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- 🗞 Combatting racism with basketball
🗞 Combatting racism with basketball
Plus: Rich Aucoin wants you on his next album & the Art of Disability.
Good morning,
The good news is it’s Friday. The bad news? We’re ending the week off with another bout of rain. A special weather statement is in effect for mainland Nova Scotia warning of 30 to 50mm of rain and the possibility of localized flooding.
Stay safe and have a good weekend!
– Alyssa
⛈️ Today’s weather: Heavy rain with a risk of thunderstorms in the morning. A high of 22C (feeling like 30C) and a low of 19C.
💨 Here is Halifax’s Air Quality Index and the smoke report.
🚗 Driving in the city today? Check out the current traffic conditions and ongoing road closures.
COMMUNITY
North Preston hooper aims to combat racism with 3-on-3 tournament
![](https://media.beehiiv.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80/uploads/asset/file/ad2a09eb-bf05-485c-8a42-89b7d404ceda/North_preston_hooper.png)
📸 Tunnel Vision Association
Basketball has taken Chris Johnson a long way from his childhood home of North Preston. The six-foot-five 35-year-old, who once called Cole Harbour’s Auburn Drive High School home, has competed against the likes of NBA superstar Jimmy Butler. Played in front of a roaring crowd in the NCAA’s March Madness tournament. Called Canadian NBAers Andrew Nicholson, Tristan Thompson and Corey Joseph teammates. Now, Johnson sees basketball as another avenue: A way to reach young Haligonians and Nova Scotians and set them on a better, more inclusive path.
“I think [basketball] is about perspective,” Johnson says, speaking by phone with The Coast. “I found purpose within the game. I was able to play in different countries and get two college and university degrees. And I’m using it the same way now to connect with our youth.”
This weekend, he’s hosting the third annual Anti-Racism Tournament at Citadel High School—an initiative that both promotes social justice and funds skills development programs for young Haligonians.
As The Coast’s Martin Bauman reports, it’s a cause that lies close to Johnson’s heart.
Need to know
🏃 The HRM is warning of traffic delays this coming Sunday between 8am-12pm due to the Navy 10K race. Check out the race route here.
🏊 Penhorn Beach and Albro Lake Beach are closed to swimming due to high bacteria levels.
📃 The city has announced its plans to launch its Voluntary Vulnerable Persons Registry before the start of hurricane season.
🚌 Transit staff deserve a safe workplace, you deserve a safe ride. If you witness or experience any acts of aggression on Halifax Transit notify transit staff or call 311.*
*Sponsored Post
On The Coast
SPONSORED BY CANADIAN MUSEUM OF IMMIGRATION AT PIER 21
Field Trips at the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21
Teachers looking for fun educational trips should think about taking their class to the Museum for one of its excellent programs about the long and ongoing history of immigration to Canada.
Can’t get to the Museum? Never fear! They also offer Virtual Field Trips!
In other news
🏠 Despite concerns about traffic in school areas, a new Beaver Bank apartment building has been approved by Halifax’s North West Community Council. CBC has the story.
💵 Irving has received $463 million in funding to use towards upgrades at its Halifax facility that are needed to build the Canadian Surface Combatants.
🌳 The Province has funded fifteen projects with more than $220,000 through its Habitat Conservation Fund in hopes of improving wildlife habitats in Nova Scotia.
🦠 According to a new Canadian Medical Association journal study, 75% of Canadians had been infected with COVID-19 by March 2023.
🌀 The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is predicting the Atlantic Ocean will see 2 to 5 major hurricanes this season.
MUSIC
Rich Aucoin wants you to feature on his next album
![](https://media.beehiiv.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80/uploads/asset/file/03dc9f56-1831-474b-b8ff-19da55e36705/Rich_Aucoin.png)
📸 Rich Aucoin
So well-earned is Halifax alt-pop artist Rich Aucoin’s “nicest guy in music” reputation that when The Coast reaches him by phone on a late August morning, he’s helping a friend jumpstart their car. The same Polaris and Juno-nominated artist who once toured across Canada by bicycle to raise money for Childhood Cancer Canada—and blogged about it for The Coast—also recalls getting into trouble as a Coast newspaper carrier after college. The problem? He wanted to talk with everyone he met.
“I wasn’t great at the job,” Aucoin chuckles. “Several times, customers would call and be like, ‘Is there something wrong with The Coast today? It hasn’t arrived yet.’ I would just get so caught up chatting with different folks at each place [on my route].”
That drive to connect with people hasn’t left Aucoin. In fact, he’s doubled down on it: Not just in his confetti-filled live shows, in which the 39-year-old often finds himself in the middle of the crowd; but on his newest creative project, the wide-ranging, epic and ambitious Synthetic—a quadruple album that promises “more synths than any album in history.” For Aucoin’s forthcoming Synthetic: Season 3 and Season 4, he’s inviting collaborators to send in synth sounds and arrangements that he’ll weave into his final composition.
Coast reporter Martin Bauman caught up with Aucoin to talk about his vision—along with his show tonight in Hubbards.
ARTS
Everything you need to know about the 11th annual Art of Disability Festival
![](https://media.beehiiv.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80/uploads/asset/file/e8c2bc81-0c58-4254-801f-4dfe92e77035/Art_of_Disability.png)
📸 @il_novascotia
Are you looking for an opportunity to shop for new art pieces and support local artists? The Art of Disability Festival will take over Pier 21 this Saturday in-person (with virtual components) for the first time since before the pandemic.
![](https://media.beehiiv.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80/uploads/asset/file/08a73e09-76f0-4e71-8356-e594972a0336/The_Coast_Insider.jpg)
Sure things
Looking for something to do this week? Check out these Coast picks:
🐎 Halifax County Exhibition: The annual exhibition is happening in Middle Musquodoboit this weekend. Shop from local vendors, listen to live music and enjoy some East Coast Amusement rides & games | Aug. 18-19 | $3-$8.
🛍️ Open Field Market: Looking to do some retail therapy this weekend? Stop by 6067 Quinpool Road for the Open Field Market. Browse vendors, jam to live music and enter free giveaways | Aug. 19 | 11am-4pm | Free admission.
Find more Halifax events in The Coast listings
Shop talk
👏 Real Fake Meats has announced it's expanding its space and is asking for your help to make the most of the final result. Find out how you can support here.
Eat this
🥧 Hey pie crust lover! Tart & Soul Cafe has added an item to its menu just for you: A “plum galette with yellow plums caramelized in brown sugar and honey then tossed in cardamom and cloves.”
🥪 Try Creative Cup Cafe’s Sandwich of the week, Mexican delight. It’s stacked with roast beef, corn chutney, red onion, cilantro, sriracha mayo and feta.
Save the date
🎶 Single tickets for Symphony Nova Scotia’s 40th season go on sale on August 23 at noon.
Deals
💸 Mevyn is currently having one of its biggest sales to make room for new inventory. Shop from multiple 30% off racks!
Have a local special we should feature? Reply back and let us know!
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