🗞️ Integration nation

Good morning!

Did you know that Valentine’s Day has my favourite kind of roots? Thats’s right! Dark, pagan ones.

From Feb 13 to 15, the Romans celebrated the feast of Lupercalia, where the men sacrificed a hog and a goat—to promote fertility obviously. The wild soiree ended with a matchmaking lottery in which young men drew the names of women from a jar and the two would just publicly bone for the duration of the festival.

As time went by, the Pope was like “not cool guys, put your pants on, please” and got rid of the pagan-ness of the whole thing. Then Chaucer and Shakespeare got a hold of it, and made it sweet and sexy. And then Walmart and Hallmark got a hold of it, and made it a huge waste of money.*

But if you’re looking for something to do this Friday, here are some idea of things to do/buy in fair Halifax, where we lay our scene.

Dine at Water Polo: Haven’t been to the latest Bertossi Group hot spot yet? Do it up! Their special V-Day menu includes Wagyu beef carpaccio, lobster mafaldine and rose-shaped mousse cake.

Grab some sweet treats at Total Donut Solutions: The Valentine’s Day six pack has two chocolate-filled kruffins, two raspberry jam-filled donuts and two dark chocolate rose donuts.

Spice it up with a toy from Venus Envy: No woman will ever be upset upon receipt of a Magic Wand.

Get down with your bad self (and maybe meet someone): No partner? No problem. Go check out the Halifax Singles Dance!

So, what say you?

Love and light!

– Julie

📷 @editorjulesl

_{*I’m not an official historian.}

🌡️ Traffic & Weather

Today: 🌨️ 0°

Tomorrow: 🌤️ -5°

Next Day: 🌤️ -6°

7-day forecast

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

CITY HALL

Integrating the Integrated Mobility Plan

Even though they sometimes get lost in the excitement of budget season, regular council meetings continue throughout the budget debates. On Tuesday, council had a very long routine meeting, with most of it happening in-camera. The public sections of the debate, while short, were pretty lively. 

The city may dump the social media platform formerly known as Twitter and look at what, if anything, it can do better on or with social media. Councillors also strenuously debated $100,000 in the name of fiscal responsibility, a hypocritical waste of meeting time. 

But the big-ticket item took all of 15 minutes and was the last thing on the agenda: Long-time critic of Halifax’s Integrated Mobility Plan, councillor Trish Purdy, proposed a motion to improve the Integrated Mobility Plan. 

For more on this unexpected twist read Matt Stickland’s latest from City Hall.

🤔 Need To Know

🏥 The Halifax Infirmary will be getting a walk-thru metal detector installed this week after recent violent incidents at the hospital raised questions about its security measures—last month, three healthcare workers were attacked in the emergency department.

🧑‍🌾 Meet Your Farmer on Heritage Day at Cole Harbour Place on Monday, February 17. Drop in anytime between 10am and 3pm for this free event. Learn more about food and farming here in our province.*

👍 Halifax councillors voted in favour of a motion that will see municipal staff prepare a report looking into the viability of moving the city away from using the social media platform known as X.

💝 Treat your Valentine to something sweet from The Italian Market! Enjoy handcrafted pastries, adorned with chocolate hearts, made with love by our talented Pastry Chefs.*

😷 Nova Scotia Health says it investigated a case of invasive meningococcal disease in a Cole Harbour High School student last week—Public Health has been in contact with anyone who may have been directly exposed, offering preventative antibiotics and vaccination.

🎨 Don't forget to apply! Nocturne’s annual call for submissions for Beacon and Low Sensory projects closes April 7th!*

💰The Nova Scotia Federation of Labour is raising concerns over the findings in yesterday’s Auditor General’s report—saying this calls into question how the province spends taxpayer money. 

*Sponsored Post

SPONSORED BY QUINPOOL ROAD MAINSTREET DISTRICT ASSOCIATION

Oodles of Noodles on Quinpool

Overindulging and slurping your noodles are encouraged during Oodles of Noodles on Quinpool! From March 5-11, discover a world of noodles, as the chefs on Quinpool Road take their appreciation of the meagre noodle to a whole new level of culinary wonder. Your noodle adventures await—are you ready? Learn more.

MUSIC

Customer Service has a new EP—and it’ll get your head banging

Owen Harris and Max Hayden were working the customer service desk at Quinpool Road’s Canadian Tire, dreaming about making a record. The longtime friends and next-door neighbours had grown up together where Halifax’s south and west ends meet, bonding over emo and punk music, and jamming as teenagers when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down their schools. It was how they learned to play. How they got their start, too, performing at house parties—before they would go on to share the stage with Hollerado, make waves with their debut EP and land a record deal with Toronto’s Royal Mountain Records.

One year after Customer Service’s Live More Forever EP turned the friends—along with bandmates Matt Cheverie and Nick Adams—into one of Halifax’s buzziest new bands and launched them onto the pages of Exclaim!, the foursome are back with their sophomore effort, to you, after 2000 years.

The Coast’s Martin Bauman catches up with the band to chat about the EP—which premieres tomorrow—and the spiritual pull of endings and beginnings.

🗞️ In Other News

🇨🇦 Canada’s premiers headed to the White House yesterday afternoon for a meeting with US president Don Trump’s senior advisors amid tariff threats.

🏛️ Nova Scotia’s NDP leader Claudia Chender says the looming economic threat from the States means the government should not try to rush through the upcoming sitting of the provincial legislature.

🐈 An SPCA program that works in conjunction with other support agencies provides temporary accommodations for pets whose owners are impacted by intimate partner violence.

⚒️ The Australian company that ran Nova Scotia's Touquoy gold mine in Moose River is hoping to divest itself of its Atlantic operations—St Barbara announced it is open to a "sale, vend-in or demerger" of its assets in Nova Scotia. 

📚 The province announced plans for two new schools that will be built in the fast-growing areas of Dartmouth and Bedford—they are on a list of 19 new or replacement schools being built in Nova Scotia as part of the government's $1-billion capital plan announced in 2023.

🗓️ Things To Do

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

🗓 Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony: Experience a nature-inspired musical story, with each of the five movements depicting a different aspect of nature, such as a babbling brook, a thunderstorm or a shepherd’s song. With a joyful and optimistic tone, the “Pastoral” Symphony is a celebration of nature’s beauty and power. | Feb 13 | 7:30pm | From $31

🗓 Afishionado Oyster Shucking Workshop & Tasting: Your tickets gets you 12 oysters, snacks and sparkling wine. You will learn about how oysters are cultivated and how to shuck your own oysters, while sampling some different oysters from around the Maritimes. | Feb 13 | 6:30pm | $40

🗓 Look At Me Screening & Panel Discussion: Written, directed and starring Halifax-based filmmaker Taylor Olson, Look At Me premiered this year at Slamdance. It is a fictional autobiography that follows the journey of an insecure, awkward, lonely actor who unknowingly embarks on a path of self-love while grappling with an eating disorder relapse. Olson will be in attendance for a Q&A and panel discussion following the screening. | Feb 13 | 6:30pm | $8.75

🗓 Museum of Natural History Presents The Abyss: Come discover the unique, strange world that is home to corals, a variety of creatures straight out of science fiction, unique ecosystems and hot springs. Spectacular images, audiovisuals, interactive animation, specimens and replicas of deep-sea diving apparatuses complete this fascinating exploration of the mysterious abyss. | Feb 14 | $10

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

⚓️ What’s In The Harbour

🚢 The One Monaco container ship arrives in Halifax from Colombo, Sri Lanka at 5:45am.

🚢 The Nolhan Ava container ship arrives in Halifax from St. Pierre at 11:15am.

➡️ The Acadian oil tanker leaves Halifax for Saint John at 3pm.

➡️ The Box Endurance container ship leaves Halifax for Kingston at 5:30pm.

➡️ The Atlantic Sky container ship leaves Halifax for Liverpool at 9pm.

🍴 Where To Eat & Drink

🌮 Put a fresh (and spicy!) twist on lunch with the Pulled Chicken Tacos at CHKN CHOP: two corn tortillas, pulled rotisserie chicken, chili oil, chimichurri, cilantro, shredded lettuce, lime crema.

🥓 Pizza but then make it brunch! Salt + Ash Beach House is proving it’s not too good to be true with its bacon and egg pizza, available every Saturday and Sunday from 11am-3pm.

👀 In Case You Missed It

🏆 Even before those croissants would turn Ochterloney Street into a foodie destination, garnering profiles in Chatelaine and turning “TIBS” into a Halifax shorthand, they were a hit with Haligonians, who regularly emptied out her farmers’ market stall. As The Coast’s Martin Bauman writes, they’re a big reason why in 2025, Two If By Sea is joining The Coast’s Best of Halifax Hall of Fame.

⛑️ Two upcoming events will bring together workers and experts to examine the causes, effects and treatments for moral injury—described as “the persistent suffering, including shame or guilt, experienced by those who witness, perpetrate, or fail to stop acts of grievous harm”—within the context of frontline work. The Coast’s Lauren Phillips talks with Baillie Abidi and Whynacht about the larger context for both events here.

That’s it!

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