Good morning!

I want to keep this short and sweet today, mostly because I’ve spent the last six hours writing a story that has absolutely destroyed my mental faculties.

Rather than harp on about the news on a beautiful Friday, I want to give a shout out to Taz Records in Downtown Halifax. Last week, I had the pleasure of attending a listening party at their store for Good Kid’s Can We Hang Out Sometime?

A listening party may not seem all that special on the surface, so allow me to explain. My highschool friends and I discovered Good Kid, a Canadian indie rock band, back in 2016. At the time, the band had released two singles on YouTube: “Nomu” and “Atlas”, both excellent tracks that we played on repeat. It had been about a year since that upload when we discovered the two songs, so we didn’t expect anything else from them.

Then, later that year, they announced a third single was dropping. From there, they would drop another single, then their first EP. To date, they’ve released four EPs and as of this month, their debut full-length album.

During the years, they’ve blown up a bit in popularity due to TikTok and such, but it still feels good that my buddies and I could go to this listening party and see just how much the band evolved, from having a couple YouTube songs with a few hundreds views each, to fans wearing their merch while listening to the new record in-store. It was genuinely surreal.

Shout out to Taz Records for hosting, and take this as a recommendation to check out the new Good Kid album. It’s pretty great.

– B

📷 @creamy_yet_smooth

Today: ☀ 13°

Tomorrow: 🌧️ 9°

Next Day: 🌤️ 8°

7-day forecast

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

Shivani Dhamija is turning comfort food into a cultural connection on Canada’s East Coast.

As the founder of Shivani’s Kitchen, Dhamija has built a growing food business rooted in bringing Southeast Asian flavours, particularly Indian staples, to Halifax and across Nova Scotia. What began as a small effort to serve a homesick student community has evolved into a full-scale operation, now stocked in major retailers including Costco, Walmart and Sobeys.

Her journey started with a simple goal: to recreate the familiar.

The Coast’s Warren D’Silva talks with Dhamija about her business and the new products she’s introducing.

⚖️ The former chief Crown attorney is suing the provincial government and the Public Prosecution Service for constructive dismissal—Kathryn Pentz alleges she faced bullying, leading to her being forced out of her role.

🏛️ The controversial 2026 budget session is now over, with Lieutenant-Governer Mike Savage giving royal assent to 10 bills in total—the legislative sitting was the longest under Premier Tim Houston’s leadership.

🏊‍♀️ Canadian swimming star and Olympic medallist Nancy Garapick has died at the age of 64—from Halifax, Garapick set a world record at 13 years old in the 200 metre backstroke and became Canada’s youngest ever female athlete of the year at 14.

🛋️ Parenting pressure builds quickly with routines, expectations, and constant demands. Counselling offers space to reflect, reset, and get support. It supports with a conversation.*

🚙 Out tonight? Of course you are. Lyft gets you there—and back—without the drama. Get 50% off your first five rides. Max $10/ride. Terms apply. Skip the wait.*

*Sponsored Post

With readings and interviews featuring best-selling writers like Souvankham Thammavongsa, Kim Echlin, and Iain Reid, readings from local favourites including Vicki Grant, Tom Ryan, and Christine Wu, new poetry from Sue Sinclair, a North End bookcrawl, and AwkWord, a night of true, live storytelling, Spring ForeWord brings writers and readers together in Halifax.

Festival ticket prices are affordable, so that everyone who wants to enjoy Spring ForeWord can. Venues are wheelchair accessible, equipped with gender neutral bathrooms, and accessible by public transit.

Tickets are on sale now, and they'll go fast, so get yours today.

🪧 The teaching association at the University of Kings College has reached a tentative deal with the school’s administration, avoiding a strike—details regarding the agreement will come at a later date, but the deal was ratified by both parties.

🚓 A man has been charged with making a false report after he was found with gunshot-related injuries last fall—he had allegedly told police four masked perpetrators shot him in his home, but police believe the gunshots were self-inflicted.

🚨 The Department of Labour says a worker has died at a poultry facility in Glenmont overnight on Wednesday into Thursday—the department is currently investigating the matter.

Did you hear? Extra shows of 𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙁𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝘼𝙬𝙖𝙮 have been added to the performance schedule!

Tickets are moving QUICKLY, so you're going to want to jump online at www.neptunetheatre.com or call our Box Office at (902) 429-7070 to book ASAP.

On stage until June 21, 2026.

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

🗓 South End Vintage Market: The monthly South End Vintage Market is back at the Dal Student Union building. Vintage records, clothes, books, decor, and more. | April 11 | 10AM | $2 |

🗓 Together We Brew NS Beerfest 2026: The Craft Brewers Association of Nova Scotia hosts this local craft beer festival with samples from all over the province at the Westin Nova Scotian Hotel. | April 11 | $55+ |

🗓 Brent Butt: Comedian and Corner Gas star Brent Butt takes to the Casino Nova Scotia stage. | April 11 | 7PM | $66.19 |

🗓 Charlotte Thiele, Bryan Cheng, & Silvie Cheng: Legacy: German violinist Charlotte Tiele, cellist Bryan Cheng and pianist Silvie Cheng join together for an evening of emotional performances. | April 11 | 7:30PM | $30+ |

🗓 Summerland @ The Pond Playhouse: Summerland tells the haunting story of William H. Mumler, a 19th-century spirit photographer whose images claimed to reveal the faces of the dead. | March 26-April 11 | 8PM | $15+ |

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

HRM comes alive during Burger Bash, driving foot traffic and economic activity across the restaurant sector. Participating businesses showcase unique burger creations, engaging new and returning customers while highlighting the diversity of HRM’s dining scene. The event also supports community impact, with restaurants contributing donations to Feed Nova Scotia.

➡️ The Em Kea container vessel departed Halifax for Bremerhaven at 12:30am.

➡️ The Algoma Acadian tanker departs Halifax for Saint John at 6am.

🚢➡️ The MSC Adu V container vessel arrives in Halifax from Montreal at 7:15am and departs for Malaga at 4:30pm.

🚢 The Silver Arctic container vessel arrives in Halifax from Nonortalik at 8:45am.

➡️ The Algoscotia tanker departs Halifax for Sydney (Cape Breton) at 2pm.

🚢➡️ The Atlantic Star container vessel arrives in Halifax from Norfolk at 3:20pm and departs for Liverpool at 11pm.

➡️ The Oceanex Sanderling container vessel departs Halifax for St. John’s at 6pm.

Heather Rankin returns to the stage with Symphony Nova Scotia on April 25 & 26. Her folk-rooted songs are filled with the richness of a full orchestra in a collaboration that is both joyful and exhilarating—an unforgettable evening of Heather's witty charm and warm, expressive vocals. Enjoy a night out.

🥪 2 Doors Down have switched up their Fried Chicken Sammy, now with crispy chicken thigh, bacon-tomato jam, lemon-herb mayo, dill pickles, hot honey, and lettuce.

🍨 Churned has a special ice cream for all you breakfast cereal lovers out there: Fruity Cereal Ice Cream. Available now in scoops and pints, not gluten-free.

Wave Foods is bringing serious heat to Burger Bash with The Bánh mì Chop — a quarter pound pork dumpling, smashed and chopped, piled high with melty white cheese, mushroom sesame duxelles, cucumber, jalapeño, cilantro, and mixed pickles, all tucked into a french roll and finished with their signature Wave sauce. It's bold, it's fresh, and it's exactly the kind of burger that makes Burger Bash worth showing up for.

Check out the full line-up and start planning your order.

🎮 Edoardo Vitali, an Italian game designer, spent a year in Nova Scotia in the 2010s. Inspired by what he saw, Vitali is developing an atmospheric mystery video game called Benton Cove, set in a fictional town within the Annapolis Valley.Having lived in Dartmouth, Vitali had the chance to experience much of the province’s finest sights, including the valley, becoming a source of inspiration for his artistic endeavours. This isn’t his first stab at capturing Nova Scotia’s unique setting, either. The Coast’s Brendyn Creamer talks with Vitali about Benton Cove, his in-development horror-mystery game based within Nova Scotia.

🏛️ Nova Scotia’s longest legislative session in Tim Houston’s time as premier may be coming to an end as the government passes four pieces of legislation Tuesday night—one of the amendments passed allows the province to have final say over the hiring of the next Nova Scotia Community College’s president.

🇱🇧 Halifax’s Lebanese community has voiced anger and frustration over Israel’s continued bombardments in southern Lebanon—over 1.1 million people have been displaced since the start of the conflict.

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: