The Coast Halifax Weekly

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THINGS TO DO THIS WEEK P17

H A L I FA X ’ S W E E K L Y H I G H N O T E

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VOLUME 27 NUMBER 28

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DECEMBER 5 - DECEMBER 11, 2019

The Supernatural Design Collective wants better, greener buildings p4

Ashley Pringle’s Arrangements states its case for EP of the year p14

The Annual

Avery Jean Brennan makes history at Neptune Theatre p15

Holiday Planner

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Feel the spirit of the season with caroller

Maria Bartholomew and five other humble Haligonians spreading cheer with small acts of kindness

Make your December sing with our round-up of parties, concerts, craft shows and more festive events. It’s the list you’ll be checking twice.

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The Coast

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This week

SEEN ON INSTAGRAM

Seinfeld Season Three

Issue #1,131

A collab between Rinaldo’s and Cahoots! brings you six courses of Seinfeld-inspired eats, from six local chefs. “Get OUT,” you say? Call 902425-0400 to reserve before there’s no soup for you. Mon Dec 9, Rinaldo’s Italian American Specialities, 2186 Windsor Street, 7pm, $65

VOLUME 27, NUMBER 28 December 5 - December 11, 2019

On the cover: Meghan Tansey Whitton shot this portrait of Maria Bartholomew for this week’s issue.

The City Voice of the City Cover Story: The Holiday Planner Arts

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Entertainment listings Love The Way We Bitch The Comic Free Will Astrology Savage Love

SPEAKING FOR THE COAST

SUREST THING

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Farewell, fondly

I am the intoxication of roses, poems and stardust. #glowhalifax @ROWENG

Reply all Climate challenge I must respond to Try_The_Truth’s letter (“Hell or high water,” Reply all, November 21 . This attitude of throwing one’s hands up in the air and saying “oh well, making people care is too hard so I guess we’re all done for,” is so fucking frustrating. Activists have known for years that many people don’t care about the climate crisis, but they don’t give up because the stakes are too high. I’ve met so many people who feel so unsure where to start that they understandably pretend that nothing is happening, because the alternative can be a nightmare for your mental health. But a great way to quell these anxieties is to give back! Join an environmental charity. Organize a beach cleanup. It doesn’t have to be anything big, because god knows everyone is busy trying to get by. But if you still refuse to do anything at all because you “don’t care,” you have nobody to blame but yourself. —SP, Halifax Flying is a predictable and safe mode of transportation thanks to scientific models. We accept those models’ predictions, assuming

The Coast welcomes your thoughts on all aspects of the paper’s performance and city life. Deliver letters to the editor to 2309 Maynard Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3K 3T8 fax: 902-425-0013, email: letters@thecoast.ca. Post comments on any story at thecoast.ca

every time we hop on an airplane that we will arrive at our destination at a particular time. That same science that makes airplanes fly has been used to build models, which predict that in order to have a climate safe for humans, we must reach zero carbon emissions by 2040. Recently 11,000 scientists declared that lack of action on the climate change will lead to climate catastrophe and “untold human suffering.” The plane might crash. Our elected leaders declare they accept the IPCC reports and recommendations, following with multiples “buts” that are political calculations. We have the technology to do a rapid switch to a non-fossil fuel economy. We must start here and now. Our survival is at stake. —Fernando Moncayo, Dartmouth

As a resident of Nova Scotia, and concerned citizen of this planet, there is not a single thing more important to me than to hear what binding actions, based on science, this newly elected federal government will take to address the climate emergency. To the leaders of this country, and particularly the Trudeau government, please don’t make this a partisan

issue. The tired tug-of-war argument that pits the economy against climate action is absurd when the very conditions for life are at stake. —Seth Levinson, Halifax

Rahr’s rad writing Your November 14 arts story “The quiet brilliance of Hannah Moscovitch” has me thinking about the quiet brilliance of reporter Maggie Rahr. Love this piece. Rahr should get an award for her writing as well. —Catriona Talbot, Halifax

Correction

We got a couple things wrong in the November 21 arts piece “Dinuk Wijeratne stays wylin’” by Chris Stoodley, about Symphony Nova Scotia veteran Dinuk Wijeratne. The story said Wijeratne was raised in Clayton Park and will soon be returning to Halifax to play with the symphony, but he was actually raised elsewhere in Halifax and will be conducting SNS in January. We apologize for any confusion.

A few weeks ago, when we started making plans for this Holiday Planner issue, deputy editor Allison Saunders made her pitch. Instead of our annual look at better ways to consume during the over-consumption season—different takes on the importance of buying local, plus hangover recovery tips—Allison suggested a more personal approach. She proposed that we focus on people quietly doing small acts of kindness, those unsung folks allergic to boasting about the good they’re doing. A lovely idea, although very hard to pull off. After all, generous, genuine people who prefer to avoid the spotlight while making the world a better place are, by definition, reluctant to be celebrated in the newspaper. But Allison knew she could find some of these awesome unicorns. (And she did, as you can see in the “Holiday heroes” feature.) Her confidence doubtless comes from the fact Allison herself is exactly that sort of awesome unicorn. Allison joined The Coast staff in November 2010 as the editor in charge of compiling our entertainment listings. This week she’s leaving the paper as our first-ever deputy editor, whose multi-faceted portfolio includes the massive project that is the Best of Halifax Readers’ Choice Awards. (She has written a BOH manual to make sure we can’t mess it up going forward, because that’s who she is.) Her first days on the job happened to be that chaotic week when the 2010 Best of Halifax results came out, and now her tenure is ending shortly after the 2019 BOH issue. These are fitting bookends for Allison, one of the all-time best editors. I’ve already said enough to embarrass Allison, so I won’t brag about her new job. Suffice to say it’s a great opportunity; her Coast family knows she’s going to do great. You are a kind person, Allison, and your editorial instincts—that sense of what’s important, and how to help others see it—are sharp. You’ll deny it because you’re truly humble, but you really did make The Coast and the city better. We miss you already. —Kyle Shaw Connect with me at kyles@thecoast.ca

The Coast •

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$60,000 EDITED BY CAORA MCKENNA / SEND TIPS TO NEWS@THECOAST.CA

The Ecology Action Centre is a leading example of good green design. DANIEL DOMINIC

EDUCATION

Dal architecture students say curriculum isn’t good enough The Supernatural Design Collective wants architects to play a bigger role in curbing climate change. BY ETHAN LANG

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group of Dalhousie architecture students is pushing for better green-design education from their faculty and the greater architecture community. It’s been four months since an informal meeting about environmental design principles (not previously covered in the university curriculum) led to the creation of the Supernatural Design Collective. The summer’s 36-person study group has now grown to include just over a hundred other classmates, academics and professionals within Dalhousie’s School of Architecture, all promoting environmentally responsible architecture in study and practice through workshops, lectures and inter-university networking. According to the United Nations, human4 • DECEMBER 5 – DECEMBER 11, 2019 • The Coast

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built structures account for about 40 percent of global energy use, while Canada’s Environment and Sustainable Development Committee reports buildings emit 12 percent of the country’s greenhouse gases. That’s more than agriculture or waste. Dalhousie architecture student and organizer Laure Nolte says she and her colleagues feel they aren’t being prepared to design environmentally responsible buildings in order to combat their field’s significant impact on the growing climate crisis. In the current course content “sustainability seems like an optional choice instead of being integrated from the very beginning of the design process. I don’t think we have an option to choose whether we want to be sustainable or not. We need to be demanding

The number of dollars—plus in-kind support—HRM will contribute to developing the Halifax Food Action Plan. The plan, passed by council this week, will see the municipality consider community food security as a priority in the Community Well-Being Index, committing funds in next year’s budget. (During last year’s budget process, council voted against spending $50,000 on after-school snacks in libraries.) The staff report estimates that one in five HRM households experience food insecurity. (A 2015 report found that Nova Scotia has the highest rates of food insecurity in the country.) An official action plan will return to council in the future, but programs like the city’s community gardens and mobile food markets are likely to continue, with more focused direction for staff to prioritize food security initiatives. —CM

and advocating for architectural projects that weave regeneration and ecological design into projects from the beginning,” says Nolte. In just one semester the collective has drafted a manifesto which outlines its goals. It wants the architectural community to not only focus on sustainability, but to design buildings that actually involve and restore nature, and it wants to ensure that the character and health of neighbourhoods, and the needs of marginalized communities are taken into account in all design. Nolte adds that the design principles the collective wants to see aren’t just theoretical— they already exist. In Dartmouth, for instance, NSCC’s Centre for Built Environment was designed to positively participate with surrounding ecosystems. Interior and exterior living walls and green roofs use vegetation to naturally ventilate the building and help regulate temperature, while rain-capturing systems irrigate them and the surrounding grounds. Buildings that weren’t designed with the environment in mind can also be improved. Across the harbour the Ecology Action Centre recently used an office renovation to retrofit their north end headquarters. Alongside retaining the building character and improving efficiency, Solterre Design, the firm that worked on the project, estimates about 40 tonnes of wood were saved by opting not to rebuild. Unlike cement, wood and other natural materials suck up carbon, much like a forest, keeping it out of the atmosphere. But Nolte says these are the exceptions; most existing buildings and developments in HRM don’t do enough to minimize their environmental impact. Halifax principle planner Kasia Tota says most of that choice is currently up to developers. “We’ve done some policy around green roofs and open spaces that will create better buildings, but in terms of actual sustainability of buildings themselves, we’re limited in what we can require under the Land Use Bylaw.” The city must work within the framework of the province’s building code, which doesn’t regulate building sustainability. The recently approved Centre Plan Package A encourages sustainable development, but doesn’t incentivize it. Tota says there could be incentives included in Package B, which is still being drafted, for developers who design greener buildings. Last week, the collective has met with Joseli Macedo, Dalhousie’s dean of architecture and planning, who said she was she’s pleased students are taking an active role in working to combat the climate crisis through their field. Not bad for a study group. a

2019-12-04 4:50 PM

The City

Voice of The City

HOUSING

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU voice@thecoast.ca

Bryony House finds a In birth: grief and power temporary home How doula training for Black and non-binary women became a lesson in intersectionality.

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fter almost 90 days since shuttering its women and children’s shelter, Bryony House finally has a place to call home—for now. Executive director Maria MacIntosh says after a three-month search, women and children escaping domestic violence in Halifax will soon have a place to stay. “We are likely going to be operational within weeks” MacIntosh says. The Bryony House is the only shelter for women and children fleeing domestic and intimate partner violence in Halifax. It houses 470 women and answers 2,500 distress calls annually. Though in recent years, the building’s structure has rapidly deteriorated. The 200-year-old, six-bedroom house was prone to flooding “every time it rains,” MacIntosh says. Then in September, Hurricane Dorian ravaged the province and delivered severe damage to the shelter. MacIntosh says a fire inspector assessed the building’s condition soon after Dorian and confirmed there were other major issues that needed significant repairs to fix, and as a result Bryony House was formally ordered not to bring staff or clients back to the shelter. The closure meant 13 women were displaced from Bryony House, MacIntosh says. Though she could not divulge where the women were rehomed, she says all of them were given a place to stay within 24 hours. Some were sent to hotels for temporary, one- to two-day stays, others were given options to stay in other transition homes all over the province. Two weeks ago Kristina Fifield, a women’s counsellor at Bryony House, and the Public Service Alliance of Canada, the union representing the employees of the shelter, took to the streets in protest of the handling of the shelter’s closure by management. In a public letter addressed to MacIntosh and the board of directors, PSAC asks why a temporary home was not in place in case of emergency as management has known about the building’s ailing condition for years. “It’s one situation after the next,” Fifield says. “The weather plays a huge part in what’s going on at the shelter. People are putting temporary fixes in place, trying to get us through until the new location is open. These temporary fixes have run out.” Fifield has worked at Bryony House for nine years. She says maintaining women and children’s safety has been her top priority since the shelter closed. But finding nearby locations for women and their children is proving to be a challenge for Fifield and her colleagues. “Getting those referrals, and getting a referral to another location outside the city, we all know that has some serious wait times,” she says. When you take child custody agreements and the need for other local services and resources into account, a simple transfer to a shelter outside the city is no longer an appropriate alternative. Bryony House is no stranger to closures and

Lori MacInnis (left), president of PSAC, and Kristina Fifield. SUBMITTED

has evacuated clients several times before. At one point, the shelter was closed for a period of four to five months. But MacIntosh added that women who experience intimate partner or domestic violence should not be deterred from contacting Bryony House, despite its lack of a shelter. “We’re still doing almost all of the same things that we do when we operate the shelter,” MacIntosh says. Some of those services include a 24-hour distress hotline and oneon-one counselling services. Fifield says she and her colleagues do whatever they can to make it work because they know women’s lives are on the line. “I think the house has served its purpose over the last 41 years,” she says. “Has it been a perfect set up? Absolutely not. The layout of the house is not great for how we need it to work, but we’ve made it work and we’ve provided safety.” In March 2019, Bryony House received $2.33 million from the National Housing Co-Investment Fund for the construction of a new shelter, a project in the works since 2016 and projected to cost $6.5 million. At least 25 percent of the National Housing Strategy money, which the NHCF was born out of, aims to support projects targeting the needs of women and girls. According to StatsCan, between 1996 and 2015, 40 women were murdered by their intimate partner in Nova Scotia. Friday, December 6 is the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women and 30 years since the École Polytechnique massacre, in which 14 women were targeted and shot dead. a

BY KI ROLLE

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Ousted by disrepair, ravaged by Hurricane Dorian and awaiting a new build, the city's only shelter for women escaping abuse will soon be fully operational. BY FADILA CHATER

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e are constantly asked about our identities: Our gender, sexuality, abilities, disabilities; our ethnic, religious, cultural backgrounds; our style, economic status, trauma and sociological ideologies. Often, our identities are systematically categorized into neat little societal constructs, which many of us are frequently struggling to fit within. These identity checkboxes can be helpful. For example, self-identifying in response to a job ad that prioritizes diversity, equity, inclusion or volunteering for specialized research to help fill the gaps left by systemic racism in our health care system. But labels can also harm us. Those of us with intertwined identities are forced to separate our whole into parts, which prevents us from truly belonging to any box at all. My family, which is a huge part of my identity, blends the Dauphinees and Boutiliers of Nova Scotia via French colonialism, with the Rolles of the Bahamas via West Africa and transatlantic slavery. To three beautiful, creative children, I am a mother; an identity that is often mistakenly attached to heteronormativity. This is why, for me, inclusive diversity is so important. When we gather, even within closed spaces, we must call into the room the context of our lived experience and the intersectionality of our diversity. A great example of this took place on November 29 at a doula training workshop for Black and non-binary women hosted by Women’s Wellness Within and PLANS. I came into that training with my own trauma and memories of three very different birthing experiences at the IWK. With me in this training space was the voice of my mother who accompanied me through each birth and supports me now as a single mother; the voice

Ki Rolle is a writer—sometimes for The Coast—and marketing and PR specialist based in Halifax.

of Kelly Chisholm, a lovely midwife who cared for me during one of my pregnancies; and the echoes of maternal advice passed along generations of nurturers. What I learned from my training is despite my experience and expert medical and spiritual guidance, I have not listened to my most knowledgeable resource: my nurturing body. This brown, exploited, silenced, shamed, celebrated and tired container holding all of my identities felt truly held for the first time during birth doula training. Within this space I learned how to support and comfort birthing bodies to honour a birth experience that they will remember for the rest of their lives. I learned about different cultural, religious and medical interventions. I gained access to information typically reserved for white folks in white spaces. I also uncovered deep grief for my births, that were clinically healthy and required no intervention, but were devoid of loving, empowering voices that weren’t welcomed in my birthing space—including my own. The birth doulas that I had the joy and privilege of training with last weekend, birthed my grief and my power and they honoured it with love. That is the birth story I will always remember. a

If you are in need of immediate assistance or support please contact Bryony House at 902.422.7650 or visit thans.ca

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The Holiday Planner Put your advent calendar aside for a sec and zone in on your social calendar. We’ve rounded up 50+ festive events, concerts and craft shows to light up nearly every day of December. COMPILED BY MORGAN MULLIN

Thu Dec 5 BRUNCH WITH SANTA AND MRS. CLAUS Bacon and the big man! Get a photo as you feast. 10am-1pm, 3 Dakin Drive

Fri Dec 6 CHRISTMAS GLOW Glow is a seasonal community festival, bringing together people you love to stroll, laugh and play under the twinkle of half a million lights. 3-5pm, Dec 7, 3-5pm, 200 Prospect Road A CRINGLE CHRISTMAS A play following the prep work required by the North Pole Distribution Centre to get toys under trees as Santa makes his big scene. 7:30pm, Alderney Landing Theatre, 2 Ochterloney Street, Dartmouth, $17.50 THE KING’S CHORUS PRESENTS BENJAMIN BRITTEN’S SAINT NICOLAS The King’s Chorus, under the direction of Nick Halley, will

present the nine-movement cantata composed by Benjamin Britten in 1948. The King’s Chorus will be joined by the notable tenor soloist Nils Brown, boy sopranos from Capella Regalis Men & Boys Choir, piano, organ, percussion and a string quintet to bring this dynamic and dramatic work to life. 8pm, St. Mary’s Basilica, 5221 Spring Garden Road, $20-$75 THE NUTCRACKER Dalhousie Arts Centre, 6101 University Avenue, symphonynovascotia.ca, To Dec 15 IMPRO DANS LE SNOW: HALLMARK EDITION A bilingual improv night that stretches the cliches of Hallmark holiday movies to ludicrous proportions. 6:15-9pm, Cafe Lara, 2347 Agricola Street, $20/PWYC HYDROSTONE TREE LIGHTING The annual event is back, lighting it up in support of Veith House. 6:30-7:30pm, Hydrostone Park, 5547 Young Street HALIFAX LIGHTS FESTIVAL: SILENT DANCE PARTY Three DJs come together to make absolutely no noise in the name of the holidays. Grab a pair of

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headphones and dance your butt off under Argyle Street’s canopy lights. Dec 6, 7-9pm, Argyle Street

Sat Dec 7 CELEBRATING THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS WITH THE NOVA SCOTIA MASS CHOIR A joyful evening of song to help you catch the holiday spirit, featuring Saeed Foroughi and Adina FraserMarsman. 6:30pm, Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia, 10 Cherry Brook Road, $14/$16 CHEER & SONG TIME An open house complete with cookies, crafts and seasonal carols. 2-5pm, Evergreen House, 26 Newcastle Street, Dartmouth CHRISTMAS TEA & SALE Noon-2pm, St. James United Church, 181 Portland Street, Dartmouth, $10 CHRISTMAS BY THE COAST A two-day sale of work from artisans and craftspeople from Ketch Harbour and surrounding areas. 11am-5pm, December 8 11am-5pm, Ketch Harbour Community Hall, 964 Ketch Harbour Road

DARTMOUTH CHRISTMAS TREE LIGHTING Fireworks and Santa sightings included! 4:30-6:15pm, Alderney Landing, 2 Ochterloney Street, Dartmouth HOLIDAY CARD MAKING WORKSHOP 1-4pm, The Neighbourhood Witch, 1526 Queen Street, $25 HOLIDAY HYGGE Music, shopping and merriment with the lovely folks of the historic farmers’ market. 8am-1pm, Halifax Brewery Farmers’ Market, 1496 Lower Water Street

Sun Dec 8 DARTMOUTH COMMUNITY BAND CHRISTMAS CONCERT Sing along to seasonal favourites. 2-3:30pm, Christ Church, 50 Wentworth Street, Dartmouth HFX VEGAN COOKIE EXCHANGE 2-4pm, Glitter Bean Cafe, 5896 Spring Garden Road SHUBIE PARK TREE LIGHTING 4-5pm, Shubie Park, 54 Locks Road, Dartmouth

EASTERN PASSAGE ANNUAL PARADE OF LIGHTS 6-8pm, Main Road, Eastern Passage

Mon Dec 9 CHANNUKAH PARTY 8pm-midnight, HMCS King’s Wardroom, 6350 Coburg Road

Thu Dec 12 DON WE NOW OUR GAY APPAREL The Halifax Gay Men’s Chorus delivers a mix of tunes. 7:30pm, St. Andrew’s United Church, 6036 Coburg Road, $20-$50

Fri Dec 13 CHRISTMAS WITH THE PAUL ST-AMAND QUINTET 7:30pm, St. Ignatius Church, 1288 Bedford Highway, $12.65 SECRET SANTA MINGLE TIME Part gift swap, part dance, part meet-and-mingle. 10pm, Alteregoes Cafe, 2193 Gottingen Street

Sat Dec 14 8TH ANNUAL HOLIDAY CONCERT The Second Chances band gets in on the good times with celebratory tunes. 2-3:30pm, Paul O’Regan Hall, Halifax Central Library, 5440 Spring Garden Road A CHRISTMAS DOLLHOUSE: A FAMILY MUSICAL An all-ages musical based on a novel of the same name by author Richard Rudnicki. 3pm, Bella Rose Arts Centre, 283 Thoas Raddall Drive, $25-$60 SANTA PAWS AT THE SPCA Good bois can meet the big guy himself. 10am-4pm, 5 Scarfe Court, Dartmouth MELISSA CONNICK SCHOOL OF DANCE PRESENTS: HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS 10am & 12:30pm, Spatz Theatre, 1855 Trollope Street, $12/$15 REENY’S FAMILY CHRISTMAS R&B powerhouse slash queen of the mic Reeny Smith returns with her annual seasonal song session. 7pm, St. Matthew’s Church, 1479 Barrington Street, $26/$35

The Coast

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HOLIDAY PLANNER

SUBMITTED

THAT 90S NIGHT XMAS PARTY On the eighth day of Christmas my baby gave to me, a pair of Chloe shades and a diamond belly ring. 10pm-2am, The Seahorse Tavern, 2037 Gottingen Street, $8 or twofor-one before 10:30pm YULE RITUAL Can’t really put it better than the event organizers did: “Join the Temple of Witchcraft for an evening to attune to the cycles and rhythms of the Earth, as we drum, raise energy.” 7-10pm, Universalist Unitarian Church of Halifax, 5500 Inglis Street

Sun Dec 15 CAROL SING-A-LONG Wear your ugliest holiday sweater to this festive sing-a-long that’s complete with apple cider. Don’t forget a non-perishable food donation, too! 2-3pm, Christ Church, 50 Wentworth Street Christmas Glow SUBMITTED

A KING’S CHRISTMAS W/GUEST NARRATOR-MUSICIAN OLD MAN LUEDECKE The holiday tradition returns! Catch the grammy-winning Paul Halley as he directs the acclaimed University of King’s College Chapel Choir through a collection of choral works that skew from medieval to modern. Juno-winning folk musician Old Man Luedecke hosts the heart-warming happenings. 4pm & 7:30pm, Cathedral Church of All Saints, 1330 Cathedral Lane, $15-$86.95 TALES OF A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS Halifax Jazz Fest invites all you Woodstocks and Snoopys to get into the holiday spirit with this live rendition of the cheerful children’s classic. Music is provided by the Jerry Granelli Trio—adding an authentic touch, as Granelli was a member of the Vince Guaraldi Trio, who scored and performed the original recording of A Charlie Brown Christmas more than a half century ago. 2pm & 7pm, Spatz Theatre, 1855 Trollope Street, $45/$10

Mon Dec 16 EMERA OVAL OPENS FOR THE SEASON Get yer skates on. 10am, Halifax Common

Wed Dec 18 BONEY M.’S HOLIDAY FAVOURITES TOUR Belt out “Mary’s Boy Child” with the disco dream that is Boney M. 7:309:30pm, Scotiabank Centre, 1800 Argyle Street, $51.75-$63.50 CHRISTMAS CAROLLING PARTY 6-8pm, Staggers Pub, 26 Portland Street, Dartmouth BRIGHTWOOD MOVIE NIGHT: DIE HARD 8-10pm, Brightwood Brewery, 35 Portland Street, Dartmouth, free

Thu Dec 19 GAY OL’ CHRISTMAS COMEDY SHOW Lindsay Dauphinee and Adam Myatt return for their annual holiday ha-ha. 7:30pm, The Seahorse Tavern, 2037 Gottingen Street, $12

It’s craft market season, baby Shoppers rejoice. Here are 11 holiday spots to help check off everyone on your list.

See more holiday events happening this week on page 17

Kings Chorus SUBMITTED

Fri Dec 20

Sat Dec 21

Wed Dec 25

AVALON CHRISTMAS FUNDRAISER SHOW W/GLAZEY, JUICE GIRLS, LIKE A MOTORCYCLE 8-11:30pm, Art Bar + Projects, 1873 Granville Street, 8:30-11:30pm, $15/PWYC

YALDA NIGHT A Persian celebration of the longest night of the year, featuring poetry, dance, karaoke and a DJ. 7:30pmmidnight, Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, 1055 Marginal Road, $45

EMERA OVAL PUBLIC SKATING 2pm, Halifax Common

TO BETHLEHEM WITH KINGS The Capella Regalis Men & Boys Choir—directed by Nick Halley—returns for its holiday concert tradition. This time around, the show is hosted by CBC’s Tom Allen and features a performance of Benjamin Britten’s iconic and magical work A Ceremony of Carols, scored for three-part treble chorus and harp. 7pm, Cathedral Church of All Saints, 1330 Cathedral Lane, $25-$75 HANDEL’S MESSIAH The Halifax Camerata Singers and Symphony Nova Scotia combine forces. Fri Dec 20-Sat Dec 21, 7:30pm, Rebecca Cohn Auditorium 6101 University Avenue, $35 REEL FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT Feel your heart grow three sizes as you catch this free screening of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. 7-10pm, Alderney Landing, 2 Ochterloney Street

MERRY FRIGGIN’ CHRISTMAS Get a break from the wholesomness of the season with this bawdy night of laughs featuring comedians Nick Martinello, Kyle Hickey, Dave Burke and Travis Lindsay. 8-11pm, Monte’s Showbar, 245 Waverley Road, $20

Mon Dec 23 MENORAH LIGHTING 6pm, Grand Parade Square, 1770 Barrington Street, free TIBB’S EVE AT ART BAR “In Newfoundland, Tibb’s Eve is the night you spend with your friends to steel yourself for Christmas with your family,” event organizers explain. Here, tunes will be provided by Moon, Shoulder Season, Souvenir and Skullocybin. 7-11pm, Art Bar + Projects, 1873 Granville Street, $10/PWYC

Thu Dec 26 CRUNKMAS 2019 Skratch Bastid’s home for the holidays and he’s bringing his annual shindig along for the sleigh ride! 9pm-2am, The Marquee Ballroom, 2037 Gottingen Street, $10/$15

Fri Dec 27 MESSIAH FROM SCRATCH Chebucto Symphony Orchestra’s show sees a swath of orchestral musicians familiarize themselves with Handel’s Messiah for only one hour before ripping into a live performance. 3:15pm, Faith City Church, 6225 Summit Street, $10

Sat Dec 28 COMMUNITY CAROL SING 2-3pm, St. Mark’s Anglican Church, 5522 Russell Street, free

CHRISTKINDLMARKET An indoor/outdoor ode to German holiday festivities, with snacks, handmade gifts, live music, mulled wine and more merriment. Fri Dec 6, 4-9pm; Sat Dec 7, 12-9pm; Sun Dec 8, 11am4pm, Alderney Landing, 2 Ocherloney Street NSCAD HOLIDAY MARKET The city’s most talented campus brings together the work of its students for a day of uber local holiday shopping. Fri Dec 6, 5-9pm; Sat Dec 7, 10am-4pm, Art Bar, 873 Granville Street HALIFAX VINTAGE CHRISTMAS SHOW Join over 40 local vintage and antique vendors for a vintage Christmas wonderland—and The Curio Collective’s last event of 2019. Fri Dec 6, 10am-8pm; Sat Dec 7, 10am-6pm; Sun Dec 8, 11am-4pm, 1566 Barrington Street LAST MINUTE CHRISTMAS CRAFT SHOW 2019 We refuse to agree that the first weekend of December is our “last chance” but, this free event is still an unmissable one when it comes to shopping opportunities. Sat Dec 7, 10am6pm; Sun Dec 8, 10am-5pm; Halifax Forum, 2901 Windsor Street WINTER MAKERS MARKET Holiday pop up market featuring makers, bakers, thrifters and more. Sat Dec 7, 10am-3pm, Lucky Penny Coffee Co., 6440 Quinpool Road CHRISTMAS MARKET AND BAZAAR This church fundraiser gives you one more shot at stuffing your

stockings with goodies. Sat Dec 7, 10am-1pm, Christ Church Hall, 50 Wentworth Street CHRISTMAS CRAFT & YARD SALE Local crafts and second-hand treasures are up for grabs at this sale, which sees funds going back into The Local Council of Women and its location. Sat Dec 7, 10am-2pm, The Local Council of Women Halifax, 989 Young Avenue HANDMADE HOLIDAY FAIR Local vendors gather round at Seven Bays for a festive shopping experience. Get gifts from Melody Hillman Ceramics, Woodpile Wood, Petra Holds and Todd Foster and don’t forget to bring cash. Sat Dec 7, 4-8pm, Seven Bays Bouldering, 2019 Gottingen Street TIC TAC GO HOLIDAY MARKET A holly jolly round-up of local makers, including: Tidal Salt, Katiebette Embroidery, Turtle Dreams, Aromatherapy and NJR Jewlery. Sat Dec 7, 10am-6pm, Tic Tac Go, 31 Queen Street THE FINAL HOLIDAY MARKET A fun and festive holiday market, showcasing some of Halifax’s most talented artisans and a range of handcrafted gifts. Sun Dec, 2-6pm, Sparkes and Sawdust Art Centre, 1574 Argyle Street SHAAR & BETH JOINT HANUKKAH SALE Hot latkes, books, menorahs, dreidels and more await at this annual sale benefitting both shuls. Sun Dec 15, 9am-1pm. Shaar Shalom Synagogue, 1981 Oxford Street

The Coast • DECEMBER 5 – DECEMBER 11, 2019 • 7

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2019-12-04 5:35 PM

HOLIDAY PLANNER

Holiday heroes Our hearts have grown three sizes thanks to these six Haligonians who put the best of the season into action with their humble generosity.

Maria Bartholomew

How singing for the sake of singing became a holiday tradition that’s kept one family carolling for 35 years.

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Bartholomew in front of the flat her father rented 35 years ago. MEGHAN TANSEY WHITTON

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here aren’t many instances where welcoming a group of 12 strangers into your living room—wet boots and all—makes sense. But on a cold December night last year, Maria Bartholomew, her brother Steven and their friends accepted such an invitation, no questions asked. “Don’t worry about your shoes, come on in,” said the man, tears in his eyes, after the group finished singing a Christmas carol on his doorstep. The next thing they knew, they were trudging through his typical Halifax home all the way to the living room where his ill wife laid in bed. “She wanted to go to a Christmas concert but she couldn’t go and...now you’ve come,” he said in disbelief. Gathered around her bed and spilling out into the hallway, the bundled singers sang “Away in a Manger”—by request—and “Silent Night.” The woman held her husband’s hand, listened intently and, periodically, sang along in a whisper. “You could see kind of their life’s history on the walls, there were all these black-andwhite photos of them as young people, their wedding picture and then their kids as little kids, as we were singing, we were seeing the history on the walls too,” says Bartholomew. “We just walked into a stranger’s house as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Some of us took our boots off, some of us didn’t. It was just like, what’s more important, the dirty shoes or just being there?” While this magical encounter was one of a kind for Bartholomew, it was far from the first time she’d brought humble good cheer to a stranger. It’s something she’s done every single year as far back as she can remember— belting out “We Wish You A Merry Christmas” from her father’s shoulders throughout the neighbourhood before heading home for more harmonies and hot drinks. Though the tradition, now a part of her family’s fabric, has had her singing on doorsteps in Ottawa, Kingston and London, Halifax is where it all began. It was Christmas 1985, when her father— then a young Navy officer—and some of his friends hosted their first carolling party at their flat on Oxford Street. “It wasn’t a drink thing. It was just, go out to the community, sing carols door-to-door and then come back for hot wassail and goodies and keep playing piano,” says Bartholomew. “My mom ended up being one of the people there, and that was the night she fell in love with my dad.” By the following Christmas, they were married. For three years they continued carolling in Halifax, before taking the tradition to the various Ontario cities they moved to, their family growing to eventually include four

children. There was never really a reason for it, it just felt good, a feeling that was contagious. Last year—the 34th—the Bartholomews’ carolling night hit the streets of London with over 40 singers. “My parents are musical, so we’ve always valued music and singing and I do think that there’s something—whether or not they would have acknowledged it—powerful about singing together as a group,” says Bartholomew, a music instructor and choir director. “And I do think that there’s something maybe about Christmas, that there’s more permission to just...put heartfelt things out there to people.” The carolling came back to Halifax three years ago, when Bartholomew and her brother (a Navy officer, too) both moved east. Since then, the siblings have doubled up, walking neighbourhoods in both London and Halifax every holiday season, letting their voices lead the way. Bartholomew recounts stand-out moments like singing to people waiting for their tow-truck after a car accident, surprising convenience store employees with a flashmob-esque performance, being welcomed in to a house party and having a random dog-walker join the troupe on its route after a serenade. “There are less and less spaces where music happens kind of organically, or people just have permission to sing,” she says. “And I think there’s something fun about doing something without a quote-unquote ‘purpose.’ “We’re losing the sense of play and joy and just being. And doing good things for the sake of it, trusting that there’s gonna be ripples out there—but you don’t know what they’re going to be. And that’s part of it, I think the joy of letting it go without it being like, I’m doing this for this specific outcome.” This year, both of Bartholomew’s parents will make the trip to Halifax, to wander the streets where their story began, knocking on doors and singing the harmonies they’ve been perfecting together for 35 years. Bringing a little glimmer of joy to unsuspecting Haligonians will be a full-circle moment for their family. Washed down with wassail, of course. “Putting yourself out there and putting good things into the world is a good thing. There is parts of it that are maybe risky or scary, but maybe in this tiny little way by doing something like carolling—why would you go carolling in a random neighbourhood for random people?—there’s also this kind of act of bravery,” says Bartholomew. “Just showing up in the world and doing your thing. Maybe then that encourages other people to do the same in their own way, carolling or not.”

—Allison Saunders

The Coast

2019-12-04 4:43 PM

TRAVIS DAVENPORT

HOLIDAY PLANNER

Robyn Carruthers How loss inspired Santas For Seniors, a start-up initiative that’s grown to bring holiday gifts to 400 people.

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fter Robyn Carruthers’ grandmother died in 2006, she missed the joy of surprising her with Christmas gifts. Fourteen years later, Carruthers’ giftgiving hobby has helped to support nearly 1,000 seniors across the municipality who can’t afford to celebrate; an initiative she calls Santas for Seniors. “I’d go to the mall and see something she would have loved but I had no one to buy it for,” says Carruthers. In 2010, she started calling local nursing homes, inquiring about seniors spending Christmas alone. Her hobby has since spread throughout Halifax, Sackville, Bedford and Dartmouth. This year, Carruthers’ efforts have inspired more than 700 volunteers to buy gifts for 400 seniors. Carruthers’ work starts in August, contacting local senior aid groups, including Metro Housing and Chebucto Links. She understands it can be hard to make ends meet as a senior. “I had a woman reach out to me. Her husband has cancer and they haven’t exchanged gifts in two years because of financial reasons,” she says. “Any time I get stressed or overwhelmed I read the lists and think, I’m having a bad day but this person just wants a pot they can cook their soup in.” Arline Boyle has volunteered with Santas for Seniors for two years. She says she admires what Carruthers is doing because she worries people don’t care about seniors as much as they used to. “I grew up in a family of eight kids and we were always brought up to take care of seniors,” says Boyle. “Our kids’ generation are not doing that because they have to go away for work, they’re not connected with the families anymore.” As the Santas for Seniors initiative grows, Carruthers plans on providing continued support to seniors struggling throughout the year. “We reach out to the groups and tell them, ‘Any needs throughout the year reach out to us,’ and they have,” says Carruthers. “This is really about keeping seniors in people’s minds.” —Travis Devonport The Coast • DECEMBER 5 – DECEMBER 11, 2019 • 9

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2019-12-04 4:43 PM

HOLIDAY PLANNER

Winifred Bowden is the glue that holds the community together at Acadia Lodge North. VICTORIA WALTON

Winnie Bowden

The life-long northender carries on her best friend’s legacy, bringing neighbours together for songs, snacks and camaraderie.

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inifred Bowden is 91 years old. She’s the longest-term resident at Acadia Lodge North on Devonshire Avenue in Halifax—the only one who’s been there since it opened over 30 years ago. “When I moved in here, we were all like one big family. We had games, parties and we socialized together,” says Bowden, who goes by Winnie to everyone in the building. She’s the organizer of Acadia Lodge’s annual pre-Christmas tea. A poster in the lobby advertises the event as “light snacks, music and laughter with friends.” But for many, it’s much more than that, it’s a chance to enjoy what may otherwise be a lonely December. “I’ll sit out in the hall for about three hours, and we talk about different things and carry on,” says Bowden, who is quite evidently the life of the building. The event will be held in the “big room” on the first floor this weekend. Last year was especially tough as Bowden’s closest friend Evelyn passed away. The two grew up together on Gerrish Lane and had known each other over 80 years. “We lived next-door to one another. I used to call her my sister and she would call me her sister,” she says. This is the first year she’s planned the event alone, but part of the reason she’s continuing it is to remember Evelyn’s legacy. “By me doing this, the tea, I feel like I’m doing something for her now,” she says. “I still think that she’s here, continuing on this tradition that I had with her.” The children’s choir from the New Horizons Baptist Church will sing carols, and Bowden is making everything from blueberry muffins to gingerbread cookies and gift bags for everyone to take home. “Where she’s older than the majority of us, she still brings that flavour of old

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Christmas, how they do things different,” says her daughter, Jessica Bowden. She’s no taller than five feet, but the nonagenarian makes herself known. The 91-yearold does all her own cooking, still occasionally sings in her church choir and is an avid knitter. “Everybody says I always know when Winnie’s home cause she’s got her music going,” she says, laughing. “Every day I say that it’s a blessing to be alive at 91, and still able to do my own housework and go out and come in.” Inside her red-accented kitchen, Bowden shows off her banana bread and shortbread cookies. “There’s one gentleman here, he said ‘Thank you Winnie for your banana bread, my mother used to make the same kind,’” she says, revealing her secret. “I put cranberries into it.” Bowden’s daughter has helped make and put up the posters in the hallways and in the adjacent Acadia Lodge South. She expects about 15 people to show up, but Jessica insists it’ll be closer to 25 once word gets around. All the supplies for the party come out of her own pocket. “We were down there yesterday talking and one lady asked me, ‘I’ve got five names, are they able to come?’” Bowden, of course, says the more the merrier. For the few residents who aren’t mobile, she is even taking homemade baking right to their rooms. “We made a bag up for them and we’re going to get a tray and get different types of cookies and cake on it and take it to them,” she says. She says it’s in the spirit of the season to be able to provide something for others. “I give it away,” she says. “And I feel good when I do that.” —Victoria Walton

The Coast

2019-12-04 4:25 PM

HOLIDAY PLANNER

Nancy Frank Itty bitty tokens of festive appreciation are her silent way of saying, I see you.

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ancy Frank feels the most comfortable in the background. The 70-year-old Dartmouth resident is a beloved volunteer in her community—notably with the Dartmouth North Community Food Centre—but good luck getting her to brag about the hard work she puts in there. “I just like to help,” she says humbly, her smile audible through the phone. “I don’t know any other way of saying it.” For decades, Frank’s been crafting with plastic canvas, making little pins for friends and family to coincide with every holiday you can put a face or symbol on—like Halloween, Valentine’s Day and of course Christmas. But it was back in the mid-nineties that she started giving them to strangers, too. “My mom was in the hospital after a car accident, and I was just sitting there with her, waiting,” says Frank. “I started making them for the nurses.” Her tradition’s continued to snowball since then, resulting in her making—and sharing—over 300 candy cane shaped pins last Christmas.

“If someone helps me, I give them a pin,” she says of the tiny gesture. “Or if someone’s having a bad day. If I have them, I pass them out.” This year, she’s stitched little wreaths and as of last week has started slipping them to people she cares about and perfect strangers alike. Maybe someone in the grocery lineup, maybe a friendly face on the street or a co-worker who could use a pick-me-up. “It’s weird but, I’m really shy. I don’t really say much to people, I just give them out and just go, ‘Here, I made this,’” says Frank. “‘If you want it, keep it. If you don’t want it, you can pass it on to someone else.’” —AS

DeRico Symonds D

inner is best eaten shared and DeRico Symonds is doing his part to ensure that every family has that chance during the Christmas season. Since 2016, he’s run The Give BACK, an annual Christmas holiday initiative that takes a communal approach to assisting families across HRM. The Give BACK takes donations from members of the community and uses them to provide a Christmas dinner for families who may not be able to purchase one on their own. The goal this year is to raise $2,000. “I came up with the idea because people are excited for the holidays but not everyone can afford the financial burden that comes with them,” says Symonds. “I’m trying to play a small role in changing that.” A program manager with the HRM Youth Advocate Program, he’s been working with youth and communities for about 12 years. Beyond that, he understands firsthand the financial stress that can come along with the holidays. “Mom always did her best to make sure we had what we needed but it wasn’t always easy,” says Symonds, who grew up with three brothers in public housing. “So, I understand what it’s like to be a family that doesn’t always have what you need.” The Give BACK is a one-man operation. Symonds purchases and delivers all the food himself, taking time off work, using vacation days and donating his spare time to making those deliveries from December 18 to 23. This year will be the first time he has assistance, following a donation of $400 in Atlantic Superstore gift cards and six volunteers from the Rotary Club of Dartmouth.

SUBMITTED

The founder of The Give BACK fundraiser buys and delivers holiday groceries for folks who need them.

“I don’t ask for the names, I don’t know who the food is going to, I just trust that the food will go to the right people,” says Symonds. “Everyone has a role to play in ensuring that everyone in the HRM is doing well.” Since its creation, The Give BACK has raised about $6,000 from community member donations, fed 52 families and donated about 150 pounds of canned goods and $900 to Feed Nova Scotia. Each family receives a $25 turkey, stuffing, potatoes, vegetables, butter, chocolates and candies, cranberry sauce, as well as a gift card for anything that might have been missed. Following the holidays, Symonds sees a future for The Give BACK all year round. “We all have a responsibility over what is happening in the city. A lot of these issues could be fixed if we just turned to each other,” says Symonds. “The Give BACK is a concept that might eventually expand to encompass more ideas but for now, we’re sticking to Christmas.” —Isabel Buckmaster The Coast • DECEMBER 5 – DECEMBER 11, 2019 • 11

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2019-12-04 4:24 PM

HOLIDAY PLANNER

Eldon Turner takes good ol’ Maritime hospitality to new levels at Eldon’s Soup and Sandwiches. IAN SELIG

Eldon Turner Inspired by his humble upbringing, the Sackville cook makes place for everyone at his table on Christmas Day.

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ldon Turner grew up in Happy Adventure, Newfoundland, a small village where everyone was poor, but nobody went without. “If somebody had a turkey, we all had a turkey,” Turner says. “I didn’t realize that we were all poor, because it didn’t seem to matter. There is nothing in this world I would change about where I grew up.” Now, Turner owns Eldon’s Soup and Sandwiches in Lower Sackville. The shop’s slogan, “Where no one dines alone,” is something that Turner takes quite literally. When he notices new customers, he makes a point to introduce himself, taking the time to sit down and start a conversation. For one meal, he tries to provide people with the sense of community that permeated his childhood. “Do you ever get the feeling that you’re alone?” Turner asks. He’s referencing loneliness, that sinking pang of self-pity that often accompanies isolation. “I don’t like the idea of people being alone at Christmas,” he says. To help curb that feeling, and make sure everyone has somewhere to go, Turner hosts an annual free dinner on Christmas day. “I want people to come in, sit down, talk to

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the neighbour beside them, laugh a little and enjoy the day,” he says. Last year, with help from more than 90 volunteers, Turner fed upwards of 80 people. He donated whatever food was leftover to local charities, including Souls Harbour Rescue Mission and Out Of The Cold Emergency Winter Shelter, feeding an additional 200 to 300 people. This year, the dinner will be held at Knox Church in Lower Sackville. Turner is looking for volunteers, like local businesses willing to cook a turkey or donate baked goods, and donations, like potatoes and carrots that can be dropped off closer to December 25. Dinner will be served between 2pm and 5pm on Christmas day. Guests can expect a traditional holiday spread, including favourites like stuffing, cranberry sauce and, of course, dessert. Turner says everyone is welcome to attend. “It doesn’t matter if you have $2 million or 45 cents,” he says. “It’s about sharing a meal with others. I want people to know that, as long as they have a roof over their head and food in their belly, they’ll be alright.”

—Haleigh Atwood

The Coast

2019-12-04 4:44 PM

PAID CONTENT

This year put something different under the tree How experiences are becoming this year’s hottest gift

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n gift giving, “experiences” is the new buzzword. With busy shoppers looking for unique gift ideas for friends and family, many people have been looking to experiences as an alternative to traditional gifts. Experiences allow people to make memories and try new things. They’re also the perfect gifting solution for the hard-to-shop-for person who has everything! For those that have loved ones visiting this holiday season, put an experience under the tree. Not only are they easy to give (you don’t even have to wrap them!) but it gives them a reason to come back and visit! Luckily, it’s easy to find an experience to suit anyone’s unique tastes. Handpicked Halifax for the Holidays is a curated list of some of the best giftable experiences available in the Halifax region.

For the Explorer:

An Action-Packed Halifax Adventure

Combine a virtual reality escape room with indoor rock climbing in Halifax’s trendy North End for a day packed with adventures!

Start your day at Nearby Planet VR, where you’ll dive deep below the ocean surface, orbit the earth, or escape a hungry dragon – virtually of course! - in one of their VR escape rooms. After completing your virtual journey, head down Gottingen Street to Seven Bays Bouldering for some climbing. New to climbing? No problem! They offer climbing for all levels and a delicious café where you can refuel for your next adventure!

For the Entertainment Enthusiast:

Tickets to the 25th Annual Ha!ifax Comedyfest Opening Gala

As one of the most successful, longest-running

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comedy festivals in Canada, Ha!ifax ComedyFest is a must-attend event for any comedy connoisseur.

Hosted by critically-acclaimed and award-winning comedian Mike Delamont, the Ha!ifax ComedyFest Opening Gala on April 22, 2020 promises deep belly laughs and loads of fun. This experience makes a perfect gift for friends, couples - and really anyone who loves to laugh!

For the Foodie:

Tickets to the Savour Food and Wine Show

It’s the holidays, so eat, drink, and be merry or at least give an experience that allows your loved ones to look forward to doing so!

Showcasing Nova Scotia’s finest restaurants’ culinary creations and wines, the Savour Food and Wine Show is a delicious evening that lets your taste buds run wild. Sure to warm the heart and belly, your loved ones won’t find a tastier gift under the tree! As the food and wine event of the year, tickets to the Savour Food and Wine Show on February 20, 2020 is a scrumptious gift for any foodie on your list. Make sure to book soon - this event always sells out!

For the Romantic:

A winter getaway for two at Oceanstone Seaside Resort

What’s better in the winter than a cozy night by the fire? Based on a Danish concept of hygge (pronounced “hoo-ga”), this experience package celebrates a feeling of cozy contentment and well-being, all at the stunning Oceanstone Seaside Resort near Peggy’s Cove.

An amazing experience for couples, parents, or to share with your best friend – it’s

hard to imagine a more relaxing and picturesque gift than this. The package includes a one-night stay at Oceanstone Seaside Resort, a bottle of local wine, chocolates and s’mores, two pairs of cozy socks, a beautiful candle and an overview of Hygge. The fire will be lit and waiting for you!

For the Family:

Beyond Rubik’s Cube at the Discovery Centre

Looking for a gift that you can share with the whole family? The Discovery Centre‘s family pass to Beyond Rubik’s Cube is the perfect way for the family to get creative with robotics, art, music, computer programming, and engineering! You’ll even receive your own Rubik’s Cube to challenge your family and friends.

For the Culturist:

Billy Elliot the Musical

A spectacular show with heart, humour and passion, Billy Elliot the Musical is an inspirational story of one boy’s stumble from the boxing ring to the ballet studio. Featuring a rousing score by music legend Elton John, this Neptune Theatre production is an astonishing theatrical experience to share with the people you love!

As a bonus, there are so many fantastic restaurants along nearby Argyle Street where you can enjoy a bite or a drink before or after the show. Turn this experience into a weekend getaway with a stay at a nearby hotel! Handpicked Halifax has many more giftable experiences to explore. To purchase these experiences and browse more, visit handpickedhalifax.ca

2019-12-04 4:33 PM

MUSIC AND ARTS NEWS EDITED BY MORGAN MULLIN SEND TIPS TO ARTS@THECOAST.CA

MUSIC

Where I record: Ashley Pringle’s Arrangements The EP influenced by Weezer’s debut should be on your short list of 2019’s top albums. BY MORGAN MULLIN | PHOTOS CAROLINA ANDRADE

LITERARY

Black Cop tells all Calvin Lawrence’s memoir recounts the racism he faced as one of Halifax’s first Black police officers. BY JADE NAUSS

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WHO HE IS

Ashley Pringle has been kicking around the Halifax music scene for years: You might know his guitar noodling in the heavy-psychedelic band, Nor, or remember his facemelting prog-metal band MVMNTS—and then there was his stint in the two-piece progpunk band Slashy that had a fan in The Super Friendz’ Charles Austin (“he said we were, and I quote, ‘no joke,’” Pringle writes in an email). But it wasn’t until a handful of summer weekends in 2019, goofing around with some buds in a basement, that Pringle made his best music yet, on the four-track EP Arrangements. “We just got together and had a good time with it. It was pretty refreshing, because music can be kind of a drag sometimes when you’re toiling away and nobody cares,” Pringle says of the EP’s creation process, which is heavy on fuzz rock aesthetics and also feel-good vibes. With a limited run of cassettes available through his bandcamp page (ashleypringle.bandcamp.com)—as well as a chance to stream the tracks there—consider this your chance to get aquatinted with an EP you’ve never heard of but should be on your short list for the year’s best. 14 • DECEMBER 5 – DECEMBER 11, 2019 •

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WHAT HE’S RECORDED Arrangements kicks off with vocals that are a study in contrasts: Rough as sandpaper but tumbling along to a tune, Pringle says his singing delivery is inspired by the ragged-yet-melody-minded delivery of Kurt Cobain. When it comes to influences, “For this particular thing, the big one was Weezer’s blue album—’cause it’s just a great album, it’s one of my favourite albums. But also, it has that feel of like, when I first started playing music it was just me and my friends in the basement, just recording whatever we felt like and just playing around and having fun with it. And that album sort of felt like that.” “Plus, there’s just, like, the loud-quiet-loud aesthetic—quiet verse loud chorus—that I’ve always kind of liked.”

WHERE HE PLAYED IT It makes sense that the album—which is “all about living with roommates and going nowhere,” as Pringle puts it—was recorded with his brother, Dan Pringle, and his friend Dan Nightingale (who doubled as the EP’s engineer) in swaths of free time in Nightingale’s basement: It’s art and life winking in a mirror at each other. Pringle adds the effort is “self-reflexive,” with the guys’ laughter remaining in the final take of track three, “No Idea.” The heavy distortion groans emphatically as the song re-starts. “I wanted to show we recorded it live,” Pringle says, adding that his brother and Nightingale would often hop on drums while Pringle recorded guitar and vocals, rather than layering individual tracks.

WHY IT WORKS To sum up the addictive sound of Arrangements—which lands somewhere on the rock ’n’ roll map between early Strokes and Weezer, with a right turn past British Invasion-y pop, Pringle says: “It’s sort of cliche but I just wanted to get back to my roots of just playing music with my friends in the basement and having a good time—so the aesthetic has gone from being in high school and playing dumb rock ’n’ roll to being in these super technical prog bands and back to ‘let’s just play a few chords’: A conscious effort to strip back the technicality and play what feels good.”

BlackLivesMatter justifiably draws attention to how racism affects Black civilians—but what about Black police officers? In his recently released memoir Black Cop, Calvin Lawrence recounts the racism he experienced as a Black police officer in Halifax and across Canada. In 1969, Lawrence was one of the first Black men recruited by the Halifax Police Department. It wasn’t an easy opportunity for him. “I had to deal with police officers who resented me being there,” says Lawrence. “I had to deal with Black people who resented me being a police officer. And, I had to deal with white people who didn’t like to see Black people in authority.” Eventually, he left the Halifax Police Department to join the Mounties. He completed basic training in Regina, went undercover in Edmonton and Toronto and protected VIPs in Ottawa. But no matter where he went or what kind of police work he did, Lawrence says he met with resistance—on the streets and in the station—because of his skin colour and because he was good at his job. “Generally speaking, people who practice racist behaviour covet what Blacks have if they’re successful,” he explains. “So in these people’s minds, the better you do, the more they dislike you and the more threatened they are. And this, in my opinion, has gone on throughout my career.” Lawrence wants people to understand the effects of individual racism and institutional racism in Canadian police organizations and other workplaces: “I think that there’s a false perception that if Black people put their efforts into getting an education, to be competent at their jobs, that they will be immediately accepted into white society— and this is a false assumption.” a

The Coast

2019-12-04 4:47 PM

Arts

Avery Jean Brennan says Peter Pan is a stepping stone for gender inclusivity at Neptune Theatre. IAN SELIG

THEATRE

Avery Jean Brennan takes the spotlight The first out trans woman to perform in a Neptune show on the theatre’s main stage says she’s waiting for a day that this isn’t news. BY CHRIS STOODLEY

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here’s a new set of cast members bringing a rainbow of representation to Neptune Theatre’s main stage. With the opening of the theatre company’s latest musical, Peter Pan, Neptune is making strides towards inclusivity. In fact, one performer is shining the spotlight on transgender representation. Her name is Avery Jean Brennan. She’s the first out transgender woman to perform in a Neptune production on Neptune’s main stage. She’s playing Fudge, a transfeminine girl looking to find herself. “What I hope audiences get from seeing me on stage is the idea that this doesn’t have to be an anomaly,” Brennan says. “Because I grew up as someone who never got to see this happen on stage and never thought it would happen because of that. I never thought that I would get to be a part of the stories we told as my authentic self.” But getting to where she is now wasn’t easy. Brennan knew she was transgender early in her career but didn’t want to come out, for fear of losing everything she had built. Brennan grew up in Halifax and took theatre classes at Neptune Theatre and Zuppa Theatre while in high school. She then attended the Canadian College of Performing Arts in Victoria where she later worked as an artistic director intern and a guest director and musical director. After theatre school, Brennan worked across the country. After six years, she decided to transition.

Unfortunately, Brennan’s once-internal fears soon turned into reality: Opportunities began to disappear and it became more difficult for her to find a job. Still, she wasn’t giving up. She shifted her focus from performing to writing and education. Last year, she wrote her first musical called The Pansy Craze: A New Musical, an eight-person show where four of the cast members were transgender. She also created a workshop series for theatres to learn more about how to support transgender people’s needs. Brennan has led these workshops at different organizations across Canada. Brennan says there’s a “severely high rate of unemployment for all transgender people in any industry.” She says businesses and people need to understand transgender people’s needs, use appropriate language and not force them into positions of advocacy just to be able to work. At Neptune, Brennan hopes to see herself performing on stage many more times. Peter Pan is a stepping stone for what Brennan hopes to see in her and the theatre’s future. “What I’m hoping will happen,” she says, “is that a whole bunch of different little girls who are just like me get to see themselves on stage and they don’t have to grow up thinking the same way, thinking that they’re alone, thinking that they’re not important or belonging in this world.” a The Coast •

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The Coast

2019-12-04 4:35 PM

Entertainment Listings Music You’re here! Events 18 Visual Arts 19

› ENTERTAINMENT AND EVENTS PICKS WRITTEN AND COMPILED BY MORGAN MULLIN

Send event listings to listings@thecoast.ca. Print deadline Thursday, 5pm SURE THINGS

Thursday December 5 DJ + Dancing 90S NIGHT WITH DJ REWIND Toothy Moose Cabaret, 1661 Argyle Street AUDIO THERAPY THURSDAYS Reflections Cabaret, 5187 Salter Street, 11pm, $7-$9 DJ IV W/DJ OKAY TK Vinyl Retro Dance Lounge, 1575 Argyle Street DJ RANDY Montes Showbar Grill, 245 Waverley Road, 10pm, Free THIRSTDAYZ W/DJ DANDERSON Menz & Mollyz Bar, 2182 Gottingen Street, 10pm

Live Music BROKEN BRIDGES Split Crow Pub Halifax, 1855 Granville Street DAVE BRADSHAW The Celtic Corner, 69 Alderney Drive MIKE COWIE, RON HYNES AND VLAD STINOKOV Morris East, Vernon Sreet, 1984 Vernon Street, 6pm AUGUSTO ENRIQUEZ & FAMILY Compass Distillers, 2533 Agricola Street, 7:30pm GRATEFUL DEAD DANCE PARTY Gus’ Pub, 2605 Agricola Street, 9pm LANDING SOUND The Loose Cannon, 1566 Argyle Street, 9pm, Free THE LEGENDARY GOLDBLOOMS Sniggily Wiggily’s, 1655 Argyle Street, 7pm THE MELLOTONES Bearly’s House of Blues & Ribs, 1269 Barrington Street, 10pm, $7-$9 SALSA DANCING 1313 Hollis, 1313 Hollis Street, 9pm, $3 SLEEPING MACHINES & THE HIGHRISE QUARTET SINGLE RELEASE PARTY The Seahorse Tavern, 2037 Gottingen Street, 9pm THE STROLLING BONES The Daily Grind, 1479 Birmingham St, 8pm WOMEN FOR MUSIC MEETING Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts, 6199 Chebucto Road, 1pm, Free

Friday

Music DJ SAVORY Toothy Moose Cabaret, 1661 Argyle Street, 10pm, $10 DJ TONY HAZE Bitter End Martini Bar 1572 Argyle Street, 10pm, Free

Live Music FREQUENCY Split Crow Pub Halifax, 1855 Granville Street, 12am HOLIDAY LUNCH BUFFET Durty Nelly’s, 1645 Argyle Street MIKE COWIE AND CO. The Press Gang Restaurant, 5218 Prince Street, 8:30pm RED LIONS The Celtic Corner, 69 Alderney Drive THERESA MALENFANT & THE INSTIGATORS Bearly’s, 1269 Barrington Street, 10pm BILL’S BIG BIRTHDAY BASH W/SHAKEDOWN COMBO, RASQUATCH, FANTODS, THE NEW MILLENNIALS Gus’ Pub 2605 Agricola Street, 10pm, $10 LAURA MERRIMEN The Carleton 1685 Argyle Street, 6pm

Saturday December 7 DJ + Dancing DJ FROST AND XS 7 Red Stag Tavern 1496 Lower Water Street, 10pm DJ RANDY Montes Showbar Grill 245 Waverley Road, 10pm, Free

Live Music CHRIS KIRBY Patchwork House Concerts, 30 First Avenue, 8pm, $20 FREQUENCY Split Crow Pub Halifax, 1855 Granville Street JOE MURPHY & THE WATER STREET BLUES BAND Your Father’s Moustache, 5686 Spring Garden Road, 4pm, Free MIKE COWIE AND CO. The Press Gang Restaurant, 5218 Prince Street, 8:30pm RED LIONS The Celtic Corner 69 Alderney Drive THERESA MALENFANT & SCOTT MEDFORD Bearly’s,1269 Barrington Street, 4:30pm & 10pm

December 6

Sunday

Concerts

December 8

GRAND THEFT BUS The Seahorse Tavern, 2037 Gottingen Street, 9pm, $12 THE KING’S CHORUS PRESENTS ‘SAINT NICOLAS’ CONCERT St Mary’s Basilica, 5221 Spring Garden Road, 8pm, $10 - $75 GEORGE CANYON & AARON PRITCHETT Casino Nova Scotia, 1983 Upper Water Street, 8pm, $50

DJ + Dancing ALL REQUEST DJ NIGHT Big Leagues Pub, 920 Cole Harbour Road, 9:30pm DJ RANDY Montes Showbar Grill, 245 Waverley Road, 10pm, Free

Concerts DEVIN HUANG Lilian Piercey Concert Hall, Maritime Conservatory, 6199 Chebucto Road, 2pm

DJ + Dancing DJ MIKE G Toothy Moose Cabaret, 1661 Argyle Street, Free

Live Music BLUES JAM Bearly’s, 1269 Barrington Street, 8:30pm

Sure Thing

DEVIN HUANG Lilian Piercey Concert Hall, Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts, 6199 Chebucto Road, 2pm, Free

JORDAN LEBLANC Split Crow Pub Halifax, 1855 Granville Street JEFF GOODSPEED AND FRIENDS Stayner’s Wharf, 5075 George Street, 5pm, Free JUBILATE SINGERS’ FESTIVAL OF CAROLS St. Mark’s Church 5522 Russell Street, 7pm KITCHEN PARTY & JAM SESSION Vimy 27 Legion, 6158 Almon Street, 3pm THE MIKE COWIE VIBE TRIO W/RON HYNES, DAVE STAPLES Morris East, Bedford West 620 Nine Mile Drive, 5:30pm, Free SKIN & JONES The Perfect Pour Pub & Grill, 19 Norm Newman Drive, 4pm THEM OTHER JOHNS The Local 2037 Gottingen Street, 4pm

Monday December 9 Concerts CHRISTMAS AT SAINT DAVID’S Saint David’s Presbyterian Church, 1544 Grafton Street, 7:30pm, $10-$20 DALHOUSIE COLLEGIUM CANTORUM Dalhousie University, 7:30pm LENNIE GALLANT: THE INNKEEPER’S CHRISTMAS The Carleton, 1685 Argyle Street, 7:30pm SARAH ALBU, ELLEN GIBLING AND NORMAN ADAMS Good Robot Brewing Company, 2736 Robie Street, 7:30pm, PWYC/$20

DJ + Dancing DJ TONY HAZE Bitter End Martini Bar & Restaurant, 1572 Argyle Street, 10pm MOOSE MONDAYS W/DJ SKEETER B Toothy Moose 1661 Argyle Street, 12am, Free

Tuesday December 10 Concerts LENNIE GALLANT THE INNKEEPER’S CHRISTMAS The Carleton 1685 Argyle Street, 7:30pm

DJ + Dancing AMATEUR DJ NIGHT W/DJ MASTER Menz & Mollyz Bar, 2182 Gottingen Street, 12am

Live Music JORDAN LEBLANC Split Crow Pub Halifax, 1855 Granville Street OPEN MIC W/NOAH TYE The Celtic Corner, 69 Alderney Drive TYLER & SCOTT Durty Nelly’s 1645 Argyle Street, 10pm, Free GARRETT MASON Bearly’s House of Blues & Ribs, 1269 Barrington Street GOTTIJAM Menz & Mollyz Bar 2182 Gottingen Street, 10:30pm, $3 A PORTRAIT IN WORDS: GEORGE ELLIOT CLARKE ON PORTIA WHITE Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, 1055 Marginal Road, 7pm, Free THE NUTCRACKER Dal Arts Centre 6101 University Avenue, 7:30pm OPEN MIC The Loose Cannon 1566 Argyle Street, 9:30pm

Wednesday December 11

Live Music

Concerts

JOHN OLSEN Split Crow Pub Halifax 1855 Granville Street MORGAN DAVIS Bearly’s House of Blues & Ribs, 1269 Barrington Street, 8pm DAVE MACISAAC & LOUIS BENOIT Old Triangle Irish Alehouse, 5136 Prince Street, 7pm, Free LES CHANSONS DES ROSES St. Andrews United Church 6036 Coburg Road, 7:30pm, $20-$25 OPEN MIC NIGHT W/LARRY AND FRIENDS The Perfect Pour Pub & Grill 19 Norm Newman Drive, 5pm, Free PAUL ST-AMAND TRIO Coburg Social 6085 Coburg Road, 7pm, Free SUGAR BLUES Cole Harbour Place 51 Forest Hills Parkway, 7pm

WILLEM PAYNTER & FRIENDS Obladee Wine Bar, 1600 Barrington Street, 8pm

Live Music JOE MURPHY AND BRAD CONRAD The Loose Cannon, 1566 Argyle Street, 9pm COLIN BURKE DUO Split Crow Pub Halifax, 1855 Granville Street JON BRYANT The Carleton, 1685 Argyle Street, 7pm THE LEGENDARY GOLDBLOOMS Sniggily Wiggily’s Beer and Booze Concreatery, 1655 Argyle Street, 7pm THE STROLLING BONES The Daily Grind, 1479 Birmingham Street, 9pm DAMIEN MOYNIHAN, SILVIO PUPO AND RONALD HYNES The Local, 2037 Gottingen Street

The Coast •

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DECEMBER 5 – DECEMBER 11, 2019 • 17

2019-12-04 4:40 PM

Events Tic Tac Go Holiday Market Tic Tac Go Escape Room and Games, 31 Queen Street, 10am Winter Makers Market With a tag line that says “makers and bakers, thrift and more” you’re sure to outfit your body and spirit in time for the holidays at this sweet market— and, sure, grab a few gifts for the names on your nice list, too. Lucky Penny Coffee Co., 6440 Quinpool Road, 10am, Free The Wizard of...Oz? Pond Playhouse, 6 Parkhill Road, Dec 5-Dec 6, 8pm; Dec 7, 2pm & 8pm

Sure Thing

Halifax Thunderbirds vs New York Riptide The official home opener of the city’s new lacrosse team means it’s time to learn the rules of your new favourite sport, stat! Dec 7, Scotiabank Centre 1800 Argyle Street, 7pm, $20.25-$98

Thursday December 5

Sunday December 8 An Acadian Christmas Dinner and Tour Enjoy an afternoon of good food, live music and a tour of one of Canada’s historic general stores then a bus ride back for a traditional Acadian dessert. Cafe l’Acadie, 8369 Peggy’s Cove Road, 3pm, $28

A Cringle Christmas! Alderney Landing Theatre, 2 Ochterloney Street, 7:30pm, $17.50 Big Leagues Trivia Night Big Leagues Pub, 920 Cole Harbour Road, 8pm, Free Gather Round: An Evening of Storytelling and Song Holiday stories by local authors, read aloud. St. Andrews United Church, 6036 Coburg Road, 7pm, $15-$20 The Open Smoke Comedy Show High Life Social Club, 5982 Spring Garden Road, 9pm, Free for High Life members, $8 Running Club Mountain Equipment Co-op 1550 Granville Street, 5pm, Free

Author’s Day at Open Book Coffee Open Book Coffee Ltd., 3660 Strawberry Hill Street, 9am, Free

Halifax Vintage Christmas Show Join over 40 local vintage and antique vendors for a Vintage Christmas wonderland—and The Curio Collective’s last event of 2019. 1566 Barrington Street, 10am-8pm

Brunch with Santa and Mrs Claus St. Peter’s Anglican Church, 3 Dakin Drive, 10am, $5-$7

Halifax Mooseheads vs Cape Breton Screaming Eagles Scotiabank Centre, 1800 Argyle Street, 7pm Hydrostone Tree Lighting Hydrostone Park, 5547 Young Street, Halifax, 6:30pm Newcomers Conversation Club Captain William Spry Community Centre, 10 Kidston Road, 1pm, Free The Nutcracker See photo, below. Rebecca Cohn Auditorium, Dal Arts Centre, 6101 University Avenue, Dec 6, 7:30pm; Dec 7-Dec 8, 2pm

Trivia Night with Jason Dorey Lion’s Head Tavern & Grill, 3081 Robie Street, Free

Peter Pan Read more about Peter Pan actor Avery Jean Brennan on page 15. Neptune Theatre, 1593 Argyle Street, Nov 27-Jan 5, 7:30pm & Sat-Sun at 2pm, $30-$87

The Wizard of...Oz? Pond Playhouse, 6 Parkhill Road, Dec 5-Dec 6, 8pm; Dec 7, 2pm & 8pm

Carbon Arc screens Synonyms Carbon Arc Cinema, 1747 Summer Street, 9pm, $8-$8.75

Sitting and walking meditation w/Halifax Dharma Study Group Saint Andrew’s United Church, 6036 Coburg Road, 5:30pm, free

Trivia Night at the T-Room T-Room, 1360 Barrington Street, J Building, 10pm

Peter Pan Read more about Peter Pan actor Avery Jean Brennan on page 15. Neptune Theatre, 1593 Argyle Street, Nov 27-Jan 5, 7:30pm & Sat-Sun at 2pm, $30-$87

Friday December 6 A Cringle Christmas! Alderney Landing Theatre, 2 Ochterloney Street, 7:30pm, $17.50 Christkindlmarket Alderney Landing Farmers’ Market, 2 Ocherloney Street, 4pm

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The Wizard of...Oz? Pond Playhouse, 6 Parkhill Road, Dec 5-Dec 6, 8pm; Dec 7, 2pm & 8pm Midnight Storm: Confessions Whisper your deepest secrets into the ears of this new theatre troupe to inspire an evening of improv. 1313 Hollis, 1313 Hollis Street, 8pm, PWYC

Saturday December 7 A Cringle Christmas! Alderney Landing Theatre, 2 Ochterloney Street, 2pm, $17.50

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Cheer & Song Time at Evergreen House Dartmouth Heritage Museum, 26 Newcastle Street, 2pm Christ Church Christmas Market Christ Church Hall, 61 Dundas Street, 10am, free will offering Christkindlmarket Alderney Landing Farmers’ Market, 2 Ocherloney Street, Free Christmas by the Coast Ketch Harbour Community Hall, 964 Ketch Harbour Road, 11am, Free

Tis The Season 13 starring Bette MacDonald & Maynard Morrison, with Joe Waye Jr., Jordan Musycsyn Dalhousie Arts Centre, 6101 University Avenue, 7:30pm, $39

Tuesday December 10 Artful Outing Tour & Tea Tuesdays: Holiday Edition Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, 1723 Hollis Street, 2:30pm Caregivers Nova Scotia Support Group (Fairview) Caregivers Nova Scotia, 3433 Dutch Village Road, Suite 2, 10:30am, Free

Christmas by the Coast Ketch Harbour Community Hall, 964 Ketch Harbour road, 11am, Free Friday Night Magic: Standard The Deck Box, 1980 Brunswick Street 6:30pm, $5

Dalhousie Collegium Cantorum Dalhousie University, 7:30pm

Trivia Night Durty Nelly’s Authentic Irish Pub, 1645 Argyle Street, 8pm, Free

Christkindlmarket Alderney Landing Farmers’ Market, 2 Ocherloney Street, 11am, Free SUBMITTED

Monday December 9

In Conversation with George Elliott Clarke: Portia White In his unique brand of Africadian poetry, George Elliott Clarke explores a personal subject: his great-aunt Portia White. Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, 1055 Marginal Road, 7pm, Free

Gingerbread Family Sunday Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, 1723 Hollis Street, 12pm, $5 Halifax Vintage Christmas Show Join over 40 local vintage and antique vendors for a Vintage Christmas wonderland—and The Curio Collective’s last event of 2019. 1566 Barrington Street, 11am-4pm The Nutcracker See photo, below. Rebecca Cohn Auditorium, Dal Arts Centre, 6101 University Avenue, Dec 6, 7:30pm; Dec 7-Dec 8, 2pm Peter Pan Read more about Peter Pan actor Avery Jean Brennan on page 15. Neptune Theatre, 1593 Argyle Street, Nov 27-Jan 5, 7:30pm & Sat-Sun at 2pm

Quiz Night in the Seanchai Old Triangle Irish Alehouse, 5136 Prince Street, 8pm Peter Pan Read more about Peter Pan actor Avery Jean Brennan on page 15. Neptune Theatre, 1593 Argyle Street, Nov 27-Jan 5, 7:30pm & Sat-Sun at 2pm, $30-$87

Wednesday December 11 Caregivers Nova Scotia Support Group Bedford/Sackville Community Health Team, 1658 Bedford Hwy, Office main level across from Dollarstore

Dartmouth Christmas Tree Lighting Alderney Landing, 2 Ochterloney Street, 4:30pm Halifax Vintage Christmas Show Join over 40 local vintage and antique vendors for a Vintage Christmas wonderland—and The Curio Collective’s last event of 2019. 1566 Barrington Street, 10am-6pm

Pot Yoga High Life Social Club, 5982 Spring Garden Road, 8pm, $15 Trivia Night Freeman’s Little New York, 3671 Dutch Village Road, 7pm

Handmade Holiday Fair Seven Bays Bouldering, 2019 Gottingen Street, 4pm

Trivia Night The Celtic Corner, 69 Alderney Drive, 8pm

Halifax Thunderbirds vs New York Riptide See photo, above. Scotiabank Centre, 1800 Argyle Street, 7pm

Trivia Night Dooly’s, 800 Sackville Drive, 7:30pm, Free

Holiday Hygge Halifax Brewery Market, 1496 Lower Water Street, 8am Noche Flamenca The Seahorse Tavern, 2037 Gottingen Street, 8pm, $15 The Nutcracker See photo, below. Rebecca Cohn Auditorium, Dal Arts Centre, 6101 University Avenue, Dec 6, 7:30pm; Dec 7-Dec 8, 2pm Open Heart Forgery poetry journal launch Dec 2019 issue Glitter Bean Cafe, 5896 Spring Garden Road, 2pm, Free Peter Pan Read about Peter Pan actor Avery Jean Brennan on page 15. Neptune Theatre, 1593 Argyle Street, Nov 27-Jan 5, 7:30pm & Sat-Sun at 2pm, $30-$87

Sure Thing

The Nutcracker Symphony Nova Scotia’s holiday tradition sees Tchaikovsky’s classic ballet get the full orchestral treatment while dancers from Halifax Dance and larger-than-life puppets from the Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia sweep you up in a tale of love and courage. Rebecca Cohn Auditorium, Dal Arts Centre, 6101 University Avenue, Dec 6, 7:30pm; Dec 7-Dec 8, 2pm, $15/$35

The Coast

2019-12-04 4:30 PM

Visual Arts

Sure Thing

Toni Losey New Works Toni Losey’s earthenware pieces rest, nubbly-textured and smooth-silhouetted, like a cross between the most beautiful barnacle your imagination could render and alien-eye-dappled protrusions. You can’t stop staring at the wheel-thrown, altered and assembled works—and you don’t want to either. Craig Gallery, Alderney Landing, 2 Ochterloney Street To Jan 5

TONI LOSEY

Galleries ART GALLERY OF NOVA SCOTIA Mon closed, Tue-Sun 10am-5pm, Thu 10am-9pm, 1723 Hollis Street Althea Thauberger: The State of the Situation Althea Thauberger has garnered international attention since the AGNS first showed her work in 2004, and now, in The State of the Situation, it is pleased to present the first overview of her practice and collaborative artmaking process. The communities she captures are deeply involved in fabrication of the work, and the trust she builds with her collaborators is evident in the empathetic work she creates. An exhibition highlight: Monkman, Johnson and Bennett If you missed Kent Monkman’s incredible Shame and Prejudice: A Story of Resilience shown at the gallery last fall, which re-presented the story of Canada through the voice of a genre-fluid, time-travelling alter-ego Miss Chief Eagle Testickle; if you slept on Jordan Bennett’s Ketu’ elmita’jik, which saw him reclaiming Indigenous artifacts, playing with colour and shape in an immersive environment; if you don’t already know Ursula Johnson to be the talent of a generation; this show will give you a crash course in all three. Consider yourself told. CORRIDOR GALLERY Mon-Fri 9:30am–5pm, 1113 Marginal Road Aerial Abstraction: Satellite Landscape Drawings “Artist Kelly Markovich developed this series of drawings from a collection of satellite images taken from online weather sites. Having collected the images over a five-year period, Markovich, an interdisciplinary photo-based artist, recently began drawing again as a part of her creative process. In these watercolour, acrylic and graphite drawings, Markovich is exploring our connections and relationship with the environment,” says the gallery. To Dec 17 CRAIG GALLERY Tue-Fri noon-5:30pm, Sat 9am5pm, Sun 11am-3pm, Alderney Landing, 2 Ochterloney Street Toni Losey New Works See photo above. To Jan 5 HERMES Sat-Sun 12-6pm, 5682 North Street Microcosm:G2YM This exhibition

merges elements of fiction, media art, material research and craft by presenting Juss’ new body of work, composed of ceramic slides, optical devices and silkscreen clay-prints. This iteration is a reflection on his recent study of various clay samples from North Carolina. While applying the methodologies developed to distill the native patterns and “language” embedded in the mineral matter, he employs mapping as a way to measure and read organic structures, to imagine a different scale of space and its topography. “I have been focusing on clay as a material, a source and an environment. My practice revolves around exploration and curiosity. It draws on the act of scanning and translating material samples into patterns and codes, into propositional lifeforms and relatable objectives. These interpretations in visual and conceptual forms have been conveyed in various recordings, installations, scans and microphotographs, fired ceramics, clay-light-boxes or ceramic-lens projections. I continue my quest, to observe and reveal the embodiment of life within clay, and to expand on the hypothesis of ‘silicon-based life,’” says his artist’s statement. To Dec 8 MARY E. BLACK GALLERY Tue-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat-Sun 11am-4pm, 1061 Marginal Road Craft LAIR: Elyse Moir Head to the Mary E. Black Gallery to see works by CFAT’s latest Local Artist In Residence, Elyse Moir. Here’s how the artist describes her works: “Elyse Moir’s illustrative works bloom as paintings, collages and textiles depicting colourful moments of curiosity and glimpses to murky inner realms. In chaotic, overgrown fields, small, tender petals of meaning are plucked and arranged carefully amongst weeds, alluding to memories, stories and bizarre alternate realities. In these works, beginning and end are undetermined as the artist explores the non-linear nature of healing and of finding joy, humour, resilience and care in collaborative practices in art, music and performance. Through vibrant visual motifs, interactive objects and community happenings, Elyse hopes to encourage others to connect, create, rest and play.” To Dec 22 Move Me/Touchez Moi DutchCanadian artist Marjolein Dallinga’s felted sculptures are fleshy and strange—beautiful and red, they

pool like blood vessels and climb like spiked vertebrae. It is no wonder her theatrical work caught the eye of Cirque du Soleil, who have used her costuming skills in their performances. To Jan 19 MOUNT SAINT VINCENT UNIVERSITY ART GALLERY Tue-Fri 10am-4pm, Sat-Sun 12-4pm, 166 Bedford Highway Sunetra Ekanayake: Botanical Watercolours Sunetra Ekanayake is a biologist and naturalist. Exploring the wilderness of Nova Scotia, she records flora and fauna encountered along the way. In this exhibition of botanical watercolours, Ekanayake invites us to consider the precious and distinct nature of plant species found around the province and on the MSVU campus. Ekanayake is part-time faculty in the department of biology at Mount Saint Vincent University. To Jan 26 STUDIO 21 Tue-Fri 11am-6pm, Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 12-5pm, Mon by appointment only, 5431 Doyle Street Richard Thomas Davis: New paintings High realist artist Richard Thomas Davis has spent well over two years making this body of work which includes portraiture, landscape, interiors and still life. The paintings are not linked by theme so much as being of people, places and things from in and around his studio in LaHave, Nova Scotia. “I give a tangible, almost tactile look to the objects in my work,” says Davis. “I want my paintings to give the viewer a very real sense of contemplating reality itself. My desire is to capture the essence of things, caught in a moment of time. I am more interested in the stories things tell me than in the stories I might tell.” Born in New York in 1947, Davis attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia from 1965 to 1966. His work resides in numerous public and private collections throughout North America. Davis was inducted into the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in 2011 and lives and works on the South Shore of Nova Scotia. He is the winner of the 2013 Kingston Portrait Prize and in November 2019 his painting “Kindling and Mirrors” was displayed at the MEAM (European Museum of Modern Art) in Barcelona, Spain as the recipient of an honorable mention in the international Figurativas painting competition. To Dec 31

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LOVE THE WAY WE BITCH / LOVE 2309 Maynard Street, Halifax, NS B3K 3T8 Phone: 902-422-6278, Fax: 902-425-0013 Email: coast@thecoast.ca EDITORIAL Editor Kyle Shaw (editor@thecoast.ca) This Deputy Is Riding Off Into The Sunset Allison Saunders (allisons@thecoast.ca) Arts & Entertainment Editor Morgan Mullin (arts@thecoast.ca) City Editor Caora McKenna (news@thecoast.ca) Copy Editors Fadila Chater, Andrew Bethune Housing Reporter Sandra C. Hannebohm (housing@thecoast.ca) Cannabis Editor Meg Hubley (thereef@thecoast.ca) Senior Features Writer Stephen Kimber (stephenk@thecoast.ca) Contributing Writers Chris Benjamin, Jane Kansas, Carsten Knox, Brennan McCracken Contributing Editors Melissa Buote, Lezlie Lowe, Stephanie Johns, Tara Thorne Contributing Photographers Meghan Tansey Whitton, Lenny Mullins, Riley Smith Contributing Illustrators Paul Hammond, Tim Carpenter, Mollie Cronin, Jordyn Bochon ACTIVE MARKETING PROFESSIONALS Director of Sales and Marketing Christa Harrie (christah@thecoast.ca) Account Executive Haley Clarke (haley@thecoast.ca) PRODUCTION & ONLINE Production Manager Pam Nicoll (pamn@thecoast.ca) Production Designer Jess Hartjes (jess@thecoast.ca) Production Assistant Kirsten Aitken Imaging Consultant Kevin Cunningham OPERATIONS Office Manager Audra McKenna (audram@thecoast.ca) Distribution Team David MacPhee, Bob Mitchell, Steve Amero, Mike Spurr Front Desk Enforcer Kyla “Forever Young” Derry (kylad@thecoast.ca) Publisher Christine Oreskovich (christineo@thecoast.ca)

Walk a mile in their shoes Let’s think about some of the common reasons why drivers get frustrated with pedestrians— they’re slow, they’re erratic and unpredictable, they’re distracted or inattentive, they don’t obey traffic signals. Now let’s imagine those people driving the way they walk. A slow, erratic, inattentive driver who doesn’t follow the rules of the road, is WAY worse for everyone who uses the roads; drivers, pedestrians and cyclists alike. You never know why someone has chosen to be a pedestrian. For many people it’s for financial or sustainability reasons. It could also be that they have an intellectual disability making it difficult to understand the rules of the road; they might be on a medication that affects their response time; they might be rushing inattentively to get out of bad weather or home to a sick dog; they might be a teenager whose brain hasn’t fully developed protective awareness measures. So to all the pedestrians out there who aren’t walking because it’s cheaper or more environmental—THANK YOU! You keep walking, and I’ll pay attention so as not to scare

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❤ Print forever

My very first job was delivering The Daily News as a teenager; sad to see StarMetro go. Have been reading The Coast since you first started. Hope you find the printer that is right for you so we can all continue reading your great Halifax paper. Cheers! —Sporty Forty Pizza sauce I need to get this off my chest. Pizza shops in Halifax: your pizza tastes great, it has potential, but... and there is a but! You neeeed to start cooking your pies for longer or at a higher temp. The bready parts are almost raw, it’s so squishy and floppy. Like, it can be sort of squishy, that’s what bread does when it has a lot of air bubbles, however the Halifax slice is undercooked. We need to start making crispy, properly cooked slices stat. It’s not that difficult and I believe in us. —A Single Tear

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THE COMIC

The Coast is Halifax’s weekly newspaper, published every Thursday by Coast Publishing Limited. The Coast’s goal is to be provocative, entertaining and truthful. Coast Publishing Limited takes no responsibility for the uncontrollable fits of both joy and sadness that baby Yoda inlficts on you. The Coast is printed locally on recycled stock with 23,000 copies distributed throughout Halifax, Dartmouth and Bedford. Mailed under Canada Post Publications Mail Agreement No. 40027554. Please return undeliverable addresses to the Distribution Department, 2309 Maynard Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3K 3T8 (email distribution@thecoast.ca). Staff and management of The Coast neither advocate nor encourage the use of products or services advertised herein for illegal purposes. All rights reserved. © 2019. Independent and locally owned, founded in 1993.

Good times It took four hours to get home from work the other night due to the storm, including 90 minutes outside waiting for the bus (any bus) to show up. Luckily, I wasn’t alone. Shout out to my new bus stop friends. Red Jacket Guy, “I went all the way to Sackville” girl, Lotsa Cursing Man and the rest of the bus stop 6014 crew. Ain’t no party like a bus stop party! Special no-thanks to Halifax Transit for not updating their Twitter all day or providing updates of any kind on all the detours and delays. —Shiveringly Cold

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or squish you if you’re walking irresponsibly, even though you might frustrate or startle me. I hope other drivers do the same. —Compassionate Driver

❤ Got your name, but not your

number I’m generally not one to talk up strangers in grocery store check-out lines, but there was something about our exchange of smiles and gazes around the store that compelled me to check out with you. Watching you shudder, then laugh was the perfect reaction to me describing my art. I shouldn’t have let you leave without my number. Here’s hoping we’ll meet again at our favourite north end grocer. —The Sculptor

What are we buying at Shoppers? Weed Kleenex

! Maybe hire a copy editor, too Hiring managers of HRM, please run your job titles and descriptions through a spellchecker before publishing positions to job boards. It isn’t clear if the title “escavator operator” involves construction or maintaining automatic stairs. Your “costumer service” role involves no dressing up, and I am concerned if your restaurant needs a “shit manager.” The attention to detail you put into your opportunity to make a first impression reflects the level of respect you have for employees, and this problem isn’t limited to entry level positions. The government is hiring an advisor right now to run both “econonic” and also “ecomonic” analysis, a dark sign in itself for our econony. —Unemployed Eidtor More bitching Go online to post your rant at thecoast.ca/bitch

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The Coast

2019-12-04 5:05 PM

Free Will Astrology

Shed your emotional baggage, Capricorn, says ROB BREZSNY Sagittarius

(Nov 22-Dec 21) “My greatest asset is that I am constantly changing,” says Sagittarian actress and activist Jane Fonda. This description may not always be applicable to you, but I think it should be during the coming weeks. You’re primed to thrive on a robust commitment to self-transformation. As you proceed in your holy task, keep in mind this other advice from Fonda. First: “One part of wisdom is knowing what you don’t need anymore and letting it go.” Second: “It is never too late to master your weaknesses.” Third: “If you allow yourself, you can become stronger in the very places that you’ve been broken.” Fourth: “The challenge is not to be perfect. It’s to be whole.” What does it mean to be whole? Be respectful toward all your multiple facets and welcome them into the conversation you have about how to live. Happy birthday this week to: Jo Napier, Ashley LeBlanc, Laura Button, Charmaine Al-Molky, Ashley MacLennan, Amanda Vassallo and Matt Burgher. Send your big day to bday@thecoast.ca

Capricorn

(Dec 22-Jan 19)

You can’t escape your past completely. You can’t loosen its hold on you so thoroughly that it will forever allow you to move with limitless freedom into the future. But you definitely have the power to release yourself from at least a part of your past’s grip. And the coming weeks will be an excellent time to do just that: to pay off a portion of your karmic debt and shed worn-out emotional baggage.

Aquarius

(Jan 20-Feb 18)

Aquarian playwright August Strindberg didn’t have much interest in people who “regurgitate what they have learned from books.” He was bored by stories that have been told over and over again; was impatient with propaganda disguised as information and by sentimental platitudes masquerading as sage insights. He craved to hear about the unprecedented secrets of each person’s life: the things they know and feel that no one else knows and feels. He was a student of “the natural history of the human heart.” I bring Strindberg’s perspective to your attention, my dear one-of-akind Aquarius, because now is a perfect time for you to embody it.

Pisces

(Feb 19-Mar 20)

“It’s no fun being in love with a shadow,” wrote Piscean poet Edna St. Vincent Millay. Yet she indulged profusely in that no-fun activity. She even capitalized on it to create a number of decent, if morose, poems. But in alignment with your astrological omens, I’m going to encourage you to fall out of love with

shadows. The coming weeks will be an excellent time to channel your passions into solid realities. Focus your ardor and adoration on earthly pleasures, practical concerns and imperfect but interesting people.

Aries

(Mar 21-Apr 19)

In composing this oracle, I have called on the unruly wisdom of Vivienne Westwood. She’s the fashion designer who incorporated the punk aesthetic into mainstream styles. Here are four quotes by her that will be especially suitable for your use in the coming weeks. First: “I disagree with everything I used to say.” Second: ”The only possible effect one can have on the world is through unpopular ideas.” Third: “Intelligence is composed mostly of imagination, insight and things that have nothing to do with reason.” Fourth: “I’m attracted to people who are really true to themselves and who are always trying to do something that makes their life more interesting.”

Taurus

(Apr 20-May 20)

“I’m drowning in the things I never told you.” Famous make-up artist Alexandra Joseph wrote that message to a companion with whom she had a complicated relationship. Are you experiencing a similar sensation, Taurus? If so, I invite you to do something about it. The coming weeks will be a good time to stop drowning. One option is to blurt out to your ally all the feelings and thoughts you’ve been withholding and hiding. A second option is to divulge just some of the feelings and thoughts you’ve been withholding and hiding—and then monitor the results of your partial revelation. A third option is to analyze why you’ve been withholding and hiding. Is it because your ally hasn’t been receptive, or because you’re afraid of being honest? Here’s what I suggest: Start with the third option, then move on to the second.

Gemini

(May 21-Jun 20)

I’ve got some borderline sentimental poetry to offer you in this horoscope. It may be too mushy for a mentally crisp person like you. You may worry that I’ve fallen under the sway of sappy versions of love rather than the snappy versions I usually favour. But there is a method in my madness: I suspect you need an emotionally suggestive nudge to fully activate your urge to merge; you require a jolt of sweetness to inspire you to go in quest of the love mojo that’s potentially available to you in abundance. So please allow your heart to be moved by the following passage from poet Rabindranath Tagore: “My soul is alight with your infinitude of stars. Your world has broken upon me like a flood. The flowers of your garden blossom in my body.”

Cancer

(Jun 21-Jul 22)

Try saying this, and notice how it feels: “For the next 17 days, I will make ingenious efforts to interpret my problems as interesting opportunities that offer me the chance to liberate myself from my suffering and transform myself into

the person I aspire to become.” Now speak the following words and see what thoughts and sensations get triggered: “For the next 17 days, I will have fun imagining that my so-called flaws are signs of potential strengths and talents that I have not yet developed.”

Leo

(Jul 23-Aug 22)

An interviewer asked singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen if he needed to feel bothered and agitated in order to stimulate his creativity. Cohen said no. “When I get up in the morning,” he testified, “my real concern is to discover whether I’m in a state of grace.” Surprised, the interviewer asked, “What do you mean by a state of grace?” Cohen described it as a knack for balance that he called on to ride the chaos around him. He knew he couldn’t fix or banish the chaos—and it would be arrogant to try. His state of grace was more like skiing skillfully down a hill, gliding along the contours of unpredictable terrain. I’m telling you about Cohen’s definition, because I think that’s the state of grace you should cultivate right now. I bet it will stimulate your creativity in ways that surprise and delight you.

Virgo

(Aug 23-Sep 22)

Poet Juan Felipe Herrera praises the value of making regular efforts to detox our cluttered minds. He says that one of the best methods for accomplishing this cleansing is to daydream. You give yourself permission to indulge in uncensored, unabashed fantasies. You feel no inhibition about envisioning scenes that you may or may not ever carry out in real life. You understand this free-form play of images is a healing joy, a gift you give yourself. It’s a crafty strategy to make sure you’re not hiding secrets from yourself. Now is the time to practice this art.

Libra

(Sep 23-Oct 22)

In accordance with current astrological omens, here’s your meditation, as articulated by blogger Riverselkie: “Let your life be guided by the things that produce the purest secret happiness, with no thought to what that may look like from the outside. Feed the absurd whims of your soul and create with no audience in mind but yourself. What is poignant to you is what others will be moved by, too. Embrace what you love about yourself and the right people will come.”

Scorpio

(Oct 23-Nov 21)

“I swear I became a saint from waiting,” wrote Scorpio poet Odysseus Elytis in his poem “Three Times the Truth.” According to my reading of the astrological omens, you may be in a similar situation. And you’ll be wise to welcome the break in the action and abide calmly in the motionless lull. You’ll experiment with the hypothesis that temporary postponement is best not just for you, but for all concerned. a Go to freewillastrology.com for Rob Brezsny’s EXPANDED WEEKLY AUDIO and DAILY TEXT MESSAGE HOROSCOPES. The audio horoscopes are also available at 877-873-4888.

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2019-12-04 4:29 PM

Savage Love SEX ADVICE FROM DAN SAVAGE mail@savagelove.net

Rapid-fire As for some quickie Qs From HPV to note-sharing on the bus, spanking and panic attacks, Dan Savage advises all. ex-girlfriend, who I dated for nine My wife is uber vanilla. She is willing Q My months, called me two months after we Q to spank me and peg me, but she won’t broke up and accused me of giving her HPV. She was going on, telling me how I needed to tell any future person I had sex with that I have HPV. I’m a 38-year-old man, and I’ve never had any signs or symptoms of any sexually transmitted infections. I know HPV is very common, often clears up on its own and cannot be tested for in men. What are your thoughts? Do I need to tell sexual partners that I have HPV? —Help Person Vacillating

A

Most people are infected with HPV—the human papillomavirus—at some point in their lifetime, most never develop symptoms and in most cases the infection goes away on its own. There’s an effective and safe vaccine that protects people from HPV strains that can cause cervical, anal, dick or throat cancer—and everyone, regardless of age, should get vaccinated. And since people can develop symptoms years after their initial exposure, there’s no way for your ex-girlfriend to know that you infected her. Or that she didn’t infect you. Every sexually active adult should assume they’ve been exposed to HPV, that they have it or have had it, and conduct themselves accordingly.

a gay man, and there’s a guy I see Q I’m on the bus who I find attractive in the

extreme. I can’t keep myself from looking at him. Now here comes the but: He smokes. I’ve been toying with an idea to convince him to quit. I want to slip a note into his pocket or backpack with the following proposal: “Let’s make a deal. You give up cigarettes, and in return I’ll give you a blowjob once a week for a year. I’m concerned about your health. Please consider.” Other people who ride the bus also smoke, but I’m not inclined to make them the same offer. But it makes me sad knowing this guy smokes, and I want to get him to stop. If this idea is crazy, please say so—it will help me move on. —Before Undertaking Sincere

Tobacco Eradication Deal

A

While your motives are no doubt pure—there’s nothing in this plan for you, BUSTED, just the quiet satisfaction of putting a beautiful stranger on the path to better health—you don’t know if this guy is attracted to you. But he’s likely to react badly to your proposal even if he is. Because while you and I both know you’re being entirely selfless—you’re the Florence Nightingale of anonymous/no-recip blowjobs—this attractive stranger is going to assume you’re a creep with boundary issues, because slipping a note like that into someone’s backpack or pocket (which would require you to technically and legally assault him) is the kind of thing delusional creeps with boundary issues do. And because delusional creeps with boundary issues do this sort of thing, BUSTED, good guys like you can’t do it without being misunderstood. So absent some sign of interest from this attractive stranger—like him staring back at you—you’re going to do what any nondelusional, non-creepy gay guy would do after seeing an attractive stranger on the bus: leave him alone while surreptitiously checking to see if he’s on any of the gay hookup apps.

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take charge of the situation. She’s doing it to please me and expects me to signal approval throughout the process. As soon as a spanking gets to the point that I’m flinching and wanting it to stop, she stops. We’ve never gotten more than a few strokes into the pegging for the same reason. I don’t really crave pain per se, but I want and need her to be in charge.

—Seeking Pointers About Needed Kinks

A

One of the top reasons people choose safe words, SPANK, is so that they can scream, “Oh, God! Stop, please! I beg you! It’s too much!” and the person who’s spanking or pegging them knows that since they didn’t hear “collusion” or “Giuliani” or “Zelensky,” the spanking or pegging can continue. Not using the safe word is how a sub signals their approval throughout the spanking/pegging/ whatevering process—or, at the very least, how a sub signals their willingness to endure the spanking/pegging/whatevering to please the top.

long-term partner and I are in a soft Q My dom/sub relationship. Neither of us has

been sexually or physically abused. I suffer mainly from depression and a little anxiety. Lately when the sex is great, I end up having a panic attack. If I have an intense orgasm and then he goes to town with penetration, there will be a point where I physically shove him off and then my body shakes and my breathing starts getting really fast and I start crying, and basically I’m having a panic attack. I feel terrible for my partner, because it’s not really his fault. But somehow the physical overstimulation gives my body the “OK” to have a panic attack. It’s happened a few times, and my partner is now hesitant to have sex. I want to be able to stop these panic attacks mainly for him. However, when I do have the panic attacks, I want to just cry and let everything out. But of course my amazing partner just wants to comfort me and get it to stop. Please help. —Problems Around Nookie-

Induced Crisis

A

Panic attacks during sex are something you might want to explore with a therapist or counsellor, PANIC. If you’re already seeing someone about your depression and anxiety, please bring these attacks up with your provider. If you aren’t seeing someone, please start seeing someone. As for your partner’s hesitation to have intercourse, well, that’s understandable. But there’s an easy enough work-around: if an intense orgasm followed by go-to-town-style penetration triggers your panic attacks, then either don’t do penetrative sex after you’ve had an intense orgasm or wait until after your partner goes to town to have your orgasm. a

Listen weekly at thecoast .ca/savage

The Coast

2019-12-04 4:27 PM

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