🗞️ A building fit for a King(’s)

Happy Friday Halifax!

Did you know that there is a thing called World News Day? And it’s happening tomorrow? Neither did I until my editor told me and then told me to tell you.

The theme this year—as you can see—is Choose Truth, which is a bit rich because sinister news conglomerates lie so much and will literally say anything to get your clicks, so how am I supposed to choose truth when I have zero idea who is telling it?

Okay, deep breath. Maybe it’s a bit my fault that I click on every headline that mentions Taylor Swift in my social media feed and get burned. Every. Damn. Time.

But I digress…

The good news is that here at The Coast, we are kind of obsessed with fact-based journalism and we work really hard to bring you honest, local news. Actually local. Like, our founders and reporters live here—we have Birkenstocks on the ground—and we’re committed to telling the stories that matter most to you, dear readers.

In honour of World News Day, why not become a Coast Insider so that we can continue to tell you the truth? Your support is so important to us and allows us to have more resources to bring you the news you love!

Have a safe and restful weekend!

– Julie

🌡️ Traffic & Weather

Today: 🌦️ 19°

Tomorrow: 🌤️ 19°

Next Day: ☀️ 19°

7-day forecast

🚗 Driving, biking or busing today? Check out the current traffic conditions and ongoing road closures.

💨 Here is Halifax’s Air Quality Index and the smoke report.

ARTS + CULTURE

What you need to know about the Prismatic Arts Festival

Today marks the beginning of the Prismatic Arts Festival in Halifax, an annual celebration of the multidisciplinary arts by Indigenous artists and artists of colour.

Taking place in venues across the city, the festival features art exhibitions, live music and theatre performances, film screenings, as well as several industry events such as its The TALK conference, masterclasses and workshops.

Perhaps the most anticipated performance from the festival is a concert from Mumu Fresh, the Grammy-nominated Afro-Indigenous musician who, on top of being an Indigenous Music Award winner, is also the musical ambassador of the US State Department and the Ambassador of The Black Music Collective. She’ll take the stage at the Joseph Strug Hall in the Dalhousie Arts Centre on Oct. 4.

The Coast’s Brendyn Creamer has a guide on everything you need to know about the Prismatic Arts Festival, running now until Oct. 6.

🤔 Need To Know

🇨🇦 The federal minority Liberal government survived a non-confidence vote; the Bloc Québécois says if the Liberals want to avoid an election before Christmas, they will have to meet its demands by the end of next month.

🟡 Tonight! Celebrate Nocturne season with graphic designer Jupiter V, and a pint of Nocturne Dark Lager (Propeller on Gottingen, 6:30 p.m. till late.)*

Five of the candidates running for mayor of the HRM fielded questions at an event hosted by the Halifax Chamber of Commerce on Thursday—answering questions about topics ranging from economic policies relating to commercial and residential property taxes, to affordability issues, to housing and transportation.

🎟️ Help to support food-insecure households in Nova Scotia AND get a chance to win half the jackpot when you buy Feed Nova Scotia 50/50 tickets.*

✏️ An editorial cartoon lampooning the large number of people running in Halifax's mayoral election is facing criticism for using the image of a monkey to illustrate a candidate—cartoonist and Order of Canada recipient Michael de Adder depicts a bald white man and a monkey sitting next to each other on a sofa.

🍺 Supporting the East Coast Ukrainian Association, Garrison Brewing is donating $0.50 from each can sold of their new authentic Ukrainian Pilsner, "Hopak" to the ECUA!*

🇨🇦 Explore A History Exposed: The Enslavement of Black People in Canada, a new myth-busting exhibition that reveals a history many Canadians don’t know about.*

🚨 A third person is now facing charges as the investigation into the murder of Devon Marsman—the 16-year-old who went missing from Spryfield in 2022—continues.

*Sponsored Post

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EDUCATION

King’s selects architects for new campus residence and “dynamic new hub”

In December of 2023, the University of King’s College received a $1 million gift from the school’s chancellor Debra Deane Little, and her husband Bob Little, to find a designer for a new building on campus. On Thursday, King’s announced they’d found one and have begun releasing some early details. In a press release on Sep. 26, the school announced that the contract to build a new 140,000-square-foot multi-purpose facility has been awarded to the Canadian architectural firm Diamond Schmitt, in association with Abbott Brown. 

The new facility, which will replace the current King’s gym at the southwest corner of campus, is meant to double the school’s on-campus housing by adding 287 new beds and “serve as a dynamic new hub” for King’s School of Journalism, Writing and Publishing. It will include a first-in-Canada “Centre for Excellence in Podcasting” as well as a new gym and wellness centre. King's 267-capacity residences were full before September this year, which has been a pattern as Halifax remains firmly in a housing crisis. 

Martin Davidson, a principal architect at Diamond Schmitt, called the future building a “transformational project” in the release and an “innovative sustainably-driven facility for the 21st century.”

The Coast’s Lauren Phillips spoke with a King’s about the decision to award the project to the Canadian architectural firm Diamond Schmitt.

🗞️ In Other News

🧑‍💻 The woman who oversees the work of Nova Scotia Health is doing her job from Ontario—the province’s health minister doesn't believe being the administrator from three provinces away in any way hinders Janet Davidson's ability to do her nearly $200,000-a-year job.

🔋 The Nova Scotia government is spending $21.9 million on new and expanding energy efficiency programs to support net-zero construction and affordable housing.

🎤 One of Canada’s most celebrated rock bands—Our Lady Peace—is coming to Halifax next year as part of a Canada-wide tour to celebrate their 30-year career.

🩺 60% of Nova Scotia's young nurses are leaving the province every year—according to a new report by an independent think tank.

🏥 Three hospitals in Nova Scotia will be getting new dialysis units—All Saints Springhill Hospital, Roseway Hospital in Shelburne and Strait Richmond Hospital in Evanston.

🪦 A Halifax anthropology professor and his students are using ground-penetrating radar on a historical site to create an interactive map that will tell the stories of some of the thousands of people buried there.

SPONSORED BY AGE & HUFF

Rankin MacInnis and The Broken Reeds, NOBRO , Sigsour and more!

Get your tickets while you can! NOBRO, Rankin MacInnis and the Broken Reed, SigSour, Jamie Fontaine, Customer Service & HOOCH!

🗓️ Things To Do This Weekend

Looking for something to do this week? Check out these Coast picks:

🗓 Graeme Patterson—Strange Birds: The sculptures in this innovative show are also the settings for both a projected animation and a virtual reality environment. | Sep 6-Nov 10 |

🗓 Matt Minglewood—Live at the Shore Club: Minglewood is now backed by a new young band that has been able to keep up with his high-energy stage performance. Expect to hear tunes from Minglewood’s new album Fly Like Desperados, as well as his anthems that shaped the Nova Scotia music scene in the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s. | Sep 27 |  9:30pm | $45

🗓 Exhibition—East of East Atlantic Hip Hop Archive: This exhibition delves into the rich history of hip hop culture in the Atlantic Provinces dating back to the 1980s. Curated by founder Michael McGuire, it showcases a selection of digital and physical items from an archive of over 2,100 recordings, 400 posters and 9 hours of video, along with 850 CDs, 165 cassettes, and 280 vinyl records. | Sep 21-Nov 23

🗓 Still Tho—Aesthetic Survival in Hip Hop’s Visual Art: An ode to the visual artists in Canada who shaped hip hop culture and its visual aesthetics. In this group exhibition featuring artists from across Canada, an array of mixed-media works explores the growth, influence and importance of graffiti art and its aesthetic legacies. | Sep 21-Nov 23

🗓Magnetic World Music Festival: Feel the magnetic pull of EDM and hip hop at Magnetic World, where a stellar lineup will create an unforgettable cosmic journey through sound and space at Citadel Hill. | Sep 28 | 3pm | $148

🗓Anime Cabaret—An Anime-Themed Drag and Burlesque Show: This live show captures everything you love about anime! Prepare to see a fabulous line-up of nerdy, outrageous and never-before-seen drag and burlesque performances from the talented cast. | Sep 28 | 7:30pm | From $11

🗓Menopause The Musical 2: Cruising Through ‘The Change’ is a hilarious and heartfelt look at the joys of menopause and friendship — plus hot flashes, mood swings, memory lapses and  more! Join this trip of self-discovery, backed by a new soundtrack of toe-tapping parodied greatest hits from the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s! | Sep 29 | 3pm | From $39.99

Have an event to share? Let us know at [email protected].

⚓️ What’s In The Harbour

➡️ The CSL Tacoma bulk carrier leaves Halifax for Wilmington at 5:30am.

➡️ The Nolhan Ava container ship leaves Halifax for Argentia at 4:30pm.

➡️ The Oceanex Sanderling container ship leaves Halifax for St. John’s at 7pm.

🛳️➡️ The Norwegian Breakaway cruise ship arrives in Halifax at 10am and leaves for Canadian seas at 8:30pm.

🛳️➡️ The Star Pride cruise ship arrives in Halifax at 9am and leaves for Canadian seas at 9pm.

🛳️➡️ The Glen Canyon container ship arrives in Halifax from Valencia at 6:20am and leaves for New York at 10pm.

🛳️ The CMA CGM Norma container ship arrives in Halifax from Colombo at 6:15pm.

🍴 Where To Eat & Drink

🎂 Celebrate someone special’s autumn birthday with the Lemon Blueberry Cake from Layers Cupcakes: lemon cake with thin layers of blueberry compote, filled with two layers of lemon curd swirled lemon cream cheese and a middle layer of lemon blueberry curd.

🥔 Water Polo is making the humble potato into a fancy lady with the Smoked Potato and Truffle Agnolotti: aged cheese, truffle magic and a hint of chive oil.

👀 In Case You Missed It

🧡 The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is a time for all Canadians to reflect on the impact residential schools continue to have on Indigenous communities nationwide. Happening Monday, Sep. 30, NDTR is also Orange Shirt Day, and it coincides with Treaty Day in Nova Scotia on Oct. 1—which marks the beginning of Mi’kmaq History Month. The Coast’s Brendyn Creamer has your guide to observing NDTR and Treaty Day in Halifax.

🗳️ HFX VOTES 2024: District 1 and District 2 make up Halifax's entire eastern flank, a massive region that over-contributes to HRM having an area the size of the entire province of Prince Edward Island. Rounding out the rest of eastern HRM—everywhere east of Dartmouth—are Districts 3 and 4, two more interesting races in the election. Our City Hall reporter Matt Stickland has previewed them all, with enough insight to make you care even if you don't live there. Start with Matt's District 1 voting guide on our website, and you'll find links to the other eastern districts at the bottom of that page.

😷 Visitors and workers at Nova Scotia Health will see new masking requirements starting this week—the health authority says the updated policy applies to everyone at in-patient and ambulatory areas where clinical care is provided.

🗳️ With less than a month until HRM residents head to the polls, former MP Andy Fillmore appears to be in the lead among the 16 mayoral candidates—according to one poll.

That’s it!

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