Among the city’s premier venues for shows is the downtown Scotiabank Centre, 1800 Argyle St. (tel. 902/451-1221), which hosts sporting events (figure skating, pro hockey) as well as concerts by a variety of big-name artists.
Performing Arts in Halifax
Shakespeare by the Sea (tel. 902/422-0295) stages a whole line of bardic and non-bardic productions July through Labor Day at several alfresco venues around the city. Most are held at Point Pleasant Park, where the ruins of old forts and buildings are used as the stage settings for delightful performances, with the audience sprawled on the grass, many enjoying picnic dinners with their Taming of the Shrew. A free golf cart service from the parking lot to the park is offered to guests with mobility issues. The company also operates an 82-seat black box theater called The Park Place Theatre for rainy days and off-season productions. Same-day, pay what you can seating is available online and at the door.
The Neptune Theatre, 1593 Argyle St. (tel. 902/429-7070), is Atlantic Canada’s largest professional theatre with a 460-seat mainstage featuring topnotch dramatic productions including musicals and dramas by Canadian and international playwrights offered throughout the year. (The main season runs Sept–May, with a summer season filling in the gap with eclectic performances.) Mainstage tickets generally range from around C$33 to C$85.
The Bus Stop Theater, 2203 Gottingen St. (tel. 888/639-1169) is a multi-use space with about 70 events a year, many of them live theater, but including music, dance, book launches, craft fairs, and more. Productions are typically more challenging, political, or experimental than those in the larger theaters.
The Club & Bar Scene in Halifax
Nightlife in Halifax is heavily concentrated downtown, from Historic Properties on the waterfront up to Citadel Hill, and from Scotia Square to Spring Garden Road with spill over up Spring Garden to the Public Gardens. Walk these streets and you’ll find a bar, nightclub, or pub every few doors. In the case of Argyle Street, nightlife is even more concentrated. Sidewalk patios, rooftops, and the dark, labyrinthine interiors of some bars positively throb with music, reveling every weekend and many weeknights, particularly in summer.One of the coolest places to hang out is Economy Shoe Shop (tel. 902/404-8934), at 1663 Argyle St., not a shop but rather a cafe/bar that runs like a rabbit warren through conjoined historic buildings with decor that has the feel of a film set. The Economy serves food from noon all the way until 1am from an eclectic mix of menus; its wine and beer list is impressive as are its live music offerings. Obladee (tel. 902/405-4505) at 1600 Barrington St. is set in a former bookstore—you can sit in the display windows with your drink and people watch. This wine bar is co-owned by Heather Rankin of Cape Breton’s best-known Celtic music group, the Rankin Family. Because she is now a sommelier, the wine selection is excellent with a particular focus on low-intervention winemaking practices; the cheese and charcuterie boards are a definite must as well. The Maxwell’s Plum at 1600 Grafton St. (tel. 902/444-2220) is an English pub where peanut shells litter the floor and patrons quaff from a list of 150 imported and Canadian draft and bottled beers. The nightly happy-hour and pitcher specials can considerably cut your cost. An outdoor beer garden is dog-friendly, always hopping and usually features a live band. And if you spent too much time there the night before, the $10 bacon and eggs special on Saturday mornings might be the cure for what ails ya’.
An impressive roster of the hottest singer-songwriters in the region and across the land appear every weekend at The Carleton (tel. 902/422-6335) at 1685 Argyle St. In the evening (and late afternoons on Sat), you’ll find lively Maritime music and cheap beer at the Lower Deck Pub (tel. 902/425-1501), a longstanding popular pub on three floors of the Historic Properties complex on the waterfront. If you love the blues, head to Bearlys House of Blues and Ribs (tel. 902/423-2526) at 1269 Barrington St., a gritty, working-class bar with split levels so you can shoot a game of pool while watching the best blues musicians on the East Coast. There’s entertainment here pretty well every night of the week, and a blues jam every Sunday evening. The top local rock bar is Marquee Ballroom at 2037 Gottingen St. (tel. 902/429-3020).
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.
