Halifax stoner institution MaryJanes Smoke Shop reaches end of the roll

EARTH DAY

Raining on a climate parade

There’s a climate march happening in Halifax this weekend. Marches are happening in Nova Scotia a lot these days. Students marched at Province House to demand affordable places to live. But the provincial government said no. Education support workers have been marching at Province House to ask for living wages. So it’s no surprise that there is a march for the climate this Saturday on Earth Day. Although it may be worth examining the point of marching, even if this one is being billed as a celebration of “our beautiful communities and our continued resistance for love, justice and life on this planet.”

There’s a quote that’s attributed to one of the greatest jesters of a generation, Norm MacDonald, and it goes like this: “It says here in this history book that, luckily, the good guys have won every single time. What are the odds?” There is some debate about whether MacDonald ever actually uttered those words, but in an ode to the late comedian, it may be worth explaining the joke to find out why marches have become so common.

Need to know

🌤 Today's weather: Partly cloudy with a high of 10C and a low of 0C.

🏆 Over 2,000 volunteers have signed up to help with the largest sport and culture event in Atlantic Canada’s history! Join the growing 2023 North American Indigenous Games team.*

🚧 Chestnut Street from Coburg Road to Jubilee Road will be closed today between 9am and 4pm and South Street from South Park Street to Queen Street will be closed today between 8am and 4pm.

🚢 Visit a new exhibition this weekend at the Canadian Museum of Immigration, SS Atlantic: Immigrant Ship Disaster, Canada's worst shipwreck until the sinking of the SS Empress of Ireland in 1914.*

🚧 Jubilee Road from Fairfield Avenue to Bloomingdale Terrace will be closed starting Apr. 23 at 9am until Nov. 2 at 7pm.

🎆 Registration for the 126th Pepsi Natal Day Parade is now open! The parade starts at 10am on Monday, Aug. 7. Registration closes Jul. 21.*

♿ Stopping for a minute? Find another spot. Keep accessible parking accessible. Visit Halifax.ca/Parking and check out our interactive map to find accessible parking spaces.*

*Sponsored Post

TOGETHER WITH HALIFAX BURGER BASH

Halifax you’re flipping amazing

We don’t want to get too cheesy, but Halifax Burger Bash numbers are in and Halifax, you blew us away!

Since 2013, Halifax Burger Bash has partnered with Feed Nova Scotia to raise funds for the 1 in 6 Nova Scotian households that are food insecure. For many years, Burger Bash has been the largest third-party donor to Feed Nova Scotia, giving another whopping donation this year.

Halifax Burger Bash diners showed up and raised $124,178 for Feed Nova Scotia during the event. That’s $40,000 more than last year, and brings the total raised for Feed Nova Scotia since 2013 to $883,779.

A huge shout out to everyone who makes this event a success—160 participating restaurants and their tireless staff, Burger Bash sponsors and hungry, generous diners!

See you next year for another patty party, with a goal to reach $1,000,000 total raised.

On The Coast

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH SALTSCAPES

Saltscape’s Spring Expo happening this weekend!

Discover all that Atlantic Canada has to offer at Saltscapes' Spring Expo! An East Coast showcase of food, art, home décor, crafts, gifts, travel destinations & more. This weekend at the Halifax Exhibition Centre.

Friday, Apr. 21: 11am-8pm
Saturday, Apr. 22: 10am-7pm
Sunday, Apr. 23 10am-4pm

Get your tickets here.

In other news

🌁 Discussions are underway about whether it’ll be more feasible to rehabilitate or replace the MacKay Bridge by 2040. CBC has the story.

🛟 Dalhousie mechanical engineering students have designed a device to help save lives at Peggy’s Cove.

🫵 Arnold Schwarzenegger gave a social media shout-out to Nova Scotia’s Derrick Bona who has been sharing his health journey online.

⚡️ Meet Nova Scotia’s Clean Electricity Solutions Task Force responsible for modernizing the province’s electricity infrastructure to help meet the 2050 net-zero greenhouse gas emissions goal.

🌳 The Forestry Trust will support a new Research Nova Scotia project that aims to help the forestry sector transition into a new ecological model. The project will be carried out at Dalhousie.

🪧 Due to the federal strike, Indigenous Services Canada is cautioning that individuals may experience service delays.

🧑‍⚖️ William Sandeson, who was found guilty in the murder of Taylor Samson, will be eligible for parole in 2030.

🛍 The North End Business Association is looking for vendors for the Open City Agricola Market happening May 13 at Vaughn’s General Store. Any crafters, artisans, foodies and other local businesses interested are asked to submit an application by May 1.

PUFF, PUFF, PASSING ON

Halifax stoner institution MaryJanes Smoke Shop reaches end of the roll

Call it a blunt ending, if you will: Longtime Halifax cannabis accessory store MaryJanes Smoke Shop is no more. As of April 13, the mural-adorned bud bazaar of Pizza Corner (1549 Grafton Street) has displayed a “For Rent” sign in its front window, and both the business’s website and telephone number are no longer active.

The bong and pipe shop had been a downtown Halifax staple since 1995—an institution popular enough, over its 29 years, to appear on sketch show This Hour Has 22 Minutes and spawn a clothing line. Its advertising approach made headlines—and attracted Halifax Regional Police’s attention—in 2018 after the store promised “free weed for a year” to four contest winners to celebrate Canada’s legalization of cannabis.

Speaking by phone with The Coast, MaryJanes owner Scott Doucette says dwindling product margins, two years of pandemic-related restrictions on small businesses and Canada’s ensuing recession have spelled the end for his longtime venture that started out of his Dartmouth apartment.

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