Happy Friday, Halifax!

Do you like dinosaurs? I sure do.

It’s always been fascinating to me that gigantic reptiles once roamed the earth even before humanity had taken shape. It puts into perspective just how young humanity is, in a way, and that can take you down a number of philosophical rabbit holes, all of which are equally interesting and terrifying.

Dinosaurs are also the basis of the hit 2008 video game Fossil Fighters for the Nintendo DS. This fact has nothing to do with anything—I just thought about that game for the first time in a decade and had to mention it.

The real reason I’m talking about dinos is that the Museum of Natural History in Halifax is unveiling a new exhibit, Dinosaur Exploration 2. According to a press release from the museum, the exhibit will include displays of triceratops, stegosaurs and allosaurs. It’s the sequel to an exhibit they hosted in 2024 which drew out over 70,000 visitors.

The exhibit will be ongoing until September 7, 2026 with the grand launch scheduled for this morning. If you have any interest in dinosaurs, this one is a must-see. It opens to the public this Saturday.

Have a great weekend!

– B

📷 @creamy_yet_smooth

Today: 🌤️ -5°

Tomorrow: ☁ -4°

Next Day: 🌨️ -6°

7-day forecast

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

According to Halifax Water, an independent, third-party investigation into the utility’s finances have found there were no financial irregularities that violate its Code of Conduct.

After the decision by the Nova Scotia Regulatory and Appeals Board to approve Halifax Water’s rate increase pending changes to their application, Halifax Water announced a third-party was investigating “alleged concerns to (their) Code of Conduct,” which the utility said was unrelated to the board’s decision.

On Thursday, they were cleared of these allegations according to the third-party investigator, says Halifax Water in a press release. While Halifax Water says they don’t normally comment on public matters such as this, it felt pertinent with the amount of speculation around its conduct.

“We commissioned an independent third-party investigation to ensure objectivity, and we are pleased that the allegations of financial irregularities have proven unfounded,” says general manager Kenda MacKenzie in the release.

“Our team takes great pride in serving our customers, and public speculation has negatively affected employee morale. By sharing the results of this investigation, the entire organization can now move forward with renewed pride and confidence in the work we do.”  

There is no information on who was involved, nor details on what the financial irregularities were, or any involvement of police in the investigation.

🚨 Three youth have been arrested and charged with sexual assault in relation to alleged hazing with a hockey team in Truro—the investigation has been ongoing since October 2025 with at least three victims identified by police.

🔥 A fire broke out early Thursday morning at the Halifax Armoury near the city’s downtown—the Department of Defence say the fire was brought under control and fire operations have now ended.

🛢️ An $30-million agreement between the province and Dalhousie University for an onshore natural gas program is set to be spent on attracting potential developers—research costs are budgeted at around $4 million, while exploration incentives are at $24 million.

🦕 Before extinction, dinosaurs fought to survive! Dinosaur Exploration 2 is a sequel to the hit 2024 exhibit, featuring some of your favourite dinosaurs.*

🛸 It's a cosmic clash of science-fiction titans in Symphony Nova Scotia's Star Wars vs Star Trek ! Tickets are going at warp speed. Book today.*

🚴🏼 Plan ahead for the warm days of summer! Learn about The BIG RIDE 2026 PEI 3-day adventure. Info session: February 10 at Stillwell Brewing, Kempt Road.*

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𝘾𝙪𝙡𝙩 𝙋𝙡𝙖𝙮 immerses the audience in Alex’s journey and the seductive power of belonging. In revealing her dark archive, Alex invites you to step into a thought experiment that questions the boundaries between voyeur and participant.

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On stage February 3 - February 15, 2026. Tickets on Sale Now.

🔫 Premier Tim Houston says no provincial funds will go towards the federal gun buy-back initiative—he called Halifax Regional Police’s decision to take part as “ridiculous.”

🌿 An RCMP manager is complaining about officers being called Nazis and white supremacists during a raid of an Indigenous-run cannabis storefront—one of the men impacted by this raid said the RCMP were following the province’s cannabis crackdown directive.

🐕 A new vet tech program launched by the Nova Scotia SPCA College of Animal Welfare hopes to improve the provincial shortage—with pet ownership on the rise, the number of vet techs and assistants needed is also growing.

"This still feels as good as my first win in 2010" says Scanlan, who has held a top 3 spot every year since. "You can't grow without change and you can't do it alone. I'm surrounded by incredibly supportive and like minded people and a team I consider family."

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

🗓 Music Bingo: A special musical bingo night in honour of African Heritage Month. Live music starts at 9pm. Taking place at the Clayton Park Bar & Grill. No cover and all ages welcome. | Feb. 6 | 7PM |

🗓 Yuk Yuks Halifax presents JJ Whitehead: Cole Harbour’s own JJ Whitehead returns home from a splitting his time between LA and the UK to leave you laughing on the floor. Rachel Ruecker hosts with feature act Cassian Ferlatte. | Feb. 6-7 | 8PM | $25+|

🗓 Celebrations and Revelations 2026: Jah'Mila and Julian Taylor: The Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 hosts artists Jah’Mila and Julian Taylor for a concert in honour of African Heritage Month. | Feb. 6 | 7PM | $40

🗓 Shubie Park WinterFest: A winter tree lighting, hot cocoa, bonfire marshmallows and more at this special evening get-together. | Feb. 7 | 4PM |

🗓 Halifax Mooseheads: Watch the hometown heroes take on the Cape Breton Eagles at the Scotiabank Centre. | Feb. 7 | 7PM | $27.25+|

🗓 Matt Andersen and Mariel Buckley: One of the Maritimes’ greatest folk acts graces the stage of the Light House Arts Centre, joined by Calgary country singer Mariel Buckley. | Feb. 5-8 | 8PM | $66 |

🗓 Mad Madge: This frenetic, bawdy, laugh out loud, romp of a show is on stage at the Neptune Theatre. | Feb. 4-8 | 2PM, 7:30PM | $33+ |

🗓 Dine Around 2026: All of February, stop into specific restaurants across the province for special prix fixe menus for every taste and every budget. | Feb. 1-28 |

🗓 Jeremy Vaughan Ocean Island River Forest: Nova Scotia’s Jeremy Vaughan presents his new collection of work at the Prow Gallery. | Jan. 22-Feb. 13 |

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

🚢 The Edison container vessel arrived in Halifax from Tanger-Mediterran at 4:45am.

🚢➡️ The Zim Pacific container vessel arrives in Halifax from Valencia at 5:20am and departs for New York at 11:45pm.

🚢 The Algoscotia tanker arrives in Halifax from Sydney (Cape Breton) at 5:30am.

🚢➡️ The Nolhan Ava container ship arrives in Halifax from St Pierre at 8:15am and departs for Argentia at 10pm.

🚢 The Leeway Odyssey research vessel arrives in Halifax at 12:15pm.

🚢 The One Crane container ship arrives in Halifax from Colombo at 2:45pm.

➡️ The Algoluna tanker departs Halifax for Montreal at 3pm.

🚢 The Cypress container ship arrives in Halifax from Colombo at 10:15pm.

Thank you for voting us Best Craft Brewery and Best Taproom! We're excited to bring that award-winning experience to our newest location, opening soon, in West Bedford. Same great beer, same top-tier taproom vibe. Get ready, West Bedford, something amazing is brewing!

🔥 The Bonfire has two specials for Dine Around: a fettuccine tossed in lemon dill parm sauce with either chicken or shrimp straight off the grill or a double thick Ospery’s Roost pork chop with apple, bacon, and feta topper and fries (gluten free).

🥪 Larry’s Sandwiches are accepting orders on special-made 36’’ sub sandwiches in honour of Super Bowl Sunday! You can pre-order yours via the link above.

👨‍🚒 The Sanctuary Arts Centre has spoken up regarding fire regulation issues that could see the venue facing massive operations issues going forward. In a letter sent out to the music venue’s community on Wednesday by the Halifax Art and Performance Association, it said the upper level had been reclassified by the Office of the Fire Marshal, a provincial department, when they had a municipal fire inspector in to check compliance while they made improvements to the lower level of the facility, which included increasing capacity and becoming more accessible. This new classification requires massive upgrades that the Association says it can’t afford. Neither can the building’s landlord. “For a few months now, we have been involved in appealing the Fire Marshal’s decision,” the Association writes. “We believe it stems from a misunderstanding of the nature of our operations and facilities. Out of respect for that process and the parties involved, we have avoided commenting publicly on the appeal.” The Association recommits to operating as they have since 2023, reassuring the safety of the Sanctuary Arts Centre.

⚖️ The former CEO of the IWK has been sentenced to nine months in jail for defrauding the hospital of over $30,000 using her corporate credit card—the defence had asked for house arrest, but the judge did not deem it sufficient.

🎒 Violence in schools is still a major concern across Nova Scotia, says the Nova Scotia Teachers Union—the president says some teachers are wearing Kevlar sleeves in their schools to protect against biting or stabbing.

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