🗞️ Alice in Wonderland showcases two femme icons

Happy Friday Halifax,

Welp, we made it through another week, so a huge congratulations to all.

There are some iconic events to check out this weekend. Shakespeare By The Sea is opening for the season on Saturday night (see my article below on the new twist on Alice in Wonderland), the Atlantic Kite Festival is taking to the skies at the Garrison Grounds all weekend, and the Halifax Mural Festival kicks off on Sunday.

If you’re looking for me—and it would be weird if you were—I’m def going to check out the Summer Vintage show on Saturday. I’m in the market for some haunted wares.

Whatever you do, I hope it’s restful.

– Julie

🌡️ Traffic & Weather

Today: 🌦️ 24°

Tomorrow: ☁️ 22°

Next Day: 🌧️ 28°

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

Alice in Wonderland pits femme icons against each other, but love wins in the end

At the risk of dating myself, I must confess that as a child, I wore out my VHS recording of a live action version of Alice In Wonderland. I remember being equal parts horrified and intrigued by the insanity of it all; the unsettling riddle-speak, the unhinged characters and don’t even get me started on the Jabberwocky. 

I fully believe that story lit not just my burgeoning fascination with the macabre, but more importantly, my staunch feminism. The Queen of Hearts rules with an iron fist—seizing authoritarian control of all of Wonderland and its bonkers inhabitants—while her lame bumbling husband plainly sucks and I’m always here for that dynamic. 

So as a self-proclaimed Alice head, I love consuming her content in all of its permutations and combinations; and this summer presents a great opportunity to see a wild take.

Lewis Carroll’s fever dream brain child turned classic tale of Alice and her mind-bending adventures has been captivating readers and audiences for generations and now it’s taking to Point Pleasant Park in a fantastical musical version presented by Shakespeare by the Sea (SBTS).

This SBTS original production was first performed in 2012, then re-imagined in 2018 and now again in 2024. The latest edition is a mash-up of the previous two, redeveloped and rewritten over time.

The Coast caught up with the two stars—Amaka Umeh and Jade Douris O-Hara—to find out how they’re breathing new life into an old classic.

🤔 Need To Know

🪼 Nova Scotia Parks says Portuguese man o' war—a species of siphonophore and closely related to jellyfish—have been spotted on Atlantic coastal beaches recently, including Lawrencetown.

⚠️ A recreational water quality advisory is in effect at Birch Cove Beach and Shubie Park Beach in Dartmouth until further notice due to high bacteria levels in the water. Residents are asked to avoid swimming.

🌊 Narwhal: Revealing an Arctic Legend is on display at the Museum of Natural History from July 6 to September 2, 2024.*

🥳 The Gottingen Street Festival joins forces with the Halifax Mural Festival and Unity Fest for an exciting event on July 13th. The event features new murals, local vendors, live music, and celebrates art and community in North End Halifax.*

*Sponsored Post

SPONSORED BY DOWNTOWN HALIFAX BUSINESS COMMISSION

It's July in Downtown Halifax!

It's July in Downtown Halifax and summer is officially here!

Did you know that July is National Anti-Boredom month?

Good thing that Downtown Halifax is jampacked with exciting events to help you keep boredom at bay.

Check out all the events happening this month in Downtown Halifax here.

CITY

HFX Votes 2024 - Why do we have a property tax cap? Feat. Darrell Dexter

Thanks to everyone who wrote to me about the first property tax episode. Especially to Mark who pointed out that Deny and myself were a bit incorrect. Despite being one unit, non-owner occupied condos are not subject to the cap in the same way a one-unit lot (a.k.a. house) would be. 

I know there are a lot of people who don’t want taxes to go up, but the fact of the matter is that our currently provided municipal goods, services and infrastructure are costing more money than the city is bringing in. On top of that, our city’s growth means we need more infrastructure, like fire stations and police stations. And yet still on top of that the infrastructure we do have, like arenas, rec centres and libraries, is falling apart and needs repair or replacement. And yet still on top of that councils in the past and this council have frequently decided to keep the tax rate low which means most of Halifax’s services are already cut to the bone and any further cut would be extremely noticeable. 

To our current council’s credit, there are a few ways to fix this fiscal crunch for the long term. For example, the Housing Accelerator Fund bylaw changes will add density, which means more property tax revenue. Density also decreases the cost of administering municipal services. So in the future, the city will earn more and spend less. 

In part 2 I sit down with Darrell Dexter, the former premier of Nova Scotia to ask him about why we have a property tax cap in the first place. In the conversation, Dexter explains that the property tax cap is doing its job, protecting people from being gouged by the market. And that it’s incumbent on councillors to use the other tools at their disposal to make their budget make sense. He also talked about the philosophy behind policy-making and how to anticipate outcomes.  

You can listen to HFX Votes 2024: Why do we have a property tax cap? feat. Darrel Dexter here. 

🗞️ In Other News

🏢 Dalhousie student union president tells The Coast she hopes the university will fulfill on divestment from Israel’s occupation and war in Gaza before her term is up.

🐳 A large humpback whale has beached on the shore of the Shubenacadie River near the town of Stewiacke on Thursday—four days after it was first discovered in the area.

🚰 Halifax Water says it could have sent out an alert sooner about the nearly city-wide boil-water advisory, but didn’t know the province's emergency alert service was available to it.

🚒 Halifax Fire and Rescue put out a fire in a chimney at Brothers Meats and Delicatessen on Agricola Street during the morning rush hour on Thursday—no injuries were reported.

🪧 Unions representing health-care workers have filed for conciliation to reach an essential services agreement with the province—a first step toward a possible strike.

🏒 Five more players have detailed degrading, humiliating and abusive trauma they say they suffered as minors during hazing rituals while in the QMJHL between the 1970s and 2000s.

🚑 The Camp Courage program in Halifax teaches women and gender-diverse youth the skills necessary to become first responders with days dedicated to coast guard training, paramedic response, fire training and police drills.

SPONSORED BY SHAKESPEARE BY THE SEA

Summer Plans? Shakespeare by the Sea!

Atlantic Canada’s longest-running outdoor theatre with performances in beautiful Point Pleasant Park! This summer brings the return of the smash-hit family musical ALICE IN WONDERLAND, Shakespeare’s brilliant comedy TWELFTH NIGHT, and the one-night-only, must-see event: UNREHEARSED MACBETH. Don’t miss this beloved Halifax summer tradition, get your seats today!

🗓️ Things To Do This Weekend

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

🗓 The Fabulously Rich - Live at the Shore Club: As they’ve toured across the Maritime provinces, playing venues large and small to frequently sold-out audiences, they have seen firsthand the profound impact The Tragically Hip's music has on the fans. Come join a community bound together by our profound appreciation for The Hip's music and committed to honouring Gord's legacy and contributions. | July 5 | 10pm | $25 advance and $40 at the door

🗓 Peggy's Cove Area Festival of the Arts - Paint Peggy’s Cove: A three-day plein air painting event with over 40 local and international artists participating. Artworks produced will be offered for sale in the Yurt located in the centre of the village. A children’s art tent will offer free creative activities next to the Yurt. | July 5-7 | 9am | Free

🗓 Votive Dance Presents Don't Wake the Lions: A rhythmic, grounded, and physical piece, performed with live music, rooted in contemporary jazz and tap dance. First premiered in Halifax in 2021, Votive Dance is excited to be bringing this incredible show back to the stage at Neptune Theatre. | July 6-7 | $25

🗓 Halifax Mural Festival: Get ready for live music, artist talks, community market and more to explore at the Halifax mural festival. | July 6-14

🗓 Summer Vintage Show: Since 2019, the Curio Collective is Halifax’s biggest exclusively vintage and antiques market promoting a curated, sustainable shopping experience featuring sellers from across the Maritimes. This family friendly, fully accessible event is held at the Lighthouse Arts Centre in downtown Halifax. | July 6 | 10am | $5

🗓 Shakespeare By The Sea presents Alice in the Wonderland: Eat Me! Drink Me! The smash hit original SBTS musical based on Lewis Carroll's classic story is back! Grab your friends and the whole family and fall down the rabbit hole this summer! This 80-minute romp features a wildly inventive script and wonderfully musical score that will have you laughing and singing along with a curious young girl named Alice, and an even curiouser cast of characters of Queens, Cards, White Rabbits, Mad Hatters and Cheshire Cats. | July 6-Aug 31 | Starting at $10

🗓 Atlantic Kite Festival: Look up, look way up! Kite enthusiasts from all along the east coast will be at the Garrison Grounds for some colourful fun in the sun for the whole family. | July 6-7 | 10am

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

⚓️ What’s In The Harbour

🛳 The Algoscotia oil tanker arrives in Halifax from Viana de Castelo at 12:30am.

🛳️ The Silver Shadow cruise ship arrives in Halifax from Canadian seas at 8am.

➡️ The Onego Deusto cargo ship leaves Halifax for unknown seas at 8am.

🛳️ The CMA CGM Laperouse container ship arrives in Halifax from New York at 3:45pm.

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

➡️ The Nolhan Ava container ship leaves Halifax for Argentia at 6pm.

🛳️➡️ The Zim Eagle container ship arrives in Halifax from Valencia at 6:20am and leaves for New York at 11pm.

🍴 Where To Eat & Drink

🍍 Cocktail + Dessert = The Pineapple Cake at Brooklyn Warehouse: white rum, cherry liqueur, pineapple juice, lemon juice, orgeat.

🥧 Indulge (without the dairy and gluten) at the Wooden Monkey with the classic Chocolate Tofu Pie: non-dairy chocolate and silken tofu from Acadiana Soy with an almond-walnut crust and whipped cream.

👀 In Case You Missed It

🎧 NEW EPISODE - HFX Votes 2024: The Coast’s municipal election podcast explainers continue with a deep dive into property taxes and the property tax cap. In this episode, Matt sits down with local economist Deny Sullivan to ask him some questions like: What is the property tax cap? How does it work? Is our council penny-wise and pound-foolish? Listen now.

🐝 A few of the Wu-Tang Killa Beez will stop by Halifax this month for a fundraising concert supporting the Union of Black Artists Society (UBAS). The concert will be the union’s first big fundraising effort after their successful Block Party celebrations last summer, which launched the organization. The Coast’s Brendyn Creamer speaks to the concert’s organizers about getting the Killa Beez to Halifax, as well as the details to their contest to perform alongside the Wu-Tang affiliates.

🗳️Andy Fillmore announced that he is officially running for mayor of Halifax—leaving federal politics after nearly nine years as the city's MP.

🩺 Nova Scotians are now able to access a number of their personal health records through the province’s mobile phone application called YourHealthNS—the result of a successful $3M pilot project earlier this year.

That’s it!

Thanks for reading The Coast Daily today.

If you found something useful, consider forwarding this newsletter to another Haligonian.

And before you go, let us know: