🗞️ Halifax to host Canada Pride

Good morning Halifax,

While watching Summer McIntosh win medal after medal in the pool in Paris, I couldn’t help but do some serious reflection on what I was up to when I was 17 years old. Here are some highlights (in no particular order): biffing Timbits at people from a moving vehicle, paying unhoused people to buy me packs of DuMaurier Lights and barfing up lemon gin in the back of my dad’s Toyota Previa minivan.

MacIntosh says that after winning three gold medals and one silver, she is going to unwind with some “teenage fun” and for some reason I don’t think her teenage fun and my teenage fun will look quite the same. I don’t even think they make Previas anymore.

The superstar says she is looking forward to heading to her cottage in Muskoka to do some cannonballs off the dock and celebrating her 18th birthday at the end of August. She deserves a nice long break after becoming Canada’s first EVER triple gold medalist at an Olympics Games—winter or summer. Nbd.

Hope your day goes swimmingly! 🏊‍♀️

– Julie

🌡️ Traffic & Weather

Today: 🌤️ 21°

Tomorrow: ☀️ 24°

Next Day: ☀️ 25°

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.

CITY

Halifax to host the next Canada Pride festival

The Halifax Pride Society has been announced as the hosts of Canada Pride for 2027.

Every few years, a pride organization from across the country is chosen to host Canada Pride, awarded by Fierté Canada Pride. The announcement came during the recent Canada Pride event in Vancouver, which took place from Aug. 1-3.

A press release received yesterday morning details some of what Haligonians can expect from the 2027 festival, which will run concurrently with Halifax Pride from July 15-25, 2027. 

Alongside such festival mainstays as the parade and the Dykes vs Divas sporting event, Halifax Pride promises more than 20 new events across HRM during Canada Pride, potentially making Pride 2027 the biggest in the city’s history.

The festival will also coincide with a queer-focused human rights conference running from July 20-22, 2027, which Halifax Pride hopes will allow them to create “dynamic educational programming and reach new audiences.” Speakers, themes and topics will be announced at a later date.

“This event is the next step in our organization and festival’s growth,” says Halifax Pride operations manager Fiona Kerr. “The chance to not only bring folks from across Canada to the Maritimes but show off how we do Pride here in Halifax is going to be an incredible opportunity for our community.”

Halifax Pride has also stated their commitment to highlighting rural Pride events across Nova Scotia. With approximately 15 Pride events taking place in rural communities provincewide, Halifax Pride chair Adam Reid sees this as an opportunity to connect with these small-yet-essential organizations.

“Rural Prides are doing work that is crucial for our 2SLGBTQIA+ community. They are creating welcoming spaces of equity and celebration throughout the province, and they deserve to be part of this event along with large national scale festivals,” says Reid.

Fierté Canada Pride, which awards the bid to local organizations to host the national Pride event, is a national association of Pride organizations from across the country. The Canada Pride festival has been ongoing since 2017, when it was first hosted in Montreal.

🤔 Need To Know

🚧 Nova Scotia Health is advising residents that as Tuesday, Bell Road will be closed between Robie and Summer Streets until Aug 30 as construction begins on the QEII infirmary.

🎭 Support4Culture proudly supports arts, culture, and heritage in Nova Scotia. From the Avon River Heritage Museum to Neptune Theatre, see the impact Support4Culture makes here.*

🌬️ All eyes are on Debby in the Maritimes as the tropical storm—which caused catastrophic flooding and loss of life in Florida when it hit land as a Category 1 hurricane—moves into the region with potential impacts by this weekend.

🥳 Don't miss the last North by Night Market of the summer this Friday, August 9! This pop-up style party with food, music, and artisanal goods is always a good time!*

🚨 After a nation-wide search, HRM has appointed Don MacLean as the next Halifax Regional Police Chief. MacLean took over as acting chief after Dan Kinsella stepped down in September 2023.

🇨🇦 New exhibition now open at the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21—A History Exposed: The Enslavement of Black People in Canada.*

*Sponsored Post

SPONSORED BY NEPTUNE THEATRE

Dear Rita, A Musical Celebration

Neptune Theatre's newest production, Dear Rita is a joyful musical ode to Cape Breton's first lady of song, the late Rita MacNeil. Co-created by Lindsay Kyte and composer Mike Ross, this show features some of Rita's most popular songs woven together with unforgettable stories and new musical arrangements.

Tickets start at $33 fees & taxes inc. On stage until August 25. Book today.

NEWS + OPINION

Bar, restaurant, some festival staff have until Dec 1 to complete newly mandated safe serving training

On Tuesday, bartenders, servers and certain festival staff serving alcohol across the province were given a deadline of Dec. 1 to complete the Serve Right Responsible Beverage Program, offered by the Nova Scotia Tourism Human Resource Council. 

The Serve Right program costs $69-$85 to complete online. It can also be made available in person, Service Nova Scotia minister Colton LeBlanc tells The Coast, through either restaurants and bars coordinating this for their staff or mandating that their employees request and complete it outside of work. Either way, all 2,400 licensed bars and restaurants in the province will be required to ensure all their staff have received this training by the start of December. 

The course description says trainees will learn how to manage their business’ bottom line “while implementing best practices in the sales and service of alcohol.” It teaches “responsible beverage service and cannabis, energy drinks, and other surrounding factors that may increase the element of risk,” as well as how staff can prevent overservice, up-sell non-alcoholic beverages and refuse service when dealing with intoxicated guests.

The Coast’s Lauren Phillips has more about the new mandate and how it will be enforced.

🗞️ In Other News

🏠 In an effort to speed up the development of residential units, the province has designated four more special planning areas—including the designation of the Westphal Urban Reserve lands, a large green space bordered by Highway 7 and Cole Harbour Road.

👀 The Canadian Olympic Committee has revoked accreditation for the coach sprinter Andre De Grasse, saying that new information has emerged about the “appropriateness” of his accreditation amidst a SafeSport investigation.

🚒 A new report by Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency says the service wasn't prepared for the devastating Upper Tantallon wildfire last year and still isn't prepared for another similar major emergency.

🚔 The province’s police watchdog is investigating an incident where a woman suffered a serious injury to her liver following an interaction with Halifax police.

💙 Now that the Cogswell Street Exchange is gone, an African Nova Scotian non-profit group is calling on Halifax to make things right for the people it displaced when it was built in the late 1960s.

🔥 A fire on the 7th floor of an apartment building on Vimy Ave in Halifax forced several people out of their homes Tuesday morning—no injuries were reported and the cause is still under investigation.

SPONSORED BY CONSEIL COMMUNAUTAIRE DU GRAND-HAVRE

Celebrate Acadia at the Grou Tyme Festival!

The Conseil Communautaire du Grand-Havre invites you to the Grou Tyme Festival on Friday, August 16th, at the Halifax Waterfront! Celebrate Acadian culture with colourful workshops, outdoor games, a town crier and stunning musical performances. Don't miss this exciting day of cultural discovery and fun!

🗓️ Things To Do

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

🗓 6th Annual Wings & Wheels at ACAM: Come explore the Atlantic Canada Aviation Museum and see hundreds of artifacts, including 25 aircraft and a full-cockpit Boeing 737 flight simulator. Plus, a breathtaking array of classic cars. | Aug 10 | 10:00am | $8

🗓 Haligonian Vendor Market: Join in this dynamic marketplace where every stall tells a unique story and each visitor becomes part of our vibrant tapestry. At the heart of this unique event lies a passionate mission—to celebrate and empower small businesses of all kinds. | Aug 10 | 11:00am

Northern Lights Lantern Festival: This festival is a day of fun and creativity for all ages, where old friends run into each other and new friends are made. A celebration of the vibrancy and diversity of Halifax’s north end, it’s a community festival in the truest sense where everyone is welcome. | Aug 10 | 5:00pm

🗓 The Great Outdoors Comedy Festival: The Great Outdoors Comedy Festival welcomes Tom Segura for seven unforgettable dates as part of his acclaimed Come Together Tour. | Aug 10 | 6:30pm | $99.50

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

⚓️ What’s In The Harbour

➡️ The CMA CGM T. Roosevelt container ship leaves Halifax for Antwerp at 5:00am.

🛳️➡️ The Atlantic Star container ship arrives in Halifax from Norfolk at 5:20am and leaves for Liverpool at 5:00pm.

🛳️➡️ The CMA CGM Paranagua container ship arrives in Halifax from Montreal at 6:15am and leaves for Antwerp at 5:00pm.

🍴 Where To Eat & Drink

🍩 Savoury doughnuts  are back at Vandal Doughnuts: cream cheese and sour cream, pepper, garlic, green onion and everything bagel mix. Yes, that’s all ONE delicious doughnut!

🥓 Ride the wave over to Wave Foods at The Local for the Bacon Honey Burger: fried chicken cutlet, honey butter, bacon, lettuce, tomato, pickle and spicy ranch on a brioche bun.

👀 In Case You Missed It

🏅 BEST OF HALIFAX The Olympics are winding down this week in Paris, but here at home the medal hunt is only getting started. Nominations just opened for the 30th annual Best of Halifax Readers’ Choice Awards, meaning you—and other Coast readers like you—get to pick the people, places and businesses that go for BOH gold, silver and bronze. Head to bestofhalifax.com to make your picks.

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