken Hynes.

Army Museum artist-in-residence Richard Rudnicki.

Army Museum president Bruce GIlchrist (left) and Halifax Magazine editor Trevor J. Adams.

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RECENTLY, ACTOR WILLIAM ROACH (AKA KEN BARLOW OF CORONATION STREET FAME) VISITED HALIFAX FOR AN INTIMATE Q&A WITH FANS AT SPATZ THEATRE.

Fans share their Coronation Street treasures.

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Q&A host Neville MacKay (left) and William Roach.

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ADAM REID, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF HALIFAX PRIDE, SAYS 2017 WAS THE FIRST TIME ORGANIZERS HIT THE PAUSE BUTTON AND REFLECTED ON HOW THE FESTIVAL COULD BE IMPROVED. AS A RESULT, LAST YEAR’S FESTIVAL WAS MUCH MORE DIVERSE AND INCLUSIVE, AND HE’S LOOKING FORWARD TO AN EVEN BIGGER, BETTER FESTIVAL THIS SUMMER.

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JULY 19–29 2018 Halifax Pride continues to grow LOOK FOR NEW EVENTS, AND PLENTY OF OLD FAVOURITES Halifax Pride had its struggles leading up to last year’s festival, as the committee introduced changes designed to restore unity and put together a festival that was more reflective of the local LGBTQ2+ community.

Adam Reid, executive director of Halifax Pride, says that was the first time organizers hit the pause button and reflected on how the festival could be improved. As a result, last year’s festival was much more diverse and inclusive, and he’s looking forward to an even bigger, better festival this summer.

He says this year’s theme, “Because of you,” is connected to the theme Halifax Pride used for the previous two years: “This is why.”

“It’s a bit of a call to action to signal to our community where our priorities lie,” Reid says. “We, as individuals and organizers, are not the festival. We just help to guide it. The festival can only happen because of our community members and the experience they bring to the festival. They are the festival.”

Building on last year’s success, Reid says Halifax Pride will continue what worked well, such as holding the Pride Parade on the first weekend, not the last, and expand upon it.

The popular Dykes vs. Divas softball game will return July 29, and Reid says they’re expanding it by adding a large beverage area, appropriately called “The Out Field.”

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The Saturday night block party (July 29) on Gottingen Street is going to be bigger than ever, with a full community market, beverage garden, food trucks, and a festival stage with drag shows, karaoke, and performances by Mo Kenney.

It wouldn’t be Pride without the epic dance parties, Bump and Grind. Reid says Bump will kick off the festival with “a gigantic drag spectacular” on July 19 on the Garrison Grounds. Grind will take place after the Pride Parade on July 21, running from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Halifax Pride’s youth committee has grown and its members are organizing a huge game of Humans vs. Zombies tag at the Shambala School on July 24.

“There are lots of great events, so I’d encourage anyone to come out, see what’s happening and try something new,” Reid says.

One of the biggest new events will be the first-ever Halifax Pride Comedy Night, which will take place at Citadel High’s Spatz Theatre. Reid says it will be an allfemale-identified lineup, including Carolyn Taylor from CBC’s Baroness von Sketch Show. This is unusual in the male-dominated world of stand-up comedy.

The colourful, glitterpacked Pride Parade through downtown Halifax is always the biggest event of the festival, and while the parade itself isn’t changing, it’s going to be able to be experienced in a brandnew way. Reid says organizers

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are adding new features to make it more accessible.

“The noise and the crowds can feel overwhelming to some people, so we’ll have a low-sensory zone at the Halifax Central Library for folks to have a quiet space to watch the parade,” Reid says.

“We’ll also have a described viewing area for people with visual impairments, so they can listen to someone describe everything as it goes by.”

Although the parade is a celebration and all-out party, there will be solemn moments, such as the empty car that will represent the parade’s honourary ambassador, Asher MacDonald.

The local LGBTQ+ community is still mourning the Dartmouth activist, who passed away May 15 after surgical complications. He is remembered as a kind-hearted transgender man and fixture in Halifax’s queer community, who is credited with saving many lives through his activism.

“We will have a moment of silence at 1:45 p.m. for Asher, and to remember everyone we have lost and the hardships our community has faced,” Reid says. “It will be a time for everyone to stop what they’re doing, raise their hands in the air and reflect.”

It’s going to be a jam-packed 10 days of wildly diverse activities, but Reid says no matter which event you choose to attend, there’s going to be an undeniably special feeling in the air (and probably glitter, too).

“You really feel the community gathering together to celebrate our similarities and our differences, whether it’s at the parade or at a lecture or on the dance floor,” Reid says. “What unites us is our shared experiences, and these moments of being together are incredibly valuable.”

Local business owner to share AARON ROY WILL SPEAK ON trans journey JAY FINDING HIS ‘AUTHENTIC SELF’ ADVERTISING FEATURE

Jay Aaron Roy walks through life today as a male, but he spent his first 27 years perceived as female.

He was raised in the small HRM town of Fall River, where he says growing up had its ups and downs.

“Being raised in gendered spaces like church and school, though I don’t condone them now, provided me with essential relationships with incredible women that absolutely helped shape the man I am today,” says Roy. Today, he’s a passionate transgender advocate, entrepreneur, and the beloved owner of Cape and Cowl Comics and Collectibles in Lower Sackville, a celebrated comic shop that includes a safe space drop-in centre for local youth.

Roy is one of five speakers participating in Halifax Pride’s Evening Speaker Series, which will run for five nights (July 22 to 26).

During his talk on July 25 at the Discovery Centre, he’ll be sharing how and when he realized he was transgender and the steps he took to become his “most authentic self.”

From

“After accepting myself, I came out to my friends and family, and then my community as a transgender man at the age of 28,” Roy says. “Now, seven years later, having embraced my whole journey, I can fully appreciate the lessons I’ve learned and hopefully help others build bridges and meet people where they are in life, with love.”

Additional speakers will include two-spirited elder Ma-Nee Chacaby, who will talk about spiritual healing through art, and Haran Vijayanathan will lead a conversation on the struggles faced by South Asian and Middle Eastern individuals in the LGBTQ2+ community.

Disability awareness consultant Andrew Gurza will talk about being “a queer cripple” and start a dialogue around disability and sexuality. OmiSoore Dryden will be speaking about why anti-black racism is a queer issue and why Black, queer, and trans people don’t always find Pride celebrations welcoming.

For more information on speakers, dates, and times, visit halifaxpride.com and reference the schedule.

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2:47 PM

When social media exploded with #MeToo posts last fall, people shared emotional stories about the ways they had been sexually harassed and assaulted.

There was just one problem with the viral movement: the posts were written almost exclusively by women.

Robert Wright has been a practicing social worker for nearly 30 years, mostly within Nova Scotia, and says there’s historically been a critical lack of attention on the needs of men and boys who have suffered trauma.

He says while he certainly honours the work women have done through the #MeToo movement, it’s “time to also recognize men as sufferers of violence in domestic settings and intimate relationships.”

After stepping away from a provincial government role in 2011, he fulfilled a longtime goal of putting out a shingle saying he treats male victimization. That led to him launching ManTalk, a confidential,

By Liz

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ManTalk CONTINUED

emotionally supportive group for male-identifying victims of sexual abuse.

Wright and the members of ManTalk are the Parade Ambassadors at this year’s Halifax Pride Festival, and he says he’s looking forward to shining a spotlight on sexual abuse.

“This year, Halifax Pride wanted to put a bit of focus on the #MeToo movement around consent and sexual violence, and we hope to raise the profile of the need for us to be attentive to male victimization issues,” Wright says.

On the first and third Wednesday of each month, ManTalk members gather

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in Halifax to share stories and help each other heal. Wright says a recent discussion was about why they attend the professionallysupported meetings, and they wrote the following purpose statement to clarify their collective feelings: “We are men who share the experience of having been sexually abused. We come to ManTalk to seek healing from the sexual trauma that we have suffered and to rebuild the areas of our lives that have been broken. We come to ManTalk to break the silence that surrounds us and to serve as reminders to each other and to other men that healing is possible and does happen.”

Wright runs a non-profit organization called The People’s Counselling Clinic that’s designed to meet the needs of people who require counselling but aren’t readily served by the public mental health systems.

He will be speaking at the flag-raising as well as the parade, and plans to have a booth on the parade grounds if people want to speak with him about his services.

“This is not something that exclusively happens to queer or trans or intersex men, although statistically they’re more likely to report such abuses, possibly because once you’ve dealt with the slings and arrows that come from being a sexual minority, it’s easier to come out as a person who’s been victimized,” Wright says. “We certainly see a lot of straight men with these histories of abuse. Everyone is welcome in ManTalk.”

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COMMUNITY-BASED RESEARCH CENTRE FOR GAY MEN’S HEALTH CONDUCTING IMPORTANT SURVEY, STUDY Pride is a perfect excuse to spend 10 days getting dressed up and dancing until you’re sweaty, but there are also opportunities to make a positive impact on the LGBTQ2+ community worldwide.

This year, the Community-Based Research Centre for Gay Men’s Health (CBRC) is participating in Halifax Pride for the first time. Originating in B.C., the CBRC has recently taken on a national mandate with their mission to develop knowledge about gay men’s health and to develop interventions addressing health and social issues.

After the Pride Parade at Garrison Grounds, and at some other events during the festival, members of their team will be partnering with the AIDS Coalition of Nova Scotia to conduct a survey on the health of gay, bi, two-spirit, and queer men (inclusive of trans men).

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31st FESTIVAL

JULY 19–29 2018

Nicknamed the “gay census,” this is the SexNow 2018 survey that asks questions about different aspects of their daily lives to better understand the issues affecting communities across Canada.

The survey is now tackling big issues, like the policy that prevents blood donation by a man who has had sex with men in the past 12 months. CBRC strongly believes the policy is discriminatory and not reflective of current science, so this year’s survey is an attempt to provide evidence to have the ban lifted.

To be eligible to participate in the study, men will need to complete a series of questions and consent to giving a blood sample (either on their own, or with the help of a trained volunteer).

CBRC will also be participating in a panel discussion on July 25 at the Halifax Central Library as part of Halifax Pride’s lunchtime lecture series. They’ll be there to support local activists in their push to increase the accessibility of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), a pill that reduces risk of HIV transmission.

“A lot of people aren’t aware that there’s a drug that can reduce your risk of HIV by up to 99 per cent,” says Matthew Numer, an assistant professor of Health Promotion at Dalhousie University. “This is another tool in our toolbox that can really go a long way.

Oral PrEP contains two antiretroviral drugs that are also used for HIV treatment: tenofovir (TDF) and emtricitabine (FTC).

The daily use of both drugs has been approved by Health Canada to reduce the risk of the sexual transmission of HIV in combination with safer sex practices in people at high risk for HIV infection.

When London and San Francisco made PrEP accessible, Numer says there was nearly a 40 per cent drop in new HIV infections. He’ll be attending Halifax Pride again this year to speak about the benefits of PrEP and answer questions about what the drug can do.

“This has the potential to be a real gamechanger, and we want to share that with as many people as possible.”

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| COVER STORY |

hot summer in

HALIFAX

BY SARAH SAWLER

OUR FAVOURITE THINGS TO SEE AND DO IN THE CITY THIS SUMMER (+ FUN ROAD-TRIP IDEAS) Don’t be fooled by those “well actually, I love the snow” types: everyone knows summer is the best time of year. There’s so much to see and do, you could easily overlook some gems.

We’re here to help.

Chester Race Week

Port-Royal National Historic Site

ALL SUMMER LONG TUESDAY NIGHT TUNES AT THE MARITIME MUSEUM Continuing through August 28 This concert series is back for another summer of live music on the Halifax waterfront. The schedule includes guitarist Vladimir Sitnikov, folk duo Ragged Robin, and singersongwriter David Bradshow. maritimemuseum.novascotia.ca/ events

FIN OUTDOOR July 6, July 13, July 20 Every year, the team at FIN Outdoor (formerly known as the Outdoor Film Festival) dream up a fantastic new summer theme for their outdoor movie screenings. This year, we’re flailing our arms Kermit-style for the “Summer of Henson.” finfestival.ca/fin-outdoor

28 | halifaxmag.com JULY/AUGUST 2018

DARTMOUTH CONCERT BAND’S SUMMER CONCERT SERIES July 12–August 18 Check out the 50-member Dartmouth Concert Band as they spend the summer traveling around the region playing everything from pop music to marches. facebook.com/pg/ dartmouthconcertband/events

SEAS THE DAY: BOOKS AT THE BEACH July 13–August 31 Imagine spending long summer days relaxing on the beach, book in hand, waves breaking nearby.

Isn’t that what a Maritime summer is for? Make it a reality by checking out Seas the Day at Rainbow Haven. Halifax Public Libraries will supply the books, you supply the sunscreen. halifax.bibliocommons.com/ events

LISTEN UP

SONG AND DANCE

NEPTUNE THEATRE July 3–29 Singer/songwriter Ian Sherwood hosts The Argyle St. Kitchen Party, an evening of song and stories with guests that include Mo Kenney (July 17–19), and Christine Campbell (July 24, 25). neptunetheatre.com

MARITIME METAL AND HARD ROCK FESTIVAL July 6–7 Break out the devil horns for this year’s Maritime Metal and Hard Rock Festival featuring special guests Obey the Brave (Montreal), plus 20 bands from across the Maritimes. maritimemetalfest.com

MARITIME FIDDLE FESTIVAL July 6–9 Take a break from kitchen parties and go outside for Canada’s “longest running old-time fiddle festival and competition.” This year’s festival will take place at the East Dartmouth Community Centre. maritimefiddlefestival.ca

HALIFAX SUMMER OPERA FESTIVAL July 18–August 12 With a fully staged and costumed production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Mozart’s Don Giovanni topping the roster, this year’s Halifax Opera Festival is going to be a big one. Don’t miss it. halifaxsummeroperafestival.com

TRUNK 7 MUSIC FESTIVAL July 20–21 Visit Peace Park in Musquodoboit Harbour and enjoy performances by Joel Plaskett, Christine Campbell, The Town Heroes, and much more. trunk7musicfestival.com

HALIFAX URBAN FOLK FESTIVAL August 31–September 2 Intimate musical performances in 10 of Halifax’s best bars and restaurants. What more could you ask for? This year’s festival features 49 artists, including Rose Cousins, The Dave Sampson Band, and The Olympic Symphonium. halifaxurbanfolkfestival.com

Nancy Wilson Chaka Khan

HALIFAX JAZZ FESTIVAL July 10–15 The 2018 edition of JazzFest looks set to defend its undisputed title as Halifax’s hottest festival, with a lineup that includes Chaka Kahn, Whitehorse, The War on Drugs, Daniel Caesar, Molly Johnson, Matt Andersen & The Mellotones, Charlotte Day Wilson, Nicholas Payton, Jeri Brown, Dub Kartel, and many more. Free concerts include matinees on the waterfront, shows at libraries around the city, performances at Hydrostone Park and the Dartmouth Peace Pavilion. Ticketed evening shows at the waterfront main stage, St. Matthew’s Church, The Carleton, and more. halifaxjazzfestival.ca

AN EVENING OF MUSIC FROM AROUND THE WORLD July 18 Short on cash this summer but still want to take in the best the city has to offer?

Start with this free concert at Dalhousie Arts Centre, featuring world-renowned pianist David Glen Hatch and his fourteen “awardwinning and internationally performing friends and protégés.” novascotia.com/events/festivals-andevents/summer-concert-an-evening-ofmusic-from-around-the-world/-4513

THORGY AND THE THORCHESTRA July 27–28 The announcement of this fun-filled performance by Thorgy Thor of RuPaul’s Drag Race fame was so enthusiastically received Symphony Nova Scotia added a second performance. ’Nuff said. symphonynovascotia.ca/concerts-andtickets/concerts/rebecca-cohn-auditorium/ thorgy-and-the-thorchestra/

MI’KMAW DANCER AND SINGER TREVOR GOULD July 30–31 Powwow dancer Trevor Gould talks about Mi’kmaw culture at Cole Harbour, Keshan Goodman, and Halifax North Memorial libraries. He’ll also perform songs, dances, and drumming. halifax.bibliocommons.com/events

The Stanfields

Thorgy Thor

COVERED! AT THE SEAHORSE TAVERN August 10 Four random bands will be chosen by lottery to play alongside a surprise headliner covering local favourites like Wintersleep, Buck 65, The Superfriendz, and The Rankin Family. Honestly, this will probably turn out to be the most entertaining event on this whole list. facebook.com/events/191177184809753/

ROADCASE ROYALE August 15 Nancy Wilson’s coming straight on for you, Halifax, and she’s bringing Liv Warfield and the rest of Roadcase Royale along for the ride. Catch this incredible act at the Dalhousie Arts Centre. facebook.com/events/318723005325186/

David Glen Hatch

Jeri Brown

JULY/AUGUST 2018 halifaxmag.com | 29

HAVE SOME FUN PEGGY’S COVE AREA FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS July 4–16 Something for art lovers of

HALIFAX INTERNATIONAL BUSKER FESTIVAL August 1–6 Head to the Halifax

all ages, including a Studio Tour, a Gala Reception, and the ever-popular Paint Peggy’s Cove (July 14–16), bringing dozens of local artists to the village to ply their craft. peggyscoveareafestivalofthearts.com

Waterfront to see a whole bunch of talented people doing stuff you would never dream of doing yourself. This longtime festival features fire eaters, contortionists, comedians, illusionists, and more. buskers.ca

EAST COAST KITE FESTIVAL July 7 Whether you’re a kite aficionado, or you just want to relive some fond childhood memories, grab a kite, and some friends or family members and head to Citadel for a day of high-flying fun. facebook.com/ events/1913963248916683/ Africa Festival of Arts and Culture

KNOW YOUR NEIGHBOURS LEBANESE FESTIVAL July 5–8 Enjoy dancing, music, and of course, food at this free cultural event held annually at the Olympic Community Centre. lebanesefestival.ca

HALIFAX PRIDE FESTIVAL July 19–29 Always a summer highlight, the Pride Festival includes a wide range of events across the city. This year, the parade will take place on July 21st. halifaxpride.com

HALIFAX SEAPORT BEERFEST August 10–11 Mandatory event for beer aficionados: some 110 producers pour 300 different beers and ciders, featuring the best local and international craft creations. New this year: Icelandic beers. seaportbeerfest.com

CLAM HARBOUR SANDCASTLE COMPETITION August 12 Spend the day on the Eastern shore and check out the best sand sculptures on the East Coast. Sea monsters, mermaids, and castles fit for sandy royalty, they’ve got it all. facebook.com/ events/1029322030543408/

WWE LIVE August 25 The “Superstars of Smackdown Live” come to the Halifax Forum for an evening of pro wrestling. halifaxforum.ca/events-1/wwe-live-tickets-on-sale-fri-june-2nd-2017

AFRICA FESTIVAL OF ARTS AND CULTURE July 20–22 Held at Sackville Landing on the Halifax Waterfront, Afrifest includes dance workshops, drumming, a craft and food area, and musical performances by Carson Downey, African Queens, Bobomusique Band, and more. afacs.org

MOSAIC FESTIVAL August 18 This brand new, one-day festival bills itself as “a new multicultural festival for Halifax.” Highlights will include a parade, concerts, and a chef’s corner. mosaicfestival.ca

ABOVE: Halifax Seaport BeerFest

15TH NORTHERN LIGHTS LANTERN FESTIVAL August 11 (rain date August 16) Show your love for Halifax’s North End by attending this award-winning event at Merv Sullivan Park. nllf.org

30 | halifaxmag.com JULY/AUGUST 2018

LEFT: Mighty Mike

| COVER STORY |

ROAD TRIPPIN’

David Myles

FESTIVAL ANTIGONISH SUMMER THEATRE Continuing through summer

Girls on Boards

DO SOME GOOD GIRLS ON BOARDS WOMEN’S STAND UP PADDLE BOARDING TRIP July 13–August 17 Get out on the water and test your balance and your endurance as you spend four hours navigating the St. Margaret’s Bay coast. All proceeds are used to sponsor stand-up paddle-boarding trips for Nova Scotian teens. girlsonboards.co

TAIL CHASE 5K RESCUE RUN July 15 Walk or run, solo or with a fourlegged friend and raise money for Marley’s Hope Dog Rescue at Shubie Park this summer. raceroster.com/events/2018/14004/tailchase-5k-rescue-run

2018 MOTIONBALL MARATHON OF SPORT HALIFAX July 21 Grab a few friends and raise some money to participate in this amazing event in support of the Special Olympics Canada Foundation. motionball.com/events/2018-motionballmarathon-sport-halifax/

Want an excuse to spend a couple of days in Antigonish? There are plenty of good reasons to go, and this amazing summer theatre festival is one of the best. It includes Burnin’ Love by Sharon Bajer and Big Sister, Little Brother by Mike Kenny. festivalantigonish.ca

MI’KMAW CULTURE DAY July 15 This one’s the perfect day trip!

Take a picturesque drive through the Annapolis Valley to Port-Royal National Historic Site in Granville Ferry. Spend the day chatting with Mi’kmaw craftspeople and checking out a range of demonstrations from singing to drumming. pc.gc.ca/en/lhn-nhs/ns/portroyal/activ/ special

14TH ANNUAL ACOUSTIC MARITIME MUSIC FESTIVAL July 19–22 Billed as “everything from blues, folk, country and jazz to Texas swing, all done through microphones as much as possible and not electronically augmented,” this is one for the musical purists. Don’t forget your tent! kemptshorefestivals.com

SOUTH SHORE EXHIBITION July 24–29 They’ve got a parade. They’ve got a demolition derby. They’ve got a talent show for kids. And they’ve got The Stanfields.

Just give us one good reason not to go. thebigex.com

STAN ROGERS FOLK FESTIVAL July 26–29 Almost 30 performers will take the stage at Stanfest in Canso this year. The headliners are Ashley MacIsaac, Matt Anderson, and Suzy Boggess, but that’s just the beginning. As always, the festival will showcase a range of performers such as Grace Petrie, Makayla Lynn, David Myles, Rawlins Cross. stanfest.com

LUNENBURG FOLK HARBOUR FESTIVAL August 9–12 Spend a couple of days on the South Shore this summer and take in performances by performers like Martha Wainwright, Ruthie Foster, and Earle and Coffin. folkharbour.com

CHESTER RACE WEEK 2018 August 15–18 This one’s so popular you’re probably already going. Race Week’s got it all: sailing, food trucks, and live music performances that go on until the wee hours of the morning. chesterraceweek.com

ROCK THE HUB August 24–26 If you love rock, you need to go to Truro this summer: I Mother Earth, Big Wreck, Sloan, Adam Baldwin, Jessie Brown, Matt Mays, Christine Campbell.

Seriously. Just go. rockthehub.ca

WHARF RAT RALLY August 29–September 2 Last year alone, 21,870 visitors rolled into Digby on 8,020 motorcycles. If you ride, you don’t want to miss the biggest Atlantic Canadian motorcycling event of the year. wharfratrally.com

tadams@metroguide.ca Halifax Magazine @HalifaxEditor @HalifaxMagazine

Peggys Cove Area Festival of the Arts JULY/AUGUST 2018 halifaxmag.com | 31

| FEATURE |

AFTER DEVOTING 16 YEARS TO RESCUING HELPLESS ANIMALS, INGE SADLER TAKES SOME TIME FOR HERSELF STORY AND PHOTOS

BY CHRIS MUISE

Pizza platters slowly pile up, and banners, napkins, and place settings emblazoned with “happy retirement” are strewn about Freeman’s Little New York in Lower Sackville. It’s Inge Sadler’s retirement party.

Not from her part-time administrative role at Vetcetera Animal Hospital in Bedford, but from her role as the president and principle volunteer of the Pick of the Litter Society, a rescue organization Sadler started 16 years ago dedicated to nursing yet-unweaned orphan kittens.

Sadler’s boss, vet Emma Raghavan, hosts the party. She recalls her first encounter with Sadler.

“I was doing some banking business at the bank she worked at, and I hear kittens,” she says. “I thought maybe I was losing my mind.” The teller pointed out Sadler at the customer-service table.

“Inge had little kittens in a carrier.”

That was 14 years ago. Sadler has since come to partner with Vetcetera to offer free exams, and eventually, discounted spays and neuters to Pick of the Litter adoptees.

Sadler has nursed some 6,000 orphaned kittens, alongside a few puppies and the occasional squirrel. Many have gone to the people turning up at the party on this day.

“We adopted one, Quillan,” says Coralee Loudry, who’s with her 16-year-old daughter Olivia. “As a kitten, he was bald. He had lost some of his fur but I kept saying that he was going to grow up to be handsome.”

“I have two of her kittens, myself,” says Raghavan.

Almost everyone here has a story like this. That any of the animals are alive today, enjoying life

with a loving family, testifies to Sadler’s dedication. Rearing bottle babies is not for the faint of heart.

Sadler has acquired several incubators over the years, which she uses to keep newborns warm at an age when mom would normally help regulate their body temperature. “It’s not a nine-to-five job,” says Raghavan. “She would be up through the night feeding these kittens, for 16 years. It was a huge commitment.”

“When they’re that young, you can’t leave them, because they need to be fed every three hours,” says Olivia. “They don’t even pee on their own, so you have to stimulate them to pee,” Coralee adds.

They speak from experience. The Musquoboit Harbour family have done a lot of fostering for Pick of the Litter in recent years. Olivia was just 10 when she decided to give Sadler a hand. “I think she was kind of overrun by bottle babies, so we offered to take some,” Olivia recalls.

Finding people able to rear bottle babies was hard for years, which is one reason Pick of the Litter was something of a one-woman show for so long. But over time, a support network developed, made up of foster families, spay and neuter advocates, donators, and even drivers.

“She would have posts on Facebook, ‘for urgent drive from Yarmouth,’” says Raghavan. “Her impact has been province-wide.”

Even with a wide net of support, Sadler attempted to retire before without success. She wasn’t confident there were enough bottle-feeders who could fill her shoes if she tried. Today, Sadler— fashionably late to her own soiree—is happy to

A LEGACY “INGE’S MY HERO. SHE’S A FREAKIN’ SAINT.” —JUDITH GILES LEFT: Pick of the Litter will continue on, with Sadler specializing in special needs cases like Abby, who was born with a cleft palate.

RIGHT: Dr. Emma Raghavan (bottom right) and the staff of Vetcetera threw a party to celebrate Sadler’s (bottom left) work.

32 | halifaxmag.com JULY/AUGUST 2018

Sadler hand-reared over 6,000 orphaned bottle-baby kittens.

A room in Sadler’s basement was converted into a kitten nursery, with holding pens and incubators lining the walls.

After 16 years and many sleepless nights, Sadler is looking forward to resting and recharging.

OF COMPASSION say that this has changed for the better. “The SPCA has stepped up and agreed to take on all the newborns,” says Sadler.

“We’re all ... trained in bottle baby fostering,” says Heather Woodin, administrative and programs coordinator for the SPCA provincewide. “Each one of our shelters has an incubator on-site now, across the province. Many of those incubators we got from Inge.”

Sadler rearing the province’s newborns let other rescue organizations focus on raising awareness for population control. “The population’s starting to come down, people’s views are changing on the importance of spay and neuter,” says Woodin.

Fewer births mean fewer orphans (Sadler figures she only had three or four kittens from the Halifax area last year), which allowed the SPCA to take on

JULY/AUGUST 2018 halifaxmag.com | 33

| FEATURE |

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Sadler’s slack. “This is going to be the first year without having Inge to fully rely on,” says Woodin. But it’s still going to take a lot of volunteers willing to foster bottle babies going forward. “The SPCA is a huge organization that’s developed about 50 different people we’re thinking, at least, to fill those shoes.”

Freeman’s is soon packed with friends, well-wishers, fellow cat advocates, and bottle-baby adopters eager to wish Sadler well. The Spay Day Society and the Tuxedo Party of Canada were on-hand to present Sadler with certificates of excellence and tokens of appreciation, while others were just there to tell her how she made a difference in their lives.

“Inge’s my hero,” says Judith Giles, who says her Pick of the Litter adoptee Lady would have died of exposure, starvation, or any number of feline maladies if not for Sadler. “She’s a freakin’ saint.

Somebody like Inge becomes my reminder that there’s good-natured, good-hearted, generous people in this world.”

Though anyone who knows Sadler knows that for her, “retirement” only goes so far. The other guest of honour, Abby, acts as a reminder that Pick of the Litter isn’t going anywhere, it’s just evolving.

“She’s three months old, she’s a boxer,” says Sadler. “She has a cleft palette and a cleft lip, and she’s deaf. So she needs tube feeding.”

Sadler will continue to take on special needs cases like Abby, but that will still afford her plenty of time for herself. “For my 60th birthday, I’m going to go to Germany,” says Sadler. “I’m going to be in the same room in the same house that I was born in on the day that I turn 60.”

Retirement is “going to be different, but in a good way,” Sadler continues. “I’ll get to sleep at night.”

34 | halifaxmag.com JULY/AUGUST 2018

tadams@metroguide.ca

Halifax Magazine

@HalifaxEditor @HalifaxMagazine

| FEATURE |

THE WELLSPRING OF THEATRE REFLECTING ON ELIZABETH MURPHY’S LEGACY WITH SHAKESPEARE BY THE SEA

BY ANDREA NEMETZ

Elizabeth Murphy remembers the moment she fell in love.

Reading Henry IV, Part I in Grade 9, she tumbled head over heels for the Bard. “I thought ‘What an amazing thing, what a glorious play,’” she recalls over a cup of tea in a North End café. “It began my interest in Shakespeare.”

Born in Salisbury, England, Murphy immigrated to Vancouver with her parents at 3.5 years old. From the start theatre filled her heart. “I danced with many scarves while my father played guitar and banjo,” she says. “I did my first play in Grade 1.”

Murphy parlayed her fascination with the stage into a career, studying in the pioneering University of British Columbia theatre program and acting for many years in Toronto. Among her credits was Theatre Passe Muraille’s controversial show I Love You, Baby Blue, in which actors appeared nude.

She spent three years at the Stratford Festival in Ontario, where she met her husband, the late Patrick Christopher Carter. They moved to Halifax in 1988 when Dalhousie recruited Carter to teach theatre.

Murphy’s days were full of voiceover work, a Christmas show at Neptune Theatre, and getting to know her new home.

The couple were walking through Point Pleasant Park when they discovered the Cambridge Battery. “And I thought, ‘I wonder if they do Shakespeare here?’” she says.

In May 1994, they joined with the late Jean Morpurgo to stage Twelfth Night in the park over the July 1 weekend. Among the actors they recruited were John Beale (now working in Toronto), Irene Poole (who is part of the company at the Stratford Festival), Dartmouth actor/writer Josh MacDonald, Steve Manuel, and Regina Fitzgerald.

JULY/AUGUST 2018 halifaxmag.com | 35

| FEATURE |

PHOTO: JESSE MACLEAN

Elizabeth Murphy directs The Merchant of Venice in 2014.

Matthew Kennedy (left) as Mercutio in the 1997 production of Romeo and Juliet.

The 2003 company performed Coriolanus, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Hamlet, and Peter Pan.

36 | halifaxmag.com JULY/AUGUST 2018

But they weren’t sure if there would be an audience. At 6:30 p.m. on opening night Murphy remembers nervously looking out at about 20 people and wondering if they should cancel.

People had problems finding their way to the open-air stage but eventually more than 750 showed up to witness an unconventional take on the Shakespearean comedy complete with Elvis Presley songs and actors dressed in white.

After the show Murphy was holding a cardboard box while talking to a friend.

“People started throwing money in it,” she marvels at the memory. “By the end of the night, we had $300. I thought it was an omen and we registered Shakespeare by the Sea Theatre Society at the Registry of Joint Stocks.”

Murphy became the general manager of the non-profit theatre company that has performed for more than 350,000 people since that first summer. She got the job by default: there was no money to hire anyone else.

“I don’t think I would have been interested in being the GM of a theatre unless it was mine,” she says. “My interest in the position was because I believed in what the company could do for the city. I think having a theatre company that does Shakespeare is really important, because Shakespeare is like the wellspring of theatre. No matter how many times you do Shakespeare you find something new, because he’s writing humanity. Not a lot of places do Shakespeare and it’s imperative to keep that beautiful language alive.”

Twenty-five years later she’s still at the helm of Shakespeare by the Sea (SBTS), now co-artistic director with Jesse MacLean.

MacLean, a Cole Harbour native, was hired to work with Christopher Carter as an assistant director straight out of theatre school at Bishop’s University in 2003. His role with the company expanded after Christopher Carter died suddenly of a stroke in 2005.

The co-founders didn’t expect the company to be as popular as it was, quickly attracting a big audience, notes MacLean, who became co-artistic director in 2011.

Murphy recalls feeling like a rock star watching an audience of 2,500 during an early production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream starring Jennie Raymond, Ben Stone, Ryan Rogerson, and Genevieve Steele, in which fairies flitted in and out of the woods.

The company has remained true to its core ideal of making theatre accessible to everyone, says MacLean, who directs most of the productions. He has even directed Murphy in All’s Well That Ends Well and Richard III. Murphy has helmed a dozen shows over the years, including Othello in 2008 for which she was nominated for a Merritt Award for best direction. “It’s interesting to watch her approach directing from an actor’s point of view,” says MacLean. “Elizabeth has been there every day for the whole 25 years. The company is made of her blood sweat and tears. She’s had a lot of experience in Canadian theatre and her passion for classical theatre and Shakespeare is incredible.”

SBTS has launched hundreds of artists’ careers. “We’ve given out more than 350 artist contracts,” MacLean says. “Once they’ve been through a season with SBTS they are truly ready for anything. They get up there in the beautiful park in rain, mud and sun and make Shakespeare accessible to people.”

One of those artists is Patricia Zentilli. The Halifax native starred with the company in 1996 shortly after graduating from Dalhousie Theatre School.

That year the company, which included many of her classmates, staged Hamlet at the Martello Tower. Zentilli was Ophelia to Jim Fowler’s Hamlet and audiences were treated to the memorable sight of Zentilli, as the tragic

PHOTO: JESSE MACLEAN

heroine, clad in a long dress, half-perched on a rock, blonde locks flowing in the water about her while Loreena McKennitt played in the background.

“It was a very exciting way to do Shakespeare,” says the actress who was nominated for a Dora Award for her role as Audrey in CanStage’s Little Shop of Horrors, directed by Ted Dykstra. She also still has a loyal fan following from her starring turn on the TV sci-fi cult series Lexx.

Zentilli now lives in Edmonton with her husband (actor and director Farren Timoteo) and their seven-year-old-son, Leonardo. She recently wrapped a production of Mamma Mia! in Edmonton and credits her SBTS experience with jumpstarting her career by putting classical credits on her resume. She believes her turn as Ophelia led to an invitation to reprise the role at Neptune Theatre several years later, one of many Neptune roles including Of Mice and Men, Grease, and Nunsense.

This season opened on July 1 and includes a return to Alice in Wonderland (the company’s most-popular children’s show), Othello (one of Murphy’s favourite plays), and Twelfth Night (a nod to that first season).

The Unrehearsed Dream, a special one-night only completely unrehearsed performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, is another nod to that first year. It closes the season on Sept. 2.

“It’s a golden season,” says Murphy. She’s starting to think about retirement, but it will be hard to let go.

After Christopher died, having the company meant even more. “It was life-giving, a reason to wake up and do something,” she says. “I still feel like it’s something I want to do every day. It’s a phenomenal thing to crave.”

“[SHAKESPEARE BY THE SEA] WAS LIFE-GIVING, A REASON TO WAKE UP AND DO SOMETHING.” —ELIZABETH MURPHY

tadams@metroguide.ca Halifax Magazine @HalifaxEditor @HalifaxMagazine

Weekly Green Cart Collection For the months of July, August, and September, green carts will be collected every week throughout the Halifax Regional Municipality.

halifax.ca/recycle JULY/AUGUST 2018 halifaxmag.com | 37

DINING

Hitthe deck

The Local

Billow Bar

As soon as the sun shines, Haligonians make tracks for a patio to soak up each and every ray over brunch, lunch, or dinner, preferably with a beverage in hand. Here are eight you don’t want to miss.

BY KIM HART MACNEILL

THE LOCAL

SALTY’S

2037 Gottingen St., Halifax | instagram.com/thelocalhfx

1877 Upper Water St., Halifax | saltys.ca

This watering hole started as the smoking room at The Marquee, but today it’s a nightspot with its own crowd, and boasts one of the city’s most comfortable patios.

No matter your patio style, you’ll be happy here. It offers an array of covered and full sun seats, plus this multifaceted patio offers two levels to let you find a quiet corner or a conversation to dive into.

The menu at The Local is causal with pizza, burgers, and pasta. We recommend the pizzas. Long a staple of The Marquee back in its early-aughts heyday, the thin crust crisps up perfectly, and the topping list runs from spicy to sweet, meaty or vegetarian.

You’ll find macros and locals on tap here, including Horse Power, the bar’s house beer made by neighbour Propeller Brewing Company.

Happy hour runs 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. daily. Inside you’ll find pool and Ping-Pong tables, but who wants to be inside?

Locals often avoid this seafood stop, labelling it a tourist spot. But they’re missing out.

Salty’s is about as close as you can get to the harbour while drinking a beer without actually getting in the water. The wrap-around patio borders the boardwalk, which means ample people watching and cruiseship spotting. Most tables have umbrellas, and the staff don’t mind moving one should your perfect table come with too much direct sun.

The restaurant doesn’t accept patio reservations, so get there early.

The patio and grill offer a mix of pub grub and casual local seafood, while the second floor offers a more refined menu. The casual menu covers all the bases, from fried fare like calamari and fish and chips to Maple Atlantic Salmon and lobster. Also on the list are pizza, burgers, wraps, and salads galore, plus gluten-free and vegetarian options.

This harbourfront haunt features eight local beer taps. If you haven’t tried it, order Peculiar from Granite Brewery in North End Halifax. A Yorkshire-style ale, it’s dark with a full-body and a sweet, dry finish.

This was one of the city’s original craft breweries and one of the first widely available local beers.

BILLOW BAR ROOFTOP COCKTAILS & BBQ 2540 Agricola St., Halifax | facebook.com/billowbar Brought to you by chefs Ludovic Eveno, Julie Cook, and Graham Stephenson (Agricola Street Brasserie and Little Oak), this new 50-seat offering opened in late May and hits all the right notes for an afternoon tipple or dinner. You find the same dedication to locallyinspired fare as downstairs at the Brasserie, but a different flavour: Southern-style barbecue.

This hip spot only opened a few days before press time, so Billow still holds some mystery. What we do know is that when it comes to summer relaxing, Billow serves up a comfortable space. The patio features a mix of tables and lounging furniture to tailor your visit to how you want to hang.

In addition to the expected craft beer, you’ll find rotating pitchers of ice-cold cocktails, handmade cookie and ice cream sandwiches, and summer-fresh cocktails like the Cucumber Tom Collins.

38 | halifaxmag.com JULY/AUGUST 2018

STILLWELL BEER GARDEN 5688 Spring Garden Rd., Halifax | facebook.com/ stillwellbeergarden In keeping with the name, you’ll find only simple long tables and the occasional umbrella for adornment here. The beer garden is simple, but still stunning in it’s design. Both the bathrooms (real ones, not porta-potties) and the bar itself are made from recycled shipping containers. White garden lights hang over the tables, adding a warm homey vibe as the sun starts to set.

On sunny days, the wait at the bar become a snaky line as there’s no table service. See it as your opportunity to really think about which fine craft beer or cider you’re ordering. Like the original Barrington Street location, you’ll find some uncommon out-of-town beers and local favourites.

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Laid back is the rule here, so the menu veers toward barbecued hot dogs and soft serve ice cream.

This is a dog-friendly location, so expect to see more than a few lying under tables. The Beer Garden closes during poor weather, so check Facebook before heading out.

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RESTO URBAN DINING 1516 Bedford Hwy., Bedford restourbandining.com With patio season comes the frenzy to claim a patio seat. Resto Urban Dining increases your chances of getting one of these coveted spots by offering two patios.

The former Cellar location became Resto in 2013, headed by long-time Cellar manager Marlene Kenley and her son-in-law/chef Ryan Hayes.

Both the roof-top and ground-level patios add a splash of class with hanging baskets of flowers, black table cloths, and living centrepieces of potted grass.

While the ambience is up a level, this is still casual dining.

The menu leans heavily on local seafood, and also features pizza and pasta. You’ll also find a few unexpected offerings including Bay Scallop Pad Thai and New Orleans-style Jambalaya. Locals rave about the potato tart appetizer featuring baked layers of sliced potato, a mix of white cheddar and Asiago cheese in a bacon crust. The wine list is small but includes global offerings and Nova Scotian options.

2305 Clifton Street

at the corner of Clifton & Cunard Street

$5 Happy Hour 4:30-6:00pm 1-902-332-1557 eliotandvine.com

JULY/AUGUST 2018 halifaxmag.com | 39

DINING FINBAR’S IRISH PUB 1595 Bedford Hwy., Sunnyside Mall, Bedford | finbars.ca This classic Irish alehouse stars a sizable patio each summer. The view is of the Sunnyside Mall parking lot, but if you like a big shaded patio, this works nicely. The patio is under a permanent roof so sudden rain won’t dampen your day.

Brunch is a big draw at this comfortable neighbourhood pub.

Check out the menu online before you go because there is so much choice you’ll need the extra time. Traditional Irish eats like Boxty (a potato pancake) and Smashed Peas on Toast with Hollandaise sauce pair well with an Irish stout. If you’re feeling more New World, try the Brunch Burger: a chargrilled patty topped with a fried egg and Montreal-style smoked meat. Try that one with a Cider mimosa.

The small but mighty beer list changes often, but there’s always lots of locals.

BATTERY PARK BEER BAR 62 Ochterloney St., Dartmouth | batterypark.ca Thirteen palate-pleasing East Coast beers, one cider, one housemade soda: that’s 20 taps to choose from. Luckily this beer house is ready for you to hunker down for a few.

The patio is completely walled and partially covered, which given the location enhances the experience because you don’t hear the roar of passing traffic. Double-length picnic tables line the petite patio, which tends to stay full most weekend evenings.

Along with your beer, you’ll want to try some of the delicious small plates this outpost has on offer. The Smorgasbord includes housecured meats, East Coast cheese, pickles, preserves, and bread. Other dishes of note include the cod tacos on a soft-shell corn tortilla and crispy Sticky Icky Spareribs with honey garlic sauce.

SEVENTY3 73 Alderney Drive, Dartmouth | seventy3.ca Owned by the neighbouring Celtic Corner pub, Seventy3 offers upscale Canadian-fusion fare in a sophisticated environment.

The patio is a second-floor deck overlooking Alderney Drive with sightlines to Halifax and the harbour. It’s cozy, with fewer than 10 tables, so call ahead to reserve a seat.

A small but varied menu of local nosh that’s creatively plated awaits.

The Seared Sea Scallops and Pork Belly is the perfect snack with a glass of Pinot Blanc while admiring the boats in the harbour from your table. On the wine list you’ll find a mix of by the glass options and bottles.

Watch for three-course prix-fixe menu specials for $35 and half price bottle of wine specials. tadams@metroguide.ca Halifax Magazine @HalifaxEditor @HalifaxMagazine

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Available at your local NSLC.

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saltbox brewing company At Salt Box Brewing Company, we celebrate the development of the skills and artistry required to create fresh, full-flavoured beer for consumption by the local community.

Our motto: “think social, and drink local”.

363 Main Street, Mahone Bay, NS Just a short 45-minute drive from Halifax 902-624-0653 saltboxbrewingcompany.ca

Wayfarers’ Ale Society Wayfarers’, a tribute to a medieval English custom where travellers (Wayfarers) would knock on the door of local churches and receive a horn of ale and piece of bread to refresh them along their way. One customer noted, “I absolutely recommend a visit to Wayfarers’. Excellent brewery tour, excellent beer and a great overall story.

A standout brewery amongst all the craft brewers.”

1116 Kars Street, Port Williams, NS B0P 1T0 902-542-7462 wayfarersale.ca

Nine Locks Brewing Co. Nestled in Dartmouth, Nine Locks Brewery brews in small batches – taking their time, and only using the highest quality malt and hops possible to ensure they craft the finest beers possible.

Offering a wide range of beers for tasting, it’s the perfect place to discover your next favourite brew.

219 Waverley Road, Dartmouth, NS 902-434-4471 ninelocksbrewing.ca

Propeller Brewing Co. Propeller Brewing Company has been a proud North End neighbour since our founding in 1997.

Stop by for a pint or flight in our Tasting Room at our Gottingen Street Brewery, with special cask releases every Friday. Full cold beer stores on Gottingen, and on Windmill Road in Dartmouth.

2015 Gottingen Street, Halifax NS drinkpropeller.ca @PropellerBeer

Rockbottom Brew Pub Best brewpub in Atlantic Canada, according to the Atlantic Canadian Beer Awards. Hand crafted beer and hand crafted food come together for the perfect experience. Constantly changing seasonal beers and nightly specials, live entertainment and a weekly Firkin make for the perfect craft beer experience.

5686 Spring Garden Road, Halifax, NS [Under Your Father’s Moustache] 902-423-2938 rockbottombrewpub.ca

DRINK

A PINT OF MARY JANE CANNABIS BEER WILL SOON BE LEGAL. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR NOVA SCOTIA’S CRAFT BREWERIES?

BY KIM HART MACNEILL In his suit and tie, Dooma Wendschuh stands out starkly in the conference room full of beer shirt and ball cap wearing brewers who came to hear him speak at the Canadian Brewing Awards and Conference in Halifax on May 26.

“How many people in this room have used cannabis?” he asks.

Nearly all of the hands in the room fly up. One person shouts “Today!” and people laugh. “Great,” says Dooma. “You guys already want to hear what I have to say.”

Wendschuh is the co-founder and CEO of Province Brands of Canada, a start-up founded in 2016 that he says has created the world’s first true alternative to beer.

“When we started we were kind of the black sheep of the Canadian cannabis industry,” says Wendschuh. “We were running around telling people we had this technology to brew a beer from the cannabis plant and people thought we were crazy.”

But not for long.

In October, the federal government announced that cannabis beverages could be sold one year after recreational legalization came into effect.

With the legislation recently passed, legalization is now scheduled to begin Oct. 17.

Within weeks of the announcement, the first Fortune 500 company to invest in cannabis in Canada announced. It wasn’t a tobacco company. It was Constellation Brands, brewers of behemoth brands like Corona and Modelo Especial.

“All of a sudden everyone needed a beverage strategy,” says Wendschuh. “We went from being the black sheep of the industry to being the whitest sheep of all.”

You might be thinking, THC and alcohol in a beer sounds like a recipe for a messy Friday evening. And you’d be right. Province’s beer doesn’t contain alcohol, only cannabinoids like THC, the active compound in marijuana that creates a high.

Beer contains water, grain, hops, and yeast.

Brewers can add extras, like fruit, or age beer in a barrel to impart flavour, but you can’t make beer without those four ingredients. Unless you’re Province.

The company’s test brews replace the grains used in brewing beer (the second most copious ingredient used in brewing, after water) with the parts of the cannabis plant that medical marijuana facilities throw away: stocks, stems, and roots. Otherwise the 44 | halifaxmag.com JULY/AUGUST 2018

boiling, cooling and inoculating with yeast to create alcohol is the same. Then Province dealcoholizes the beer, similar to near beer, leaving cannabinoids as the only psychoactive compound.

Currently, Province’s test batches contain 6.5 milligrams of THC, a total phytocannabinoid content of nine milligrams per serving.

The first product it will bring to market when beverages become legal in 2019 will be a pilsner. “It’s accessible,” he says. “It’s really obviously a beer. We wanted to prove we could make something that tasted and smelled like a beer.”

Before you get too excited about trying the new Good Robot cannabis beer, understand that it will take years and a lot of money for our local producers to jump on the trend that Wendschuh says will completely disrupt the beer industry.

Producers need a cannabis licence (to the tune to millions of dollars) or must work with a company that does. This could mean sending dealcoholized beer to a facility to be infused with cannabis, or having a licensee brew the beer from start to finish with cannabis, and ship bottled or canned product to provincial cannabis stores. Either way, the price is high.

The other major challenge is getting on consumers’ radars. Established companies like Constellation Brands and numerous smaller breweries in American states where recreational cannabis is already legal have a leg up when it comes to early brand recognition.

That’s already a challenge facing Nova Scotian craft breweries on the shelves at NSLC stores, where in 2017 craft beer represented $10.2 million of the commission’s $160.9 million in total beer sales.

Despite the hurdles, Wendschuh is betting that a few Nova Scotian craft brewers will jump on the cannabis bandwagon. He’s so sure that when he was in the city for the Canadian Brewing Awards he took a day trip to the South Shore to look at land in Brooklyn, N.S. and investigate opening a facility there to process or brew cannabis beer.

“It’s such a beautiful area and Nova Scotia has such a great reputation and tradition for brewing,” Wendschuh says.

KIM HART MACNEILL Kim is a freelance journalist and editor of East Coast Living.

Read her weekly beer column on HalifaxMag.com and follow her on Twitter. @kimhartmacneill

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Lucky Pucker (strong Berliner Weisse) Big Spruce Brewing | Nyanza, N.S. | 6.3% Prep your taste buds for an adventure because this Berliner Weisse is big on flavour.

Fermented with Old World saison yeast and Brettanomyces bruxellensis (AKA Brett: that funky yeast with the barnyard-meetsbasement scent). Then it was conditioned in Francis Ford Coppola Chardonnay barrels for six months before spending four months in the bottle before going on sale. You’ll taste the oak and the wine, but the top flavours are Brett and tart fruit.

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PHOTO: TREVOR J. ADAMS

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Black Currant Gose Bad Apple Brewhouse | Somerset, N.S. | 4% Bright and refreshing, this low-alcohol beer is sure to be a hit at your next barbecue. It’s well carbed with that telltale wheat beer tartness, but not puckeringly sour. There are hints of coriander and salt along side a dose of black currants that lend a light fruit flavour and dazzling purple colour. It’s not as dry or as tart as other local goses, but I think that works in its favour for those who like tart without squinting after each sip.

JULY/AUGUST 2018 halifaxmag.com | 45

OPINION

YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE TIRED OF WAITING FOR THE LONG-PROMISED BLUE MOUNTAIN BIRCH COVE LAKES REGIONAL PARK?

BY RYAN VAN HORNE

THE ONLY PEOPLE I’VE HEARD FROM THAT AREN’T IN FAVOUR OF THE PARK ARE SOME DEEPPOCKETED DEVELOPERS AND A FEW OUT-OF-TOUCH COUNCILLORS.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

That quote is often attributed to American cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead.

There’s debate about whether she really said it but the sentiment rings true regardless.

It’s important for citizens to remember because it’s thoughtful, committed action that convinced Halifax Regional Council in 2016 to reject a developer’s proposal to change the zoning in lands surrounding the proposed Blue Mountain Birch Cove Lakes regional park.

This same level of commitment is motivating citizens to get involved in the fledgling Friends of Blue Mountain Birch Cove Lakes group. The group was proposed at a public forum in April and held its first meeting in May. Opinions on this issue transcend the usual party loyalties and bickering. Diana Whalen, a former provincial Liberal cabinet minister, and Mary Ann McGrath, a former Progressive Conservative MLA, are involved in Friends of Blue Mountain Birch Cove Lakes. Over the years, all three provincial political parties have supported the park and had a role in designating 1,767 hectares of Crown land around it as a Wilderness Protection Area.

The only people I’ve heard that aren’t in favour of the park are some deeppocketed developers and a few out-of-touch municipal Councillors.

When you get this kind of support for an idea, you know the wheels of the bureaucracy are also pointed in the right direction. It’s just a matter of time (and action on the part of the Halifax Regional Council) before the park becomes a reality and citizens across the municipality can enjoy a mini Kejimkujik in our backyard.

The best part about that is that it provides an opportunity for people living in the city to simply hop on a bus and go enjoy beautiful wilderness; swimming, hiking, or paddling without having to own a car or a canoe.

HRM has made its first land purchase and the attitude on Council is much more receptive to the project than in the past. These Councillors all know how committed citizens are to the park.

If any of them don’t know how committed people are, they should attend the next public meeting about the park. The public forum in

46 | halifaxmag.com JULY/AUGUST 2018

April was so well attended it prompted Nova Scotia environment minister Iain Rankin to quip that if he ever wanted to draw a big crowd for something he should just mention the Blue Mountain Birch Cove Lakes regional park.

You can do a lot to help make this park happen. Let Councillors and MLAs know it matters to you, for starters.

The park needs some temporary stewards and is prompting many to volunteer to be “boots on the ground” (essentially volunteer park rangers). Although lots of people are already aware of the park, many have never visited. Some who visit don’t know how to take care of it and are chopping down green trees and trying to burn them, Whalen says. People also litter and wander off trails.

To get involved, send the group an email at bluemountainbirchcovelakes@gmail.com. You can also learn more abut the park and stay in touch via the group’s Facebook page or at the link on the HRM Alliance website.

After covering this issue as a journalist for several years, I’ve learned a great deal about the park and come to appreciate the beautiful opportunity we have. As a columnist for Halifax Magazine, I’ve taken a stance in favour of the city doing whatever is necessary to make this park a reality.

It’s a great aspect of our democracy that we can all freely express our opinions on matters of public interest. Now, it’s time to step back and work in other ways to create a legacy for future generations. This will be my last column and although I won’t be sharing my opinion anymore, I will be following the advice of Brazilian author Paulo Coelho: “The world is changed by your example, not by your opinion.”

See you out on the trails; take nothing but pictures and leave nothing but footprints.

RYAN VAN HORNE Ryan is a Halifax journalist, playwright, and documentary film director. His work appears in magazines and newspapers from coast to coast and at ryanvanhorne.com.

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