The Coast Halifax Weekly

H A L I FA X ’ S W E E K L Y E N S E M B L E • V O L U M E 2 6 N U M B E R 5 2 • M AY 2 3 - M AY 2 9 , 2 0 1 9

Chris Wilcox takes a bow

Scotia Festival’s founder is passing the baton after 40 years of building a thriving chamber music community as..

...Scotia Festival of Music Begins its annual magic of turning Halifax into a world classical capital

Doing the math on NS’s plan to forgive student loans CITY P4

Snotty Nose Rez Kids follow the Trapline ARTS P14

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This week

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lI’m here for anyone self-disclosing their abortions in the wake of troubling news out of the states, but please remember you don’t owe anyone “justifying circumstances,” k? it’s... problematic framing. women’s bodily autonomy can’t be conditional. @annie_valentina. Posted on May 16.

Issue #1,204 VOLUME 26, NUMBER 52 MAY 23 - MAY 29, 2019

On the cover: Ian Selig snapped this week’s cover shot, including cat. See more work at ianseligphoto.com

The City Voice of the City Cover Story: 40 years and 40 festivals Shoptalk Food+Drink

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THE NUMBER

Arts 14 Entertainment listings 17 Love The Way We Bitch 20 The Comic 20 Free Will Astrology 21 Savage Love 22

$34,000 Modern day Jacques Plante #GoMooseGo @HFX_MOOSEHEADS

Reply all The kids have this From Facebook:

BEST OF TWITTER

Peter Martyn is right in his “Stop scaring kids” letter, our hope for the future does lie in rebellious “kids” (Reply all, May 15). However, he misses the mark on every other part of his argument.

Starting from personal experience, no students who participated in the school climate strike in Halifax were “driven” or “coerced” by adults. Katie Hutten, an acquaintance of mine and student of Citadel High School, is a co-founder of the group School Strike for Climate Halifax (@schoolstrike4climatehfx on Instagram). Not only is the group entirely student organized, they work and promote what they do in person and on social media with absolutely no support from teachers. On the contrary, school administrators and the Halifax Regional Central for Education have condemned the walkouts and strikes. Climate and environmental issues have little to no place in the provincial curriculum.

Although Mr. Martyn calls out “the climate change elite” and such “environmental

The maximum yearly income that qualifies you as a low-income earner who can apply for a low-income transit pass, half-off rec programs and a property tax exemption, all now easier to apply for through the affordable access program.

FROM THE MAYOR

You might be wondering how you can best support your staff at this time.

Simple measures can go a long way.

Consider, for example, postponing the morning meeting and ensuring the water cooler is full. Perhaps have a few salty snacks on hand in the lunch room. (I recommend kettlecooked chips, though pretzels will do in a pinch.)

—Mike Savage’s Memorial Cup/Halifax Wanderers-inspired open letter to the city

The Coast welcomes your thoughts on all aspects of the paper’s performance and city life.

Deliver letters to the editor to 2309 Maynard Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3K 3T8 fax: 902-425-0013, email: letters@thecoast.ca. Post comments on any story at thecoast.ca

grievance hustlers” as Al Gore and Leonardo DiCaprio, he seems to be the one delivering paranoid ramblings of the youth being corrupted by what any sensible person recognizes as obvious fact. Our climate is changing at a more rapid rate than ever before in history, and we are living with its effects currently. I will not debate the facts of life with someone who appears to be a crackpot conspiracist. I will however always defend the integrity of all youth who are trying to ensure our bright future despite the complacent and willingly ignorant.

—Eva Mae McKenna, grade 12, Shambhala School Last week’s letter was an attempt to paint the growing environmental movement as “a millennial doomsday climate cult” bent on brainwashing our kids. But these young, rebellious kids are not afraid the sky is falling, they are afraid that our society is failing them. In a world where profit trumps everything, it is no wonder they do.

I was intrigued by the letter using failed predictions made decades ago—like biologist Paul Ehrlich predicting over-population and food scarcity based on research involving

butterflies—to dismiss today’s climate crisis.

What this letter fails to point out is that many of these predictions, along with the 20 million or so Americans who took to the streets to protest against pollution during the first Earth Day in 1970, were also responsible for influencing the US government to create the Environmental Protection Agency and enact powerful laws that moved us towards a more sustainable future, and in doing so simultaneously altering its course.

It is absolutely true that kids today should be off playing with their friends and fishing and enjoying a beautiful sunny day, so instead of watching our kids from the sidelines as they attempt to clean up the messes we have made, let’s be adults, admit we’ve made mistakes, assume some responsibility and do something about it. —Finn Mansour, Halifax Ignoring the irony in the title, the “Stop scaring kids” letter was the very hyper-denial rant that spurs today’s world-savvy and eco-smart kids into action. I think it is completely appropriate that demonstrations include the attention-getting die-downs. Today’s youth marches on with the issue of their time, gain-

ing slow but methodical momentum as older generations retreat. Meanwhile the true elites, the fossil fuel barons that have made trillions of dollars during this era of extraction, are not going to give in until there is no one left standing —Edward Vella, West Lawrencetown I suspect Peter Martyn of Tatamagouche tilts at windmills in his spare time. In quoting a few predictions that went awry (only one by a scientist) he debunks the work and projections of hundreds of climate scientists who are trying to raise our awareness of the obvious: We are affecting the climate and the planet’s life supports in dramatic and alarming ways. My kids are in their late 20s. The will not have the rather idyllic life I had. People like Mr. Martyn help to delay the massive collective effort required to address this crisis.

—Jerry MacKinlay, Halifax Peter Martyn is wasting his talents in Tatamagouche. He is exactly what big oil loves to hear from, as well as such troglodytes as Doug Ford and Jason Kenney, along with the leader of the most powerful and worst nation in the world.

—Peter Nelson, Halifax

The Coast • MAY 23 – MAY 29, 2019 • 3

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Have you had an abortion?

YES (19%)

The Coast is collecting ab ortion stories. Share yours via myabortio n@ thecoast.ca

NO (81%) EDITED BY CAORA MCKENNA / SEND TIPS TO NEWS@THECOAST.CA

Students protesting tuition increases outside the legislature in 2016. PATRICK FULGENCIO

DEBT

University students’ loans to be forgiven But not their sins. BY JENNIFER CRUICKSHANK

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tarting August 1, Nova Scotians undergraduate students attending universities within the province will not have to pay back provincial student loans. The Nova Scotia Loan Forgiveness program promises Nova Scotian students graduating from Nova Scotia universities can have 100 percent of their provincial student loans forgiven. Aaron Shema is student union president at Mount Saint Vincent University. He thanks the government for its work on helping students who are from the province, but says it’s not going to help as much as they think.

“It’s a small step in the right direction,” says Shema, “but it’s not going to help international and out-of-province students, which make

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up more than half of the Mount population.”

In 2015, out-of-province and international students made up 40 percent of students in the province.

Lianne Xiao, the incoming chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students-Nova Scotia, has concerns with the restrictions of the program. “This program is a Band-Aid fix to a larger problem, there are many restrictions,” they say. “One of the restrictions is people who do not complete their degree and are not able to access this program, so it’s a failure to help those who need it the most.”

Previously, students could only apply for forgiveness of up to $20,000, and only if their total (provincial and federal) debt totalled

more than $28,000. Students who graduate prior to August 1 of this year must have a total combined government student loan debt greater than $28,560 to qualify for forgiveness. But for those graduating after August 1, the whole value of their loan from the Nova Scotia government doesn’t need to be paid back, no matter what amount it’s for. (The maximum amount given as a loan is $20,400.)

With the implementation of the new program, government will be phasing out grants for Nova Scotia students choosing to study out of province, meaning they’ll likely be collecting more debt. The department of labour and advanced education states its desire for “more Nova Scotians to pursue their post-secondary education here at home, and stay here once they graduate.”

Xiao was upset to hear about the cuts occuring at the same time as the new program. “I think it’s disingenuous for the Liberal government to proclaim their supporting students and are here for student assistance when it’s cutting grants in another areas,” they say. “So the government can’t proclaim were supporting students and were supporting education while two announcements are contradictory released around the same time.”

Nova Scotia tuition fees are among the highest in the country. Tuition continues to increase alongside this new loan forgiveness program. Both Dalhousie and Mount Saint Vincent Universities will increase tuition by three percent this year, and Dalhousie’s international students are looking at a 8.1 percent increase. NSCC—whose students are exempt from the loan-forgiveness program— announced Tuesday its tuition will increase three percent each year till 2022 for the majority of programs.

The NDP responded to NSCC’s announcement this week by calling on the Liberal government to make post-secondary education more accessible. The party believes tuition fees at NSCC should be free, eliminating financial barriers to a community college education Shema, like Xiao thinks this is just a BandAid for the problem of tuition rises happening in the province. He echoes the need for supports for international and out-of-province students: “Investment money to universities to reduce tuition rates would help as well.” a

This week at city council Transit, parking, traffic lights and trail etiquette abound.

BY CAORA MCKENNA

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alifax Transit gave a third-quarter key indicator report, noting that there’s been just under 10,000 transit passes given out through the department of community services’ pilot project, and over 1,000 of those have been given to children. And Dave Reage, director of Halifax Transit, says they’ve been working towards the goal of having Access-A-Bus services available with only 24 hours notice, versus the seven days previously recommended. He says it should be 24 hours as of now, but “we have a lot of trust to build around that though,” adding that at this point he doesn’t expect 24 hours to be anyone’s experience. Vicky Levack uses Access-A-Bus services once a week and says things have actually gotten worse.

Council has awarded Cale Systems Inc. the responsibility of taking on its integrated parking technology solution for $2,108,888 all in. The to-be-firmed-up contract will see new parking meters that take more than just coins around the city, a cloud-based pay-forparking app and better technology for parking monitors. Council also learned some of the basics around how contracts like these are deliberated and awarded.

Council approved Matt Whitman’s motion to give $150,000 to the recapitalization of Hammonds Plains Community Centre from the Hammonds Plains Common Area Rate— the area’s own pot of money.

Taking after Yarmouth—for once—mayor Savage will write a letter to the province asking if crosswalk signs can add fluorescent yellow-green as a background colour to improve visibility; and councillor Shawn Cleary’s motion for a staff report on trail etiquette signs passed. a

The Coast

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The City

Voice of The City WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU voice@thecoast.ca

Calling on the Liberal party’s stance on refugees Local groups stand up against “tough on immigration” message.

BY STACEY GOMEZ

The Prescott Street community garden has 25 community garden plots, and a waitlist to get one. SUBMITTED

UNIVERSITY

Maybe May showers will bring June flowers?

Getting urban garden projects off the ground—and seeds in it— is a challenge for local groups. BY KAILA JEFFERD-MOORE

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rban agriculture is trending hard these days, and there are a handful of reasons why: Knowing where your food comes from, it looks cute, it builds community and food security.

There are over 25 community gardens or urban farms in HRM, but the municipality could be greener. There are under-used lots of land and green space that can be used as community gardens. In June 2018, regional council approved the Halifax Green Network Plan as part of the long-running Centre Plan; it includes amending municipal planning strategies and land use by-laws “to encourage small-scale agriculture on private properties.”

Most of the long-running community gardens, like the upstart garden at Veith House, are on private properties that allow for longterm planning. It’s hard to propose creating an urban agricultural haven on a patch of public land because of HRM’s three-year rule.

On municipally owned property, a community garden can be built for personal use, donation to local food causes, generating revenue, the production of a floral or landscape display and instructional programming. The land-use agreement for these only lasts three years with the option to renew, though isn’t guaranteed.

The lack of a guarantee hinders places like the Common Roots Urban Farm—which just left Robie Street—to plan far ahead, and their difficulty in finding somewhere to relocate shows another obstacle. “There’s not enough space for people who want to garden,” says Sarah Burgess, coordinator of the new Common Roots Bi-Hi Garden. “We’re hoping to be able to find more space and expand.”

Thirty-six community garden plots are moving to the new farm in Bi-Hi Park off Bayers Road and the exit ramp from the 102.

It will host 800 feet of market garden beds, says Burgess. There will also be a handful of common beds, where perennial plants and food will grow and anyone can tend to it and pick from it.

Burgess says there was a want from the Common Roots gardeners to keep community beds and really build that aspect of the farm: “The market garden and communal beds are where as many people as possible can participate.” But in the meantime, they’re still waiting for the rain to clear to set up the new farm at the Bi-Hi Park location.

Another obstacle for gardens, besides rain, is finding safe soil. A lot of soil on the peninsula is contaminated with lead and zinc paints, industrial emissions and naturally occurring high levels of arsenic from the bedrock the city is built on.

“So it does mean that finding soils in the city to garden on is tricky,” says Jayme Melrose, business developer for Common Roots. “It usually means that you need to bring in some soil and build the soil up.”

This gets expensive once you include the materials needed for making raised beds, buying and transporting the soil, buying seeds or seedlings ahead of the growing season, getting a sustainable compost going. The upstart for a garden is pricy.

And grants can sometimes be difficult to obtain or they’re don’t come at the right time.

A lot of deadlines are March 1–too late to plant seeds to grow your own seedlings–or in September, so wannabe green thumbs have to be thinking far ahead—but not more than three years.

Common Roots’ Bi-Hi opening has been delayed because of the rain, but they’re hoping for an early June set-up. “As soon as the dirt is moved, we’re open,” says Burgess. a

he Liberal government is already gearing up for the fall elections by sending a troubling “tough on immigration” message. This includes both a move to expand the CanadaUS Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA), as well as anti-refugee measures put forward in budget implementation bill C-97.

Thirteen local groups sent an open letter to MP Andy Fillmore on May 14, urging him to “stand up for justice and to say no to the racism and xenophobia which these proposed changes represent.” The next day, Fillmore went on the defensive in a CBC interview.

Because the STCA considers the US a safe country for refugees, most people who arrive at Canada’s official ports of entry via the US are not allowed to seek asylum here. Under these restrictive rules, people are forced to cross irregularly just to have their refugee claim heard, often risking their lives to do so.

Now prime minister Trudeau wants to close even that small window with the SCTA expansion.

On air, Fillmore admitted being troubled

by Trump’s rhetoric. However, he maintained that the US is safe for refugees and that politics don’t influence the granting of asylum.

We need only point to Trump’s removal of protected status for refugees from the Haitian, Salvadorean, Sudanese and Nicaraguan communities, or his Muslim ban, to see that this isn’t true.

Bill C-97 goes even further than the STCA: If anti-refugee measures in the bill pass, they would bar asylum seekers who previously filed a refugee claim in the US, the UK, Australia or New Zealand from making one in Canada–even if they have never had a hearing in that country. They’d be denied the right to a hearing here, which would violate the Su-

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preme Court’s 1985 Singh decision.

Fillmore says the refugee determination system is “overwhelmed right now,” and it wants to ensure “fairness.” He blames asylum-seekers who cross irregularly, ignoring that refugees have the lawful right to flee to safety. Furthermore, there’s actually been a 48 percent decline in irregular asylum claims for January to April compared to last year. Importantly, a recent report by the auditor general shows that the large backlogs are largely due to government inefficiencies and our “rigid system.”

Finally, the use of an omnibus bill to fasttrack major changes to our refugee laws—a move defended by Fillmore—is concerning.

While Liberals once promised to put an end to this undemocratic Conservative tactic, it’s clear that they’re using the same playbook.

It’s time for the Liberals to take responsibility and to fix the system in an equitable way, instead of fanning the flames of intolerance with their proposed changes. Lives depend on it. Our messages are clear: Refugees are welcome here! No one is illegal! a

WORK WITH US The Coast is looking for a recent Nova Scotia graduate to join us as a Sales Support Representative (SSR).

This position is responsible for directly supporting The Coast’s Sales and Marketing department. In this role, you will drive productivity and efficiency gains for The Coast by assisting with operational tasks such as sales opportunity creation, proposals, reports, trafficking artwork, managing social media platforms and ad-hoc office administrative tasks to assist moving the sales cycles forward.

Qualifications • Proven ability to provide exceptional high-end customer service • Experience and understanding in social media platforms • Strong computer skills (Mac environment) • Excellent communication skills (written and oral) • Ability to organize and preplan each day • Can complete the tasks with accuracy and precision • Ability to solve problems and meet daily challenges If you have the passion to organization, love talking on the phone and making new business contacts submit your resume along with a compelling cover letter to Christa Harrie: christah@thecoast.ca We thank in advance all applicants for their interest. Only those candidates under consideration will be contacted. No phone calls please.

The Coast is committed to employment equity and an inclusive, barrier-free selection process and work environment.

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COVER STORY

I can name a truckload of people who’ve gone on to great careers from the Scotia Festival.

—Chris Wilcox

Chris Wilcox, with principal clarinet of the NAC Orchestra Stan McCarthy and principal clarinet player of the Cleveland Orchestra Bob Marcellus. SUBMITTED

40 years and 40 festivals Chris Wilcox steps down as director of the Scotia Festival of Music, but not before one last encore. BY BRANDON YOUNG

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ften referred to as the “music of friends,” chamber music has stood the test of time as a genre that, from the Medieval period to present day, has relied on the cohesion, synchronicity and mutual respect of all involved. For musicians of the genre, the intimate sense of community, memories and moments shared are favoured in place of popularity and commerciality. It’s precisely these factors that will bring together many chamber enthusiasts when the 40th annual Scotia Festival of Music begins its two-week run this Sunday, May 26.

Having enriched the musical landscape in Nova Scotia since 1979, Scotia Fest has brought countless world-class talents and performers to the province. But who is the individual behind four decades of excellent chamber music programming in Nova Scotia? That’s simple: Chris Wilcox. A pillar of the chamber community, he is soon stepping down as managing and artistic director of the festival and passing the torch to pianist Simon Docking, but not before one last go at producing another spectacular string of events.

Recounting his early musical influences, Wilcox cites Elvis and Dixieland as childhood favourites, but he soon developed an appreciation for the classical music he’d hear at family parties. “I sort of learned it without knowing,” says Wilcox of the musical stylings his mother and sister would listen to in his youth.

“I decided pretty late in life that I wasn’t going to make a living playing basketball, and I

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Scotia Festival of Music Sunday, May 26 to Sunday, June 9 Music Room, 6181 Lady Hammond Road and Sir James Dunn Theatre, 6101 University Avenue $30-$578 scotiafestival.com

decided to learn how to play the clarinet.”

Moving from Toronto in 1967 to play in the Halifax Symphony Orchestra—a precursor to Symphony Nova Scotia—Wilcox stayed with the symphony until the late ’70s. That’s when he and his teacher Bob Marcellus, the principal clarinetist of the Cleveland Orchestra, had the idea of bringing chamber music to the province.

“In a late-night drunken conversation, he suggested we start a chamber music festival and design it as sort of a summer home for the Cleveland Orchestra,” says Wilcox. “It would be dedicated equally to education and performance.”

And that’s just what it’s become. Since launching, the festival has been both a platform for showcasing established world-class talent and also a launching pad fostering the future of young musicians. “I can name a truckload of people who’ve gone on to great careers from the Scotia Festival,” says Wilcox of the homegrown talent the festival has inspired. In addition, he’s also been instrumental in creating special moments such as a 6am

The Coast

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COVER STORY

Brandon Young is a journalist from Halifax constantly in search of local art stories…as well as his . next pair of dad shoes

See more Scotia Festi val listings in ne xt week’s issue

Concert Finder As the chamber-focused Scotia Festival of Music reaches a milestone year, your ears are in for a set of sweet showcases filled with new works and big names from now till June 9.

SCOTIA FESTIVAL OF MUSIC RECITAL #1: FEWER AND NOVACEK Mark Fewer on violin and John Novacek on piano makes for some sweet takes on Schubert, Martinu and Prokofiev at this Scotia Festival of Music set.

The Music Room, 6181 Lady Hammond Road, Tue May 28, 12pm SCOTIA FESTIVAL OF MUSIC HIGHLIGHT CONCERT #2 The Scotia Festival of Music is clearly bringing it for year four-oh: “Halifamous brother and sister Marc and Denise Djokic join award-winning pianist David Jalbert for Shostakovich’s dark and haunting ‘Piano Trio No. 2’,” show organizers promise of this highlight concert.

Sir James Dunn Theatre, 6101 University Avenue, Tue May 28, 7:30pm

MATT HAIMOVITZ

SCOTIA FESTIVAL OF MUSIC HIGHLIGHT CONCERT #1 Dominic Desautels—a Scotia Festival favourite—kicks off the event’s 40th year on solo clarinet with a new, sambainspired piece by John Novacek. Works

by Back and Mozart with Tim Fain on violin and Philip Glass’s “Partita No. 2 for Solo Cello” performed by Matt Haimovitz round out the bill.

Sir James Dunn Theatre, 6101 University Avenue, Mon May 27, 7:30pm

DENISE DJOKIC

BY MORGAN MULLIN

SCOTIA FESTIVAL OF MUSIC RECITAL #2: HAIMOVITZ, ALLEN AND ARMSTRONG Two pianos and one cello take on works by Debussy, Nadia Boulanger, Poulenc and Rachmaninoff.

The Music Room, 6181 Lady Hammond Road, Wed May 29, 12pm SCOTIA FESTIVAL OF MUSIC HIGHLIGHT CONCERT #3 For its 40th spin ’round the sun, the Scotia Festival of Music isn’t letting you sleep on its greatness, delivering this sharp summary of its third highlight show: “Mark Fewer and the Super Nova Quartet play Haydn’s “Rider String Quartet,” and we close with cellist Matt Haimovitz and friends in Brahms’s “G minor Piano Quartet” with its rousing Hungarian-style finale.” Sir James Dunn Theatre, 6101 University Avenue, Wed May 29, 7:30pm

MARK FEWER

trombone ensemble concert held on a lake at sunrise.

However, Wilcox says his all-time favourite Scotia Fest moment came in 1991 when conductor Pierre Boulez of the New York Philharmonic brought his entire 36-member Ensemble Intercontemporain from Paris to Canada for the first time, and served as guest director of the festival. With The Globe and Mail praising it as the greatest music event in Canada’s history, it’s no wonder that it is such a poignant moment. “That year changed my life,” says Wilcox. “That is definitely the highlight of my career...aside from The Music Room.”

Alongside the festival and other creative endeavours, Wilcox started the Peggy Corkum Music Room, a performance space and recording studio which has seen high-profile artists, as well as music students, perform in its intimate concert hall. “I still don’t believe it’s here—it just sort of magically appeared,” says Wilcox of the space, which has quite literally cemented his legacy as a benevolent figure in the local music scene. “I still go down there in the mornings and drink coffee and look around and wonder where that thing came from—it’s a small miracle.”

Meanwhile, Wilcox’s colleagues, friends and team members would say all of his accomplishments and great feats are the result of being a passionate individual with love for the music. People like acclaimed violinist Mark Fewer, who’s worked alongside Wilcox, has nothing but praise for the soon-to-be-retired director.

“I became aware of how deeply committed Chris was and still is to the festival—I don’t see that changing anytime soon even though he’s stepping down,” says Fewer, who has known Wilcox since 1991. “I have no doubt he’ll remain completely loyal and faithful to Scotia Festival and will want to see it flourish in the future.”

Fewer is among the many performers returning to Halifax over the next couple of weeks to honour Wilcox and to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the festival. With worldrenowned musicians such as violinist Marc Djokic, clarinetist Dominic Desautels, pianist Peter Allen and the disbanded Super Nova Quartet reunited to perform one last show, it’s sure to be an unforgettable festival with much significance. Ultimately, Fewer says he believes the festival’s future is in good hands.

“Chris is a man of a certain kind of operational standard,” says Fewer. “When he really wants to push for something he wants to see happen, he’s not really worried about what that takes in terms of tenacity required to pull off some of those things musically.

I don’t think anyone is seeing this as we’re getting rid of one person and putting in the polar opposite—I think the deciding chapter of Chris’ legacy is the fact that it is a smooth baton being passed to Simon Docking.”

When Wilcox thinks about his next chapter, he’s planning on taking it easy while continuing to keep his creative spark intact. “I’m going to do some drawing and write a bit of a biography—and play some bridge and squash.” he says. However, as he prepares for another two weeks of chamber festivities, he makes it clear that passing the baton it doesn’t mean his involvement in Scotia Festival will cease.

“I’m stepping down, but I’m going to stick around and bug the team for another couple of years. I’m not retiring completely.” a

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When you first walk into Earth Goddess Jewelry, you’ll notice the amazing aroma. Next, you’ll be instantly calmed by stones and crystals. But none of it would be possible without their staff, who tie the ambiance together to give you the complete shopping experience.

Earth Goddess’ new location is bigger and brighter, and allows for even more ethically sourced, naturally based products to be displayed. The locals will tell you that this is the best shop to find a quality gift for an amazing price point (and all made by Canadian artisans!).

Their signature necklaces are either sterling or gold-filled with dropped stone pendants that each come with a property meaning tucked inside the box, so you can carry those strengths with you everywhere you go.

With bridal season coming up, you’ll want to stop in and see their award-winning selection of bridal jewellery, or take the time to create a custom piece that’s made especially for you on your special day.

Earth Goddess Jewelry, 5866 Demone Street The Coast • MAY 23 – MAY 29, 2019 • 9

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Loko for Takos Tangy pineapple, chipotle mayo and beerbattered fish with guacamole are just a few of the flavours that’ll have you hooked on the new Tako Loko. Having only been open for two months, this family-owned restaurant is already known for pleasing their customers with authentic Mexican cuisine, especially with their (very) spicy salsa.

Their simple space is beautifully decorated with vibrant yellow and green walls that instantly settle you into an eating mood. The menu is simple too, with seven types of tacos and some classic side options. For something new, Tako Loko launches a weekly special each Sunday. Their current focus is to introduce tofu into their veggie taco to imitate the pulled chicken style in the “Tinga”—they’ll even make the salsa separate from the meat!

Fingers crossed they’ll have their liquor 10 • MAY 23 – MAY 29, 2019 •

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license by summertime, which means enjoying an El Pastor ttaco with a refreshing glass of Corona to pair. Bring your appetite, you’ll want to stay for seconds.

Tako Loko, 3248 Isleville Street

Evolving eye care, bold eyewear The team at Lang Optometry and Eyewear stops at nothing to bring us the best—that goes for frames and the most advanced technology to make sure that we’re staying on top of our eyecare.

In their optometry department, they’ve introduced the Zeiss OCT instrument that lets Gaétan Lang and Christopher Poh see beneath the surface of the retina. Almost like an MRI of the eye, this machine helps to diagnose macular degeneration, glaucoma and other eye disease often before progression has done any obvious damage. Earlier diagnosis means you get referred to the appropriate specialist even earlier than before.

Lang Optometry revolutionizes vision care with their premium European frames. Their Belgian frame THEO is bolder than ever with their new collection, “Colours are smiles,” adding even more brightness to make clients’ eyes pop. To perfectly compliment the THEO brand, Lang has introduced a new line originating from France, Anne & Valentin Eyewear that focus on a renewal of form and colour.

Major frame designers always find their creative home at Lang Optometry.

Lang Optometry and Eyewear, 5550 Kaye Street

Creative floral and curated plants If you’re looking to send a fabulous, strange, sentimental or tiny custom floral bouquet, no one can craft one like Props Floral Design.

Ashley is a floral goddess with 17 years of experience and says nothing is too big or too small. She can do anything from a comedic

The Coast

2019-05-22 4:30 PM

HYDROSTONE GUIDED TOUR PAID CONTENT

Creative Floral and Curated Plants. SUBMITTED

custom arrangement—it included feminine hygiene products—to large wedding installations complete with constructed floral trees amongst suspended baby’s breath clouds.

Jayme can guide you to pick the perfect house plant, as she loves to nurture relationships through gifts from the natural world.

She’s currently on the hunt for more edible houseplants to add to their curated selection.

Keep an eye out for upcoming floral and plant workshops, but in the meantime, come in and browse the floral shop and let their shop-dog Kuma sit on your feet and give you snuggles. Dogs, flowers and plants—what more could you need?

Props Floral Design, 5533 Young Street (The Hydrostone Market)

A melange of flavours and dishes Sit up at the sushi bar and watch the work happen right in front of your eyes. Hamachi

Kita Sushi and Asian Flare is some of the best sushi in the city and has been for nearly a decade. They don’t stop at sushi—Hamachi offers a concept that combines our favourite dishes with other Asian influence.

Hamachi brings items such as their Thai BBQ chicken, pad Thai and Thai curries to the mix, and have healthy and creative dishes on their feature menu, which includes vegetarian options.

The wide selection means you’ll never argue with your friends about where to eat—Hamachi even has a full selection of teriyaki, riceand noodle entrees and appetizers.

With a combination of dishes to choose from, plus the quaint setting of the Hydrostone market, Hamachi Kita is always a contender for date nights, celebrations and dinners out.

Eat in, take out or get it delivered—there are multiple ways to experience Hamachi.

Hamachi Kita Sushi and Asian Flare, 5535-37 Young Street (The Hydrostone Market) The Coast • MAY 23 – MAY 29, 2019 • 11

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ShopTalk S M A L L B U S I N E S S N E W S C O M P I L E D BY ALLISON SAUNDERS Send tips to shoptalk@thecoast.ca

OPENINGS

First look: Thief & Bandit Designer Amie Cunningham celebrates nearly 10 years in the fashion world by opening a showroom and studio downtown. BY ALLISON SAUNDERS Thief & Bandit grand opening 1673 Barrington Street Saturday May 25, 11am-5pm mie Cunningham uses the word organic a lot when she’s talking about Thief & Bandit. From the fabric she prints on, to her creative process, to the slow-and-steady evolution of her fashion line, a nod to the natural sums up her nearly 10 years in business pretty perfectly.

Thief & Bandit was born when Cunningham was living in the States—where she studied painting and sculpture, met her husband and started a family—and experimenting with her creativity by designing t-shirts she sold out of her backpack in Brooklyn. Soon she added jewellery and accessories to the mix, and eventually baby clothes. “This was nine years ago, before cute baby leggings were everywhere,” she says with a laugh. “People really wanted them, and that’s when I got to setting up my Etsy shop.”

She moved her growing family and the line to Halifax in 2012, to be closer to her parents and, she says quite frankly, for health care.

Since then, when most of Thief & Bandit’s business was coming from America, she’s gradually grown it to be a wide-reaching brand (see the Eye See You bra that Cunningham was commissioned to make by Project Runway winner Gretchen Jones for 2017’s Women’s March on Washington) and bold collection of hand-drawn, hand-printed garments that range from dresses to bathing suits.

This week Cunningham celebrates another organic growth, and officially debuts a new studio and showroom on Barrington Street.

It’s a bright space that helps her both keep her team together and offer local shoppers a chance to try pieces on, where she’ll keep some weekend hours for drop-ins, but work on a by-appointment basis to start.

“I think what’s really cool is that people will get to see our process, because we are a handmade company. And you can say handmade till the cows come home but when people really see us making the pieces...it’s kind of magical and I just want to show local customers exactly how we do it,” she says.

“I love collaborating with people so I feel like it’s more of a collaborative art project than a fashion line.”

Thief & Bandit currently employs four sewers and a full-time screenprinter, all of whom are recent NSCAD grads. Cunningham says their work, and the team effort, is key to the direction the line has taken in recent years.

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PHOTOS BY ALEXA CUDE

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founder—she wants to push the garments themselves to another level.

“The shapes of what we make are becoming more sophisticated, and that’s because of the people who sew for me. It really is a collaborative effort,” says Cunningham. “When I say, ‘I want a pleated pant for spring/summer,’ they’re the ones that pattern it out. In the beginning it was super-easy shapes that were not a problem to easily pattern and now things are getting a little more difficult.”

She says the bonus of having a space that’s both a workshop and a place to shop is seeing the people who buy the clothes. Because Thief & Bandit’s clothing has mostly been produced on a made-to-order basis—save for craft shows and pop-ups—it means flexibility and potential for style, pattern and size customization.

Cunningham says it’s important for her to “design for everyone” regardless of age or gender, and she’s working toward being more size-inclusive.

“I see women over 70 coming in and buying a kimono jacket and matching pants, and then I have a 20-year-old just out of art school in the exact same outfit,” she says. “I feel like when I’m designing, I’m thinking about a powerful person. A very confident person, not afraid to wear something bold, not afraid to mix prints—somebody who knows what they want.” a

2019-05-22 4:32 PM

EDITED BY ALLISON SAUNDERS SEND TIPS TO ALLISONS@THECOAST.CA

Write a review

at thecoast .ca /restaurants

For Novo, food is a creative freedom of expression and form of storytelling. PHOTOS BY RACHEL MCGRATH

CHEFS

The root of Anne Novo

Informed by her past, mindful of the future, the Toronto chef is making her mark on Halifax.

BY KAILA JEFFERD-MOORE

Elements on Hollis 1181 Hollis Street

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or Anne Novo, cooking isn’t just providing sustenance. Cooking creates community, a menu can tell a story, a meal can provide comfort. She brings all of that, and more, to the table.

Despite growing up surrounded by food, becoming a chef wasn’t on Novo’s radar. She was studying to become a nurse when she followed her mom to Canada in 2009. She was 20 years old and it was cold in Toronto.

Unsure of what to do, unhappy with nursing, she spent her time cooking.

“It gave me a kind of like a freedom of expression to be creative, but using food,” Novo says.

When she told her family she wanted to cook, they were appalled. When they told her she was going to be poor as a chef, she replied: “Well at least I’ll be happy.”

Her first kitchen job was at a Famoso Neopolitan Pizzeria in Toronto. Then she decided to go to school for culinary management; she graduated from George Brown College in 2014. From there she’s moved up, up and up.

Novo joined the elements on hollis kitchen, in The Westin hotel, last summer. After 10 years in Toronto working with some of the best chefs in the city, she moved to Halifax

where she’d found a vibe she connected with.

Everyone seems to know each other, she says: “I feel like there’s a sense of community which is kind of lacking in big cities—and they’re very supportive of local businesses, too.”

Novo’s cooking style is completely dependent on where she is. She works with locally sourced ingredients, and makes a lot of creative decisions based on what’s currently at its best. She uses fruit as an example—berries specifically. Eating a strawberry that’s in-season versus one that’s not isn’t even comparable.

“Every ingredient depends on the season,” says Novo, “and they taste way better if you pick them in the right time.”

When she creates a menu that’s about her and not about the restaurant, she’s telling a story. One dish might represent what she used to eat as a kid and the feelings of nostalgia it conjures up for her. “I want the people to experience something the same,” she says.

“At Famoso, there’s a soup there that I really, really love. And I’ve been bringing it wherever I go because it just reminds me of my first odd job.”

Novo also thinks about what she can do as a

chef to minimize waste. She uses every part of the food she can (“like for example, a carrot; like I can use the tops to make chimichurri or salsa verde”).

Growing up, she spent her summers helping out on her grandparents’ rice farm in the southern Philippines and she’s inspired by her grandfather and father’s environmentalism.

“So, I’ve decided wherever I am, I have to utilize whatever’s around me,” she says, “because it’s better for the soil and better for earth and it’s better for people.”

When she’s cooking a meal, Novo’s already thinking about the end result and how the dish will be plated. “People eat first with their eyes,” she says. “So when they see it, it’s really good. And then they smell, it smells really good. And then when they eat it, oh it tastes really good.

“So those three things, I always try to make sure that it’s in the plate: The aesthetics, the smell and obviously the taste.”

The passion Novo has for incorporating local food and challenging herself to cook no-waste comes from her own journey.

“My mentors always said, ‘You have to cook what’s based on your story and your history and roots.’” a The Coast • MAY 23 – MAY 29, 2019 • 13

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MUSIC AND ARTS NEWS EDITED BY TARA THORNE SEND TIPS TO ARTS@THECOAST.CA

The Rez Kids come to town on a wave of hype for the brand-new album Trapline. SUBMITTED

MUSIC

On the Nose

The duo Snotty Nose Rez Kids combines hip hop with their Indigineous culture: “It goes hand in hand.” BY MORGAN MULLIN

Snotty Nose Rez Kids w/DJ Kookum, Lex Leosis Friday, May 24, 9pm Reflections Cabaret, 5187 Salter Street $15, showpass.com

F

rom the jump, Snotty Nose Rez Kids grab your ears and attention. Even the name of the British Columbia-based hip hop duo acts like a sharp finger-snap, making the listener confront their internalized racism the way its founding influence NWA did—exposed teeth fluctuating between a smile and a snarl.

“We wanted to pick a name that really represented us and where we came from and that had some humour in it, to show that we know exactly who we are,” Darren Metz (AKA Young D) says with a laugh as the duo speaks by phone.

Metz and bandmate Quinton Nyce (AKA Young Trybez) are just back in Vancouver from Kitamaat Village, the small reservation where they grew up listening to some of hip hop’s biggest records—which explains the ever-soslight Tupac affectation that’s punctuated every bar since the duo’s 2017 self-titled debut.

The pair’s origin story is one that, by now, you probably already know—they were, after all, nominated for a Juno for 2018’s The Average Savage, and when Jeremy Dutcher’s act of cultural preservation Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa nabbed the trophy instead, he made sure all of Canada heard they were part of the same wave of “Indigenous renaissance” washing ashore on our playlists. You probably already know that Metz’s and Nyce’s childhood friendship naturally progressed into the duo rapping together. Then, when Metz moved to Vancouver to study audio engineering, an album quickly followed suit.

They haven’t stopped obsessing over the genre—or chiselling out their own space within it—since. SNRK’s newest album, Trapline, dropped earlier this month, and showcased

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in its beats and wink-nodding lyrics that both rappers never stopped studying hip hop’s greats, turning their ears and attention to the Atlanta scene.

While The Average Savage saw the duo’s trademark tight rhymes augmented by Late Registration-style skits about Indigenous portrayals in the media of their childhood, Trapline presents an alternate view, suggesting who the stereotyped actually are: “To us, the skits really tie an album together. We’re not just writing a chapter, we’re writing a whole novel, a whole book,” Nyce explains. “With the last album, the skits really tell the listener where we come from, and who raised us to be the people we are today. All the skits are done by women in our lives and women that are really important to us.”

Amongst Lil Wayne and Jay-Z, many Indigenous activists stand as tall personal influences. “The Idle No More movement really paved the way for us, that’s what really opened up the lane for artists to speak politically,” Metz says. “Kanahus Manuel”—of the Tiny House Warriors, water protectors working against the Kinder Morgan pipeline—“her energy, her message, her knowledge, her wisdom is just top-notch and really inspired us from 2018 onward. She makes me wanna do better.”

It seems doing better, for Metz and Nyce, will always be doing something over the thud of an 808. Hip hop “originated from people that were oppressed, so it kinda fit us like a glove,” Metz says. “When you think of hip hop and Indigenous culture, it goes hand in hand, really. Take all the elements of hip hop: You have the MC, in our culture we have storytellers. In hip hop you have the graffiti artists, in our culture we have the carvers, we have our beaders, our painters. You have the b-boy dancers in hip hop. Us? We got our pow wow dancers. You got the DJ in hip hop and obviously, we have our drummers. It almost became second nature to us.” a

The Coast

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Arts ART + SCIENCE

SUBMITTED

Biological art fare The IOTA Institute presents a month-long look into the world of bio art. BY TARA THORNE IOTA bio art series To June 21, various venues, free

Stelarc artist talk w/Andrew Pelling Wednesday, May 29, 7pm Paul O’Regan Hall, 5440 Spring Garden Road Full schedule at iotainstitute.com

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he genre of bio art—less a genre, perhaps, than a way of life—is not an easy elevator pitch.

“It’s a term that resists being defined,” says Mireille Bourgeois, the founder of the IOTA Institute—a creative agency supporting artists through writing and research, among other things—which is presenting a series of bio art events in Halifax this month. “It’s more commonly associated with artists who work with living organisms—that could be their own bodies, in a lab, et cetera, a lot of et ceteras. It also takes a political undertone, or overtones at times, where artists are really trying to bring attention to our current existence in the world.”

“Instead of artists using inanimate media, in other words paint on canvas or carving marble, they’re using living cells,” adds Stelarc.

“So the artwork is effectively an installation of living organisms.”

The Australian performance artist is the headliner; he’s speaking on a break from VISUAL ARTS

loading in his installation StickMan—which involves his body being attached to an exoskeleton and being “algorithmically actuated” by the public for five hours—at the Tell Tale Productions office on Cornwallis Street. “All of my projects have been physically challenging or complicated,” says Stelarc, who’s been working in the field since the 1970s. “You’re not dealing in visual symbols, you’re trying to physically realize these projects, experience them personally and interrogate them artistically.”

He’s had a quarter-scale version of his ear implanted on his arm—“I’ve always got something up my sleeve,” he jokes—which will eventually be rigged up with wifi so viewers can hear what he’s hearing, wherever he is in the world. It sounds like science fiction, but it’s all very real.

“The hope is it will pique the interest of new creators and producers and perhaps the citizen scientists working behind closed doors,” says Bourgeois of the series’ goals. “The idea is we’re talking about why we do these things.” a SUBMITTED

Vox Lux Lux Habrich is the youngest artist to show at an exhibition honouring the history of the Nova Scotia Talent Trust.

BY SARA CONNORS First You Dream: Celebrating 75 Years of the Nova Scotia Talent Trust To July 28 MSVU Gallery, 166 Bedford Highway Opening reception Saturday, Mary 25, 2pm

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lthough she’s known for two years, Lux Habrich says sometimes she still can’t believe it.

At 27, Habrich is the youngest visual artist to be selected to exhibit at First You Dream: Celebrating 75 Years of the Nova Scotia Talent Trust. Originally created to fund Truro-born contralto Portia White in 1944, the Nova Scotia Talent Trust now provides scholarships to promising Nova Scotian artists across multiple disciplines.

“NSTT has had 75 years of this, so I assumed they’d have a whole bunch of artists exhibiting, not just 10. It’s totally overwhelming,” says Habrich.

A graduate of NSCAD, the artist’s work focuses greatly on her own mixed identity, inherited trauma and cultural wisdom. Habrich says fellow exhibiting artist and former instructor Dan O’Neil has been “pivotal” for her career. “I was filled with a lot of doubt pursu-

ing a creative [profession]. Dan is so honest,” she says. “He was able to let me know what my practise was before I even knew.”

Habrich will debut two installations at the exhibition—opening at the MSVU Art Gallery on May 25—one of which is a series of drawings from a first year class with O’Neil from 2012. “I only showed them in school, they weren’t featured anywhere else, and had kind of fallen to the side,” she says. “And then I thought, ‘You know what? I need to honour these.’”

The artist’s other installation Borrowed Time, a hand-built sculpture of two feminine hands in offering, is a “reference to martyrdom...Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about femininity and sacrifice, general and emotional labour.”

Habrich recently added an iridescent liquid coming out of the centre of the hands, to show “taking on labour, exhausting oneself.”

“Hands are our primary method of navigating the outside world,” she says. “They’re incredibly personal. Almost like a signature.” a The Coast • MAY 23 – MAY 29, 2019 • 15

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Entertainment Listings Music Look down!

Events P18 On Stage P18 Visual Arts P19

› ENTERTAINMENT AND EVENTS PICKS WRITTEN AND COMPILED BY MORGAN MULLIN

E7 SEE PAG SCOTIA FOR OUR L OF FESTIVA STINGS MUSIC LI

Send event listings to listings@thecoast.ca. Print deadline Thursday, 5pm SURE THINGS

Thursday May 23 Big Ticket Shows THE TOWN HEROES FEAT. ROXY AND THE UNDERGROUND SOUL SOUND See photo. Argyle Street, free, 6pm

DJ + Dancing AUDIO THERAPY THURSDAYS Reflections, $7/$9, 11pm DJ IV W/DJ OKAY TK Vinyl Retro Dance Lounge THIRSTDAYZ W/DJ DANDERSON Menz, 10pm

Live Music ALMASY Timber Lounge, 7-10pm FLIPPED ENGLISH MIXTAPE RELEASE PARTY Menz, 10pm-1am GABRIEL MINNIKIN W/BIG BAD BILLY, JAKE DUGGAN The Carleton, $7, 9:30pm-1am THE HUGHIES Stayner’s Wharf, $5, 7pm LANDING SOUND The Loose Cannon, free, 9pm-12am LEITH FLEMING-SMITH The Fickle Frog, 8:30pm LIAM RING & PHIL GALLANT Compass Distillers, 7:30-10:30pm THE MELLOTONES Bearly’s, 10pm MOON W/BOOJI BOYS, PRISM SHORES The Seahorse, 8pm ROGER STONE Split Crow Pub, 9pm-12:30am TRISTAN LEGG Old Triangle, free, 8:30pm

Friday May 24 Big Ticket Shows OPERA NOVA SCOTIA PRESENTS: THE GONDOLIERS A rendition of the comic opera by Gilbert and Sullivan that satirizes class distinctions—and is considered the pair’s last great success—this Opera Nova Scotia performance promises drama and laughter in spades.

Sir James Dunn Theatre, 6101 University Avenue, $30, Fri May 24, 7pm; Sat May 25, 2pm SNOTTY NOSE REZ KIDS W/DJ KOOKUM, LEX LEOSIS The west coast’s biggest contribution to your playlist, your ears and hip hop as a whole, Snotty Nose Rez Kids bring the same middle-fingers-up energy that early NWA was lauded for. Coming out east on the back of their third album, Trapline, they’ll get your feet shuffling. Read more on page 14. Reflections, 5187 Salter Street,$15, 9pm

Music

THE TREWS The best thing for your ears ever to come outta Antigonish, the straight-up rock four-piece returns to Nova Scotia to save your soul and keep the party going at Street Fest, Argyle Steet’s open-air celebration that’s part of the Memorial Cup. Argyle Street, free, 6pm

DJ + Dancing DJ DXS Pacifico LATE NIGHT DJ DANCE PARTY Stayner’s Wharf, 10pm

Live Music ANALOG HEROES Sniggily Wiggily’s, $5, 8pm DARK LIT SKY ALBUM RELEASE SHOW Gus’, 10pm-2am DAVE TAYLOR Freeman’s Sackville, free, 8pm12am DONNYBROOKS Split Crow Pub, free GREG MITCHELL & NATASHA LEFORT The Carleton, free, 6-9pm GYPSY: A FLEETWOOD MAC TRIBUTE SHOW The Marquee, $15, 7:30-11:30pm NEW HERMITAGE W/SOFT POWER Art Bar, $10/PWYC, 8pm JOSH KELLY Freeman’s Fairview, free, 6-9pm LISA MACDOUGALL Le Bistro, free, 7-10pm MONKEYJUNK Bearly’s, 10pm-1:30am SHRIMP DADDY Whiskey’s Lounge, free, 9pm SORREY W/OWEN MEANY’S BATTING STANCE, WASHING MACHINE, BURRY The Seahorse, 10pm, $10 WHAT THE FOLK! IT’S A LIVING Local Council of Women House, free, 7-9pm

Saturday May 25 Big Ticket Shows GORD BAMFORD W/MERIMAC, DAVE SAMPSON, THE BROOD, MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE A trad and country-heavy set list to keep toes tappin’ at Street Fest, Argyle Street’s open-air celebration that’s part of the Memorial Cup. Argyle Street, free, 2:30pm MARTIN SEXTON Rolling Stone says Sexton is in the same songwriting league as Steve Winwood or Van Morrison. The New York Times calls his voice “ a blue-eyed soul man’s supple instrument.” Dave Matthews calls Sexton one of his favourites singers and songwriters.

See what the hype’s all about at this showcase.

The Carleton, 1685 Argyle Street, $49, 7-9pm & 10pm-12:30am

OPERA NOVA SCOTIA PRESENTS: THE GONDOLIERS A rendition of the comic opera by Gilbert and Sullivan that satirizes class distinctions—and is considered the pair’s last great success—this Opera Nova Scotia performance promises drama and laughter in spades.

Sir James Dunn Theatre, 6101 University Avenue, $30, Fri May 24, 7pm; Sat May 25, 2pm

DJ + Dancing DJ FROST AND XS 7 Red Stag Tavern, 10pm-1am PINEO & LOEB Pacifico, $5, 11pm-2am RETRO NIGHT The Seahorse TOMMY KNUCKLES Sniggily Wiggily’s, $7, 9pm

Live Music ADVOCATES OF TRUTH The Fickle Frog AMANDA RILEY Shore Club BRUCE RICHARD AND THE ALLIES White Ensign Legion Branch 129, $5, 8-11pm CONQUERALLS Stayner’s Wharf, $7, 8:30pm DANCE NIGHTS Newfoundland Social Club, $6, 8-11:30pm DEATH VALLEY DRIVER W/DISCHORD, HERO’S LAST RITE, ORCHID’S CURSE Gus’, $10, 10pm-2am DONNYBROOKS Split Crow Pub GYPSY: A FLEETWOOD MAC TRIBUTE SHOW The Marquee, $15, 7:30-11:30pm JANOWSKI W/KEITH HALLETT Bearly’s, 10pm-12am JESSE STEWART W/MIKE DESJ, TRAMPS, ISLAND KID CUB, THE FOLLOW UPS Menz, $10, 9pm-1am LISA MACDOUGALL Le Bistro, free, 7-10pm OVERNIGHT PARKING BAND W/REUBEN, HOW MANY WITNESSES Whiskey’s Lounge, $6, 8-11pm SATURDAY NIGHT HYPE FEAT. J-BRU The Pavilion, $5/$7, 7pm SIMPLY WORDS Freeman’s Fairview, 8pm-12am SUNRISE Bearly’s, 4:30-8:30pm TIDE BAND Vimy #27 Legion, $3, 7:30-11:30pm

Sunday May 26 Big Ticket Shows JOEL PLASKETT EMERGENCY Argyle Street’s open-air music celebration Street Fest, part of the Memorial Cup, ends with a bang as the king of Dartmouth himself plays a rare hometown set.

Argyle Street, free, 6pm

Sure Thing

THE TOWN HEROES FEAT. ROXY AND THE UNDERGROUND SOUL SOUND Saving rock ‘n’ roll and your ears, The Town Heroes hold it down as part of the free, open-air Street Fest taking over Argyle Street during the Memorial Cup. Thu May 23, Argyle Street, free, 6pm SUBMITTED

Live Music

Live Music

BRAZILIAN MATINEE The Fickle Frog, 6pm JEFF GOODSPEED AND HIS ULTIMATE BAND OF SUPER HEROES Stayner’s Wharf, free, 5-9pm JOE BUTCHER Freeman’s Quinpool, free, 2-6pm ROGER STONE Old Triangle, free, 7:30pm

GARRETT MASON Bearly’s, PWYC GOTTIJAM Menz, $3, 10:30pm JORDAN LEBLANC The Carleton, free, 6-9pm JOHN OLSEN Split Crow Pub, 8:30-11:30pm NEW MUSIC TUESDAYS Sniggily Wiggily’s, 8:30pm

Monday May 27 Big Ticket Shows SCOTIA FESTIVAL OF MUSIC HIGHLIGHT CONCERT #1 Read more about the classical music focused fest (which celebrates year 40 this year) on page 6.

Sir James Dunn Theatre, 6101 University Avenue, 7:30pm

Live Music JORDAN LEBLANC Split Crow Pub, 8:30-11:30pm KEEP THE MUSIC ALIVE CONCERT Charles P Allen High School, PWYC, 7pm ONE MAN SHOW Halifax Alehouse RIVER JACKS W/ALIE SIN Radstorm, 8-11pm

Tuesday May 28 Big Ticket Shows SCOTIA FESTIVAL OF MUSIC HIGHLIGHT CONCERT #2 Read more about the classical music focused fest (which celebrates year 40 this year) on page 6.

Sir James Dunn Theatre, 6101 University Avenue, 7:30pm SCOTIA FESTIVAL OF MUSIC RECITAL #1: FEWER AND NOVACEK Mark Fewer on violin and John Novacek on piano. Read more about the classical music focused fest (which celebrates year 40 this year) on page 6.

Music Room, 6181 Lady Hammond Road, 12pm

DJ + Dancing AMATEUR DJ NIGHT W/DJ MASTER Menz

Wednesday May 29 Big Ticket Shows HAWKSLEY WORKMAN The award-winning Ontario troubadour who makes your knees weak and toes tap returns with a sold-out show supporting his 16th album, Median Age Wasteland, delivering songs about the “purity of loving, loathing, and living.”

St. Matthew’s United Church, 1479 Barrington Street, $44, 8pm SCOTIA FESTIVAL OF MUSIC HIGHLIGHT CONCERT #3 Read more about the classical music focused fest (which celebrates year 40 this year) on page 6.

Sir James Dunn Theatre, 6101 University Avenue, 7:30pm SCOTIA FESTIVAL OF MUSIC RECITAL #2: HAIMOVITZ, ALLEN AND ARMSTRONG Two pianos and one cello take on works by Debussy, Nadia Boulanger, Poulenc and Rachmaninoff. Read more about the classical music focused fest (which celebrates year 40 this year) on page 6.

Music Room, 6181 Lady Hammond Road, 12pm

Live Music ACOUSTIC WEDNESDAYS Gahan House, 8pm DONALD MACLENNAN & FRIENDS Obladee, free, 8-11pm JAZZ NIGHT W/THE EVAN MAHANEY TRIO The Watch That Ends the Night, 7-10pm LAURA MERRIMEN The Carleton, free, 6-9pm SORE LOSER W/HOW MANY WITNESSES Gus’, $6/PWYC, 10pm-1am TYLER KEY Le Bistro, free, 6-9pm Submit events to listings@thecoast.ca or upload them online at thecoast.ca.

upcoming concerts Christina Martin sidedooraccess.com for venue details, May 30, $30 ’90s house party feat. Vanilla Ice, Rob Base, All-4-One and friends Rath Eastlink Community Centre, Truro, Jun 1, $73-$119 Dennis Ellsworth Codapop Studios, Jun 8, $20/$25 Garrison Brewing’s Backlot Bash feat. Broken Social Scene, Dave Sampson, Natalie Lynn Cunard Event Centre, Jun 15, $44 Fortunate Ones The Carleton, Jun 16, $30/$35 Lonestar Rebecca Cohn Auditorium, Jun 17, $72 Matt Andersen and The Mellotones w/Bobby Bazini Rebecca Cohn Auditorium, Jun 22, $50/$55 Def Leppard Scotiabank Centre, Jul 12, $90-$129 Dean Brody and Dallas Smith w/Chad Brownlee, Mackenzie Porter Scotiabank Centre, Sep 26, $48-$108 Thrush Hermit The Marquee Ballroom, Sep 27-28, $44 Pink Martini w/China Frobes, Meow Meow Rebecca Cohn Auditorium, Oct 10, $60-$90 Roger Hodgson Casino Nova Scotia, Nov 16-18, $99 Genius Child: Portia White at Town Hall feat. Harolyn Blackwell St. George’s Round Church, Nov 9, $38 Gordon Lightfoot Rebecca Cohn Auditorium, Nov 22-24, $40-$100

The Coast • MAY 23 – MAY 29, 2019 • 17

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Events SUBMITTED Sure Thing

ILIZA SHLESINGER: ELDER MILLENNIAL The 2008 winner of Last Comic Standing, Iliza Shlesinger has been dropping hilarious truth bombs about modern dating and more for over a decade. Here, she tours her latest comedy special, Elder Millennial, and we’ve got tissues up our sleeves to protect us from the crylaughing that awaits.

Spatz Theatre, 1855 Trollope Street, Thu May 23, 7pm & 9:30pm

ON STAGE

Sunday May 26 CONSTELLATE: SERENDIPITY The live storytelling sesh returns.

Good Robot Brewing Co., 2736 Robie Street, 8pm, $7.50/$10 MEMORIAL CUP CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL It all comes down to this, the final game in the quest for the Memorial Cup. Which hockey team will taste victory? Scotiabank Centre, 5284 Duke Street, 8pm REEL JUSTICE SCREENING A collection of local, social-justice themed shorts— ranging in topics from #metoo to school lockdowns to environmental racism— screens as part of the Mayworks Festival.

The Bus Stop Theatre, 2203 Gottingen Street, 7:30pm, PWYC WALK FOR CYSTIC FIBROSIS Head to the Pondside Amphitheatre in Dartmouth Crossing for this fundraiser walk.

Dartmouth Crossing, Highway 18, 11am-2pm

Thursday May 23 EAST COAST AMUSEMENTS POP-UP In what appears to be an attempt to manifest summer sooner, East Coast Amusements is providing a pop-up fair filled with carnival rides and fireworks. 135 Wyse Road, Dartmouth, May 23-26

IWK AUXILIARY KERMESSE ART SHOW AND SALE Chase Gallery, 6016 University Avenue, May 23-30 MEMORIAL CUP SEMI-FINAL Scotiabank Centre, 5284 Duke Street, 8pm

Saturday May 25

IWK AUXILIARY KERMESSE ART SHOW AND SALE Over 100 local artists pool pieces of all kinds for this sweet sale benefiting the IWK Auxiliary. Chase Gallery, 6016 University Avenue, May 23-30

THE ANCHOR CITY ROLLERS TRIPLE HEADER The local roller derby heroes host out-of-towners Cape Breton’s Tar City Rollers and Pictou’s Kickin’ Vixens. Mayflower Curling Club, 3000 Monaghan Drive, 3:30-7:30pm

THE VILLAINS SPRING SOIRÉE The groundbreaking theatre company celebrates its upcoming season with this launch that features upcoming shows and works-in-progress. Snacks and two drink tickets are included with cover.

Good Robot Brewing Co., 2736 Robie Street, 8pm, $20

Friday May 24 DISCUSSION WITH GAME OF THRONES SOUND DESIGNER PAULA FAIRFIELD The Emmy-winning sound designer who has helped build the audio environment of everybody’s most-obsessed about TV show chats with Jan Peacock about her sound art practice and her work in television and film. Grab tix by searching Eventbrite to

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EAST COAST AMUSEMENTS POP-UP 135 Wyse Road, Dartmouth, May 23-26

THE HISTORY OF RUM AND RUM COCKTAILS From daiquiris to mai-tais, learn about all the fun things you can make with rum at this cocktail sesh.

The Port, 5485 Clyde Street, 6:30pm, $20

TURNING POINTS: 15 PIVOTAL MOMENTS IN NOVA SCOTIA’S HISTORY BOOK LAUNCH Paul Bennett discusses his tome at this reading and signing sesh that’s also a launch celebration of the anthology My Nova Scotia Home.

Halifax Central Library, 5440 Spring Garden Road, 6:30pm, free

18 • MAY 23 – MAY 29, 2019 •

save your seat. NSCAD Bell Auditorium, 5163 Duke Street, 4th floor, 6-8pm, free

CONTRA DANCE All Nations Church, 2535 Robie Street, 7:30pm, $10/PWYC PRELUDE TO CAT FEST If you can’t wait till summer for the museum’s annual celebration of all things feline, this oneday mini-fest will help tide you over with a vendor-filled showcase.

Museum of Natural History, 1747 Summer Street, 10am-5pm PLANT AND BAKE SALE Stock up on homemade baked goods, perennial plants and flea market treasures at this something-for-everyone sale.

Grace United Church, 70 King Street, Dartmouth, 8am-12pm SOARING: MEET, GREET & SUPPORT ARTISTS LIVING WITH DISABILITIES The JRG Society for the Arts sees 10 artists with disabilities display their work at this showcase and silent auction.

Freeman’s Fairview, 3671 Dutch Village Road, 1-4pm TWISTED BLACK TIE Help the Halifax Dance Association and Live Art Dance keep bringing fancy-footed folks to town with this fundraiser that sees you sipping on handcrafted cocktails and hitting up both the silent auction and the dance floor. Atlantica Hotel Halifax, 1980 Robie Street, 7:30pm-2am

Monday May 27 ACCESSABILITY WEEK FLAG RAISING A flag raising ceremony to mark the kickoff of AccessAbility Week.

Halifax City Hall, 8:30-10:30am

Tuesday May 28 BEST 5 YEARS OF BAFF SCREENING The Bluenose Ability Arts & Film Festival celebrates five spins through the zodiac with this screening that acts as a greatest hits of sorts, with the best-loved flicks of past years being shown again. Free popcorn rounds out the fun.

Halifax Central Library, 5440 Spring Garden Road, 6:30-8:30pm MESO AMÉRICA RESISTE! The grand unveiling of a mural-sized pen drawing that took nine years to create, this Mayworks Festival event sees The Beehive Design Collective “working as word-to-image translators,” exploring the themes of the artwork with an interactive presentation compete with spoken word.

The Bus Stop Theatre, 2203 Gottingen Street, 7:30pm, PWYC

Wednesday May 29 CYBERHIVE IMMERSIVE SCREENING Artist Ruth Marsh, known for her fascination with bees and penchant for blending taxidermy and sci-fi, shares a 15-minutes stop-motion sound-and-video piece at the Discovery Centre filled with her curious bee-like robots, followed by a Q&A. Discovery Centre, 1215 Lower Water Street, 5:15pm, free For more listings see thecoast.ca.

Theatre BEING HANK & PATSY Billed as a “charming, intimate memoir about the power of music to bring people together,” this Stages Theatre Festival play-within-a-play charts the life and times of a couple who have spent years creating and touring shows about Patsy Cline and Hank Williams. Neptune Theatre, 1593 Argyle Street, Tue May 28, 2 & 7pm; Wed May 29, 7pm, $20 BOOK CLUB: A HELLO CITY PRODUCTION The reigning royalty of local improv, Hello City, delivers a “yes and” show set within a book club premise. Part of the Stages Theatre Festival. Neptune Theatre, 1593 Argyle Street, Tue May 28, 8:30pm; Fri May 31, 8:30pm, $20 THE COLOR PURPLE It’s the regional premiere of the musical that has won three Tonys between its two Broadway productions. Neptune Theatre, 1593 Argyle Street, To Jun 2 FREQUENCIES (PHASE TWO) Heist—the theatre company that blends immersive art installation and performance and brought us such hits as The Princess Show and Princess Rules—returns with a new, genre-bending offering. Held at Studio 104 (15 Alderney Drive, Dartmouth), Frequencies (Phase Two) is billed by the live art company as “a multimedia show with techno-songwriter Aaron Collier exploring the unfathomable fabric of reality.” To May 25, 8pm, $15-$30 LITTLE THING, BIG THING In Neptune’s latest, Sister Martha returns from missions work abroad with a roll of film that, unbeknownst to her, is full of secrets—and soon sees her and an ex-con caught in the middle of an international corporate conspiracy. Neptune Theatre, 1593 Argyle Street, To May 26 MI’KMA’KI 2030: HOPE AND FIRE Billed as a “dynamic, multi-disciplinary installation performance,” this Mayworks Festival piece sees Black and Indigenous artists envision a new way of being for this land. The Bus Stop Theatre, 2203 Gottingen Street, May 23-25, 8-9pm, $15 A TIMED SPEED READ OF THE TRIANGLE SHIRTWAIST FACTORY FIRE TRIAL TRANSCRIPT WITH ADDITIONAL NOTES A highlight of the 2019 Mayworks Festival calendar, this dramatic trial re-creation sees three actors speed reading the transcripts of the 1911 trial that followed a factory fire which killed 146 people.

The Bus Stop Theatre, 2203 Gottingen Street, May 29-31, 7:30pm, $15

Comedy ILIZA SHLESINGER: ELDER MILLENNIAL See photo.

Spatz Theatre, 1855 Trollope Street, Thu May 23, 7-9:30pm NAWW ON THIS! COMEDY NIGHT Guffaws are guaranteed at this comedy show that sees a host of comedians share the lighter side of disability and mental health with stories from their lived experiences. Part of the Bluenose Ability Film Festival.

Yuk Yuk’s, 1181 Hollis Street, The Westin Nova Scotian, May 29, 7pm, $4 SUMMR SKOOL A wacky blend of trivia night and stand-up comedy that sees comics deliver their best jokes as Jim Temple hosts.

Gus’ Pub & Grill, 2605 Agricola Street, May 26, 8:30pm, $4

The Coast

2019-05-22 3:50 PM

Visual Arts Sure Thing

Rag & Bone Genny Killin unveils a collection of sculptural works at the Craig that, according to the gallery, was borne from “being on the land, the Victorian display of curiosities, and the idea of artifact.” The result? Large, abstract pieces that mimic fragments found in nature (think bone, rock and trash), displayed as relics would be. Craig Gallery, To May 29

SUBMITTED

Galleries ANNA LEONOWENS GALLERY Tue-Fri 11am-5pm, Sat 12-4pm, Granville Square, 1891 Granville Street At Home Artist Kyla Gilbert presents two 20-minute performances daily at 2 and 3pm from May 22-26, exploring the bonds and barriers between the internal and the external. “Using air and gravity as activating forces, the artist highlights the changeability of matter and the fusion of organic and industrial materials,” the gallery adds.

May 22-26 Brand Flavours A cluster of students who have spent the semester developing brand concepts and visual identities for local eateries present their finished visions.

To May 25 Coda: Language and Art A group exhibition that sees “conversation, confession, deception and communication” explored while asking the viewer to consider the space between deeply personal and subjective experiences.

To May 25 Dirty sweep Visiting artist Lauren Schaffer explores domestic and entomological themes—and the value of in-between places—with this digital video and sculpture showcase that takes a deep look at the twelvepace outdoor passageway separating her studio space and her kitchen. To Jun 1 ART 1274 HOLLIS Daily 10am-6pm, 1274 Hollis Street Welded Al Hattie, Art 1274 Hollis’s self-labelled Upcycled Metals Artist Extraordinaire, delivers a set of new, whimsical works crafted from scrap metal. To Jun 5 ART GALLERY OF NOVA SCOTIA Tue-Sun 10am-5pm, Thu 10am9pm, 1723 Hollis Street Salvador Dali, a suite of prints The dandy of dadaism and sultan of surrealism, there is no comparison to Dali. Here, his later work—widely influenced by the Italian Renaissance and the Catholic Church—provides a rare glimpse into the post-melting-clock years.

To Oct 27 Halifax Harbour 1918 The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia’s latest memorial of the Halifax Explosion sees the city’s waterfront shown through the eyes of Group of Seven member Arthur Lismer.

To Sep 2

CORRIDOR GALLERY Mon-Fri 9:30am–5pm, 1113 Marginal Road 365 James Bond Characters After pushing himself to make more art by creating a digital collage (or illustration or photo manipulation) a day throughout 2018, the James Bond superfan Emmanuel Nwogbo (who was also our 2018 New Art cover star) celebrates the film series with his collection of campy, pop-culture-saturated works.

To May 30 CRAIG GALLERY Tue-Fri 12-5:30pm, Sat 9am-5pm, Sun 11am-3pm, Alderney Landing, 2 Ochterloney Street, Dartmouth Rag & Bone See photo.

To May 29 DALHOUSIE ART GALLERY Tue-Fri, 11am-5pm; Sat-Sun 12-5pm, 6101 University Avenue From the Vault: Human/Nature An assortment of photographybased works from the gallery’s permanent collection, this showcase explores the place that human nature and the natural world intersect. To Jul 14 Nature as Communities A collection of works that studies how artists across the country are reimagining our relationship to the environment, from focusing on Indigenious-settler relations to developing land-based practices.

To Jul 14 THE DART GALLERY Tue-Fri 11am-6pm, Sat 11am-4pm, Sun 10am-2pm, 127A Portland Street, Dartmouth MON O CHROME The Dart presents this group show that bills itself as “a wide variety of work presented in a monochromatic palette.” To May 30 GALLERY NINETEEN NINETEEN Mon-Fri 9am-6pm, Sat 9am-5pm, 6025 Stanley Street Flowers for Huntington’s A collection of artists—some of which are living with Huntington’s Disease—deliver this showcase that’s positively in bloom with floral paintings in a range of mediums.

May is Huntington Disease Awareness Month, and proceeds of the show will go to The Huntington’s Society of Canada. To May 31 HERMES Sat-Sun 12-6pm, 5682 North Street Still Under Fionnuala Reynolds’ explorations of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef fuel colourful canvases capturing the altered sensory experience of diving. To Jun 2 KHYBER CENTRE FOR THE ARTS Tue-Sat 12-5pm, 1880 Hollis Street Admit One The Khyber Window—the installation space that’s viewable 24/7 from Hollis Street—sees Halifax-based artist Jenny Yujia Shi continue to explore themes of settlement, permanence and belonging with a site-specific exhibit that “aims to visualize the precarious existence of individuals living without permanent status.”

To Jul 6

MARY E. BLACK GALLERY Tue-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat-Sun 11am4pm, 1061 Marginal Road Illuminations The National Metal Collective presents this group show celebrating the contributions of Canadian women in the arts. The 15-piece, travelling exhibit features candleholders made from heritage silver, crafted by some of the nation’s best metalsmiths—including Nova Scotia’s Kye-Yeon Son and Elizabeth Goluch.

To Jun 30 MOUNT SAINT VINCENT UNIVERSITY ART GALLERY Tue-Fri 10am-4pm, Sat-Sun 124pm, 166 Bedford Highway Carrie Allison: clearing Lauded Indigenous artist Carrie Allison continues unpacking themes surrounding the commodification of land with this showcase that combines her 2017 watercolour and ink drawings with a new series of beaded portraits.

May 25-Sep 8 First You Dream: Celebrating 75 Years of the Nova Scotia Talent Trust This exhibit acts as a snapshot of the works facilitated by the Nova Scotia Talent Trust, which has been awarding scholarships to artists since 1949. A curation of visual arts pieces over generations and media, it skips acorss themes from 1979 to 2016—but all pieces will pique your curiosity or pluck your heart strings. See more on page 15. To Jul 28 SECORD GALLERY Mon-Thu 9:30am-5:30pm, Fri 9:30am-8pm, Sat 10am-5pm, 6301 Quinpool Road Resolve New works by Judy Arsenault and Johanna Steffen await.

To May 31 STUDIO 21 Tue-Fri 11am-6pm, Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 12-5pm, 5431 Doyle Street Familiarity Janice Leonard continues to draw inspiration from the fertile grounds of her childhood home, Paradise, Nova Scotia. A new series of five-by-seven inch “postcards from Paradise”—shown with snippets scrawled from her journal on the back—evoke 18th and 19th century landscape painting while also providing a fresh perspective on familiar views.

To Jun 5 VIEWPOINT GALLERY Wed-Sun 12-5pm, 1459 Brenton Street The Captive Rain Forest Ford Doolittle recently visited the Biosphere 2, an enclosure in Arizona which set out in the early ‘90s to prove it’s possible for plants to completely self-contain in a three-acre enclosure. Here, the results are shared—but believe they aren’t just any collection of vacation snaps: “Now the site of research and a tourist destination, [the] 20,000 square foot rain forest biome looks very much like it is trying to escape from the enclosing glass, unaware that it would soon perish in the surrounding Sonoran Desert,” Doolittle’s artist’s statement says.

To Jun 2 CANADIAN MUSEUM OF IMMIGRATION AT PIER 21 1055 Marginal Road Family Bonds & Belonging An exploration and meditation on what family means, this exhibition promises to “celebrate Canadian identity by exploring families and family history, linking past to present and province to nation.” To Nov 3

The Coast • MAY 23 – MAY 29, 2019 • 19

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LOVE THE WAY WE BITCH / LOVE 2309 Maynard Street, Halifax, NS B3K 3T8 Phone: 902-422-6278, Fax: 902-425-0013 EDITORIAL Editor Kyle Shaw (editor@thecoast.ca) Arts Editor & Copy Chief Tara Thorne (arts@thecoast.ca) Deputy Editor Allison Saunders (allisons@thecoast.ca) Listings Editor Morgan Mullin (listings@thecoast.ca) Acting City Editor Caora McKenna (copychief@thecoast.ca) Senior Features Writer Stephen Kimber (stephenk@thecoast.ca) Contributing Writers Chris Benjamin, Jane Kansas, Carsten Knox, Brennan McCracken Contributing Editors Melissa Buote, Lezlie Lowe, Stephanie Johns Contributing Photographers Meghan Tansey Whitton, Lenny Mullins, Alexa Cude, Riley Smith Contributing Illustrators Paul Hammond, Tim Carpenter, Mollie Cronin, Jordyn Bochon Housing Reporter Sandra C. Hannebohm Interns Jennifer Cruickshank, Alexandra Hernandez

ACTIVE MARKETING PROFESSIONALS Director of Sales and Marketing Christa Harrie (christah@thecoast.ca) Account Executive Kate Spurr (kate@thecoast.ca) Account Executive Haley Clarke (haley@thecoast.ca)

Climate denial doesn’t look good on you To the local alt-weekly newspaper publishing climate denial in the form of a letter to the editor that’s full of lies fabricated by oil companies, risking the future of the planet to make a buck: Don’t.

—Not Brainwashed, Just Worried About The Future of Humanity

Magnolias forever Whoever you are, owners of the house on Maple Street in Dartmouth with that gorgeous magnolia tree: Keep up the good work! That tree is one of the nicest things I see on my drive to and from work. It makes spring time beautiful, especially with all this chilly weather we have had this (non) spring. —Babette

❤

balloon boy ! Yo, I saw you steal the balloon off that old lady’s front porch. Your buddy kept yelling “Wrong house!

Wrong house!” but was perfectly fine after you snagged that precious, partially deflated pink prize. At least

PRODUCTION & ONLINE Production Manager Pam Nicoll (pamn@thecoast.ca) Production Designers Jess Hartjes, Akira Arruda Production Interns Candace Boyle, Kirsten Aitken Imaging Consultant Kevin Cunningham

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THE COMIC

OPERATIONS Office Manager Audra McKenna (audram@thecoast.ca) Distribution Team David MacPhee, Greg Fletcher, Yvonne Cromwell Front Desk Enforcer Kyla Derry (kylad@thecoast.ca) Publisher Christine Oreskovich (christineo@thecoast.ca)

The Coast is Halifax’s weekly newspaper, published every Thursday

by Coast Publishing Limited. The Coast’s goal is to be provocative, entertaining and truthful. Coast Publishing Limited takes absolutely no responsibility for the Memorial Cup festival’s logistical issues.

The Coast is printed locally on recycled stock with 23,000 copies distributed throughout Halifax, Dartmouth and Bedford. Mailed under Canada Post Publications Mail Agreement No. 40027554. Return undeliverable addresses to the Distribution Department, 2309 Maynard Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3K 3T8 (email distribution@ thecoast.ca). Staff and management of The Coast neither advocate nor encourage the use of products or services advertised herein for illegal purposes. All rights reserved. © 2019 Independent and locally owned, founded in 1993.

the third member of your drunk little gang had the decency to look ashamed when I met his eyes. You and the other shitbag, though, have a special spot in hell waiting. I don’t care how drunk you were, you and your buddy are pieces of shit.

Oh, and if that banging I heard as I walked away turns out to have been you, and I see any damage done to the park or bus stop on my walk to work, guess what? I recognized you, and I hope seeing the cops coming to take you in for vandalism scares that shittiness out of you.

—Seriously, Stealing a Balloon From An Old Lady’s House? How Fucked Are You?

Stop giving to street-walking panhandlers Today at the Windsor exchange, there were four panhandlers working all medians and walking into traffic. Stop giving them money!

They are a nuisance and a distraction. Last Sunday, going straight on the Macdonald Bridge at the corner of Nantucket Avenue and Wyse Road, a truck in front of me was giving money to a panhandler (on the passenger’s side) who was walking the middle of the road, just as the light turned green. As the truck took off, this asshole stood in front of me with a big grin, holding me up. Knock it off! —Mad Max

❤ It could be worse

I so much feel better about myself every time I read the Love The Way We Bitch section and see so many people complaining about the most mundane and insignificant things. Life is pretty good when you stop to appreciate the little things instead of complain about them. So here’s to all the folks in this town who have helped me (and many others) do just that. You’re swell.

—Content Coast Reader

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❤

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Bitch poetry slam Bring Back Bald Britney She a boss ass bitch with an umbrella ella ella Bustin’ up car windows No more dancing Vegas puppet Handlers at the kitty cat ranch Fat Palimony bitchboy Federline fed enough He eatin like a king, Bling bling bling, Cut him off judge!

Leave Britney alone!

Illuminati queen, next to Bey But I like Sasha Fierce better.

Bring back bald Britney and bald Bynes too.

Yas yas yas queens Yous the real shits Stay Woke —Read Between The Lines

Who do we want to hold on this week?

The Mooseheads The arena’s score clock HRM-wide military food Fuck me! When I ask people where to go for Italian, Indian, Mexican or any other food that has not been dredged from the bottom of the sea and called fish chowder, I get the reply: “Better to cook it yourself.”

Please do not list a menu item as spicy if it does not have more than an extra shake of black pepper. I go online and check menus and you fucks are more concerned about whether it is vegan or gluten-free rather than if it is authentic. I went to a Chinese place and asked for Sriracha sauce or Chinese mustard.

The waitress almost fell over, as they did not have either one. For god’s sake, pull your taste buds out of the mud. —Albertatransplant

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More bitching Go online to post your rant at thecoast.ca/bitch

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The Coast

2019-05-22 4:10 PM

Free Will Astrology Yell “more!” Libra, insists ROB BREZSNY

Taurus

(Apr 20-May 20)

What standards might we use in evaluating levels of sexual satisfaction? One crucial measure is the tenderness and respect that partners have for each other. Others include the ability to play and have fun, the freedom to express oneself uninhibitedly, the creative attention devoted to unpredictable foreplay and the ability to experience fulfilling orgasms.

How do you rate your own levels, Taurus? Wherever you may currently fall on the scale, the coming months will be a time when you can accomplish an upgrade. How? Read authors who specialize in the erotic arts. Talk to your partners with increased boldness and clarity.

While meditating, search for clues in the depths.

This week’s birthdays: Jennah Barry, Dave Hayden, Torin McClement, Jonny Stevens, Rebecca Zolkower bday@thecoast.ca

Gemini

(May 21-Jun 20)

If there were a Hall of Fame for writers, Shakespeare might have been voted in first. His work is regarded as a pinnacle of intellectual brilliance.

And yet here’s a fun fact: The Bard quoted well over 1,000 passages from the Bible. Can you imagine a modern author being taken seriously by the literati if he or she frequently invoked such a fundamental religious text? I bring this to your attention so as to encourage you to be Shakespeare-like in the coming weeks. That is: Be willing to draw equally from both intellectual and spiritual sources; be a deep thinker who communes with sacred truths; synergize the functions of your discerning mind and your devotional heart.

Cancer

(Jun 21-Jul 22)

“People will choose unhappiness over uncertainty,” writes Cancerian author and entrepreneur Timothy Ferriss. He doesn’t do that himself, but rather is quite eager to harvest the perks of dwelling in uncertainty.

I presume this aptitude has played a role in his huge success; his books have appeared on bestseller lists and his podcasts have been downloaded more than 300 million times. In telling you this, I’m not encouraging you to embrace the fertile power of uncertainty 24 hours a day and 365 days of every year. But I am urging you to do just that for the next three weeks. There’ll be big payoffs if you do, including rich teachings on the art of happiness.

Leo

(Jul 23-Aug 22)

Many 18th-century pirates were committed to democracy and equality among their ranks. The camaraderie and fairness and mutual respect that prevailed on pirate ships were markedly different from the oppressive conditions faced by sailors who worked for the navies of

sovereign nations. The latter were often pressed into service against their will and had to struggle to collect meagre salaries. Tyrannical captains controlled all phases of their lives.

I bring this to your attention, Leo, with the hope that it will inspire you to seek out alternative approaches to rigid and hierarchical systems.

Gravitate toward generous organizations that offer you ample freedom and rich alliances. The time is right to ally yourself with emancipatory influences.

Virgo

(Aug 23-Sep 22)

Don’t wait around for fate to decide which decisions you should make and what directions you should go.

Formulate those decisions yourself, with your willpower fully engaged.

Never say, “If it’s meant to be, it will happen.” Rather, resolve to create the outcomes you strongly desire to happen. Do you understand how important this is? You shouldn’t allow anyone else to frame your important questions and define the nature of your problems; you’ve got to do the framing and defining yourself. One more thing: Don’t fantasize about the arrival of the “perfect moment.”

The perfect moment is whenever you decree it is.

Libra

(Sep 23-Oct 22)

In the coming weeks, I hope you’ll regularly give yourself to generous, expansive experiences. I hope you’ll think big, funny thoughts and feel spacious, experimental emotions. I hope you’ll get luxurious glimpses of the promise your future holds, and I hope you’ll visualize yourself embarking on adventures and projects you’ve been too timid or worried to consider before now. For best results, be eager to utter the word “MORE!” as you meditate on the French phrase “joie de vivre” and the English phrase “a delight in being alive.”

Scorpio

(Oct 23-Nov 21)

According to Popular Mechanics magazine, over three million sunken ships are lying on the bottoms of the world’s oceans. Some of them contain billions of dollars’ worth of precious metals and jewels. Others are crammed with artifacts that would be of great value to historians and archaeologists. And here’s a crazy fact: Fewer than one percent of all those potential treasures have been investigated by divers. I bring this to your attention, Scorpio, because I hope it might inspire you to explore your inner world’s equivalent of lost or unknown riches. The astrological omens suggest that the coming weeks will be an excellent time to go searching for them.

Sagittarius

(Nov 22-Dec 21)

“Some days you need god’s grace,” writes poet Scherezade Siobhan.

“On other days: The feral tongue of vintage whiskey and a mouth kissed by fire.” I’m guessing, Sagittarius, that these days you might be inclined to prefer the feral tongue of vintage whiskey and a mouth kissed by fire. But according to my astrological analysis, those flashy phenomena would not motivate you

to take the corrective and adaptive measures you actually need. The grace of god—or whatever passes for the grace of god in your world—is the influence that will best help you accomplish what’s necessary.

Fortunately, I suspect you know how to call on and make full use of that grace.

Capricorn

(Dec 22-Jan 19)

Capricorn poet William Stafford articulated some advice that I think you need to hear right now. Please hold it close to your awareness for the next 21 days. “Saying things you do not have to say weakens your talk,” he wrote. “Hearing things you do not need to hear dulls your hearing.” By practicing those protective measures, Capricorn, you will foster and safeguard your mental health.

Now here’s another gift from Stafford: “Things you know before you hear them—those are you, those are why you are in the world.”

Aquarius

(Jan 20-Feb 18)

“Love is an immoderate thing / And can never be content,” declared poet W.B. Yeats. To provide you with an accurate horoscope, I’ll have to argue with that idea a bit. From what I can determine, love will indeed be immoderate in your vicinity during the coming weeks. On the other hand, it’s likely to bring you a high degree of contentment—as long as you’re willing to play along with its immoderateness. Here’s another fun prediction: I suspect that love’s immoderateness, even as it brings you satisfaction, will also inspire you to ask for more from love and expand your capacity for love. And that could lead to even further immoderate and interesting experiments.

Pisces

(Feb 19-Mar 20)

You will know you are in sweet alignment with cosmic forces if you have an impulse to try a rash adventure, but decide instead to work on fixing a misunderstanding with an ally. You can be sure you’re acting in accordance with your true intuition if you feel an itch to break stuff, but instead channel your fierce energy into improving conditions at your job. You will be in tune with your soul’s code if you start fantasizing about quitting what you’ve been working on so hard, but instead sit down and give yourself a pep talk to reinvigorate your devotion and commitment.

Aries

(Mar 21-Apr 19)

In the coming weeks, I suspect you will have the wisdom to criticize yourself in constructive ways that will at least partially solve a longstanding problem. Hallelujah! I bet you will also understand what to do to eliminate a bad habit by installing a good new habit. Please capitalize on that special knowledge! There’s one further capacity I suspect you’ll have: The saucy ingenuity necessary to alleviate a festering fear. Be audacious! a Go to freewillastrology.com for Rob Brezsny’s EXPANDED WEEKLY AUDIO and DAILY TEXT MESSAGE HOROSCOPES. The audio horoscopes are also available at 877-873-4888.

The Coast • MAY 23 – MAY 29, 2019 • 21

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Savage Love SEX ADVICE FROM DAN SAVAGE mail@savagelove.net

With empathy, or not In a rare non-sex question, Dan—with help—tackles a woman’s co-dependent relationship with her best friend. running into the same issue with Q Imykeep best friend of five years. (She’s also my

maid of honour at my upcoming wedding.)

We’re both empaths—most of my friends are—and we’re both in therapy working on how to cope with that. I have severe anxiety that impacts my physical health, so one of the empath-related issues I’m working on is not following through with plans when I need to take time alone. My friend claims she understands this but my actions severely impact her mood. Example: We’ll make tentative plans to get together, I’ll feel too sick to follow through and then she’s in a negative emotional spiral for days.

The final straw came when she called me late this past Friday night—just once, with no subsequent voicemail, text message or followup call. On Monday morning, I sent her a text asking how her weekend was and got an icy reply. Evidently, something happened to her on Friday, she called me for support and my failure to return her call left her feeling very upset. I apologized for the accidental trigger and tried to lay down some protocols for reaching out in an emergency situation (leave me a voicemail and send a follow-up text) so I know it’s urgent. She hasn’t replied.

I’m really frustrated. She has a lot of baggage around being shamed for being emotional, so I try to be careful not to invalidate her feelings, but I don’t know if that’s even making a difference. We’ve had several conflicts over the last year, always triggered by something I did or said, almost always accidentally, that caused her to “take a step back.” She insists she understands I’m doing my best to be a good friend while also working through my own emotional shit. But that’s not the sense I’m getting.

I’m feeling increasingly like it’s impossible to be a human being AND her friend. Until recently, I had zero emotional boundaries and made myself available to her at a moment’s notice to help shoulder her emotional burden.

But now that I’m trying to be more conservative with my abundance and take better care of myself, it seems like all I do is hurt her.

What the fuck do I do? I’ve tried to be openminded and patient with her dramatic mood swings, but she seems unable to give me the benefit of the doubt, which I always try to give her. This rocky ground between us is adding more stress to the whole wedding situation.

(You’re supposed to be able to rely on your maid of honour, right?) This thing we have is not sustainable as it is, although I love her deeply. Help me figure this out? —Emotions

Making Personal Affection Too Hard

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Being so attuned to other people’s emotional states that you feel their pain—be-

ing an empath—sounds exhausting. But Lori Gottlieb, a psychotherapist in private practice, isn’t convinced your empath superpowers are the problem here.

“EMPATH’s moods seem overly dependent on what the other person does,” says Gottlieb. “That’s not being ‘an empath.’ Most people are empathetic, which isn’t the same as what these two are doing. They’re drowning in each other’s feelings. This is what pop culture might call co-dependency, and what in therapy we’d call an attachment issue.”

From your letter, EMPATH, it sounds like you might be ready to detach from your friend—you mentioned a final straw and described the relationship as not sustainable— and detaching would resolve this attachment issue. “This feels less like a friendship and more like a psychodrama where they’re each playing out their respective issues,” says Gottlieb. “A friendship isn’t about solving another person’s emotional issues or being the container for them. It isn’t about being devastated by another person’s feelings or boundaries. It should be a mutually fulfilling relationship, not being co-therapists to each other. In a strong friendship, each person can handle her own emotions rather than relying on the friend to regulate them for her.”

Gottlieb started writing an advice column because, unlike psychotherapists, advice columnists are supposed to tell people what to do. I’m guessing your therapist mostly asks questions and gently nudges, EMPATH, but since Gottlieb has her advice-columnist hat on today and not her psychotherapist hat, I asked her to tell you what to do.

“She should act more like a friend than a therapist/caretaker,” says Gottlieb. “She shouldn’t treat her friend or herself as if they’re too fragile to handle basic communication or boundaries. And they should both be working out their issues with their respective therapists, not with each other.”

And if you decide to keep this woman in your life (and your wedding party), EMPATH, you’ll both have to work on—sigh—your communication skills. “Right now, they don’t seem to know how to communicate directly with each other,” says Gottlieb. “It’s either an icy text or complaining to outside parties about each other. But when it comes to how they interact with each other, they’re so careful, as if one or both might break if they simply said, ‘Hey, I really care about you and I know sometimes you want to talk about stuff, but sometimes it feels like too much and maybe something you can talk to your therapist about.’”

Lori Gottlieb’s new book, Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, is a New York Times bestseller. You can follow her on Twitter @LoriGottlieb1. a

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