Local Connections Halifax - Autumn 2013

LOCAL EATS

A North End Vegan Oasis Sandwiched Between Two Pieces on Meat

THE GOLDEN AGE

A Close Look at Nova Scotia’s Craft Beer Scene

COMMUNITY BUILDERS

Our Ambassador On Being From Away and Loving Halifax: A Conversation with Megan Leslie

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Autumn 2013

Features on Pro Skates, Garrison Brewing, and Durty Nelly’s Irish Pub

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PRESENTS

77 experiences. rooms.

AN EVENING SHOWCASING THE BEST Nova Scotian CRAFT brewS, CIDERS,AND LOCAL FOOD STUFFS.

TICKETS ARE IN LIMITED SUPPLY. localconnections.ca/events You must be of legal drinking age to attend this event. No exceptions.

Contents Issue Number 7, Volume 2 - Autumn Edition 2013

6 Local Discoveries

A look at some amazing finds from last quarter.

16 Community Builders

Features on Pro Skates, Garrison’s Brian Titus, and the boys at Durty Nelly’s.

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20 Cover Feature

A conversation with Megan Leslie.

26 Local Food + Drink

Features on Boneheads BBQ, enVie Halifax, and Sausage Fest 2013.

34 The Golden Age

A close look at the craft beer scene in Nova Scotia.

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16 44

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44 Common Roots Farm

A thriving urban agricultural project in Halifax.

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VENICE, ITALY

PARIS, FRANCE

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA

NEW YORK, NEW YORK

Get to Philadelphia & beyond with us With more than 3,000 daily flights to 203 destinations, we can take you throughout the U.S., Mexico, Caribbean and Central America.

On flights to Europe, South America and the Middle East, you can enjoy Envoy, our international business class.

usairways.com Š 2013 US Airways, Inc. ADV13-1010

Reach for the Stars.

Local Connections Captain Alexander Henden

Number One

Brenden Sommerhalder

Contributing Editors

Anisa Awad, Lindsay Best, Emily Forrest, Renée Hartleib, Bethany Horne, Laura Oakley, Phill Otto, Lia Rinaldo

Chief Photographer Riley Smith

Photography

Meghan Tansey Whitton, Kumi Henden

Illustration

Scott MacDonald

Design & Layout Alexander Henden

Next Generation Costume Plan B Halifax

Magazine Printing

Transcontinental Dartmouth

Connect with Us

f LocalConnectionsHalifax l ConnectionsHFX localconnections.ca

? magazine@localconnections.ca

As we begin to approach the end of our second full year as a publication, I find myself thinking about what the future will look like. Our destiny will be the result of our own actions or inactions, so what we do next is equally—if not more—important than anything we’ve done so far. This concept is something I’ve put a lot of consideration into, and because of this, we’ve put a lot of things in motion that have made the path forward seem even clearer. We’ve mapped out our strategy, and it’s on us to deliver.

And deliver we will.

Over the last year and a half, I’ve had the opportunity to meet a number of successful local entrepreneurs, many of whom are truly leading the way. Our region has some amazing business creatives who are making a difference. These folks are consistently going above and beyond, overdelivering on even the highest expectations, and it’s hard not to notice the impact they’re making. The region is changing, and it’s getting better every day thanks to their efforts. And in the process, they’re actually showing us how it’s done.

As a small local independent publication, we are constantly seeking ways to get better ourselves. I’ve come to realize that everything is replaceable, even this very magazine, so without forward motion, without being a leader, there is always the risk of being left behind. It’s a natural progression that we all must understand and embrace. When we do, our products become better, our service delivery becomes better, and we even become better as people. The consumer is the big winner in this scenario, and it’s really how things should be.

So as we move into this publication’s third year, we have already renewed our commitments to our community, and will embrace change as a means of improving how we serve it. We’ll continue to work closely with our community partners, and take the to time connect with them even more.

We’re truly excited about 2014, and this year we’ll reach for the stars even more than we’ve done before, and of course we’ll have as much fun as we can in the process. To infinity, and beyond!

Alexander Henden Local Connections Captain

L O C A L

D I S C O V E R I E S

Agricola Street Brasserie Open Early November Even though we are not owners of Agricola Street Brasserie, we’ve fielded a considerable amount of questions about this new restaurant-to-be. People are asking us when it’s opening. Here’s your scoop: it’s opening in early November.

They also want to know whether they’ll be open for lunch. Yes, they will, and brunch on the weekends too! The food, well, you just have to trust us that it will be amazing.

agricolastreet.ca

Community Nights

Buy Local Plates For those wanting to go the extra distance in supporting local producers, Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations have partnered to make a new license plate design adorning the Select Nova Scotia logo, and the tagline “Buy Local”, available to the public. These plates aren’t just for show either. “100% of each donation will be distributed to selected community based groups to support events that will support local farmers.” Plates are now available from any Access Nova Scotia or Registry of Motor Vehicles Office throughout the Province.

Every Wednesday night (May through December), the Wolfville Farmer’s Market opens its doors and hosts their Community Nights. It’s a great chance for shoppers to pick up local food during the week, but also a chance to partake in some worthwhile info sessions, workshops, film presentations, and more (it changes every week). And of course, the community feast. Simply pay at the door and fill you plate with whatever your palette fancies. It’s a small market, but there’s no shortage of delicious variety to choose from. It’s a dining destination.

wolfvillefarmersmarket.ca

selectnovascotia.ca 6

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Even More Local Source After five years of serving as a local food hub from its Charles Street location, Local Source Market packed its bags and literally moved right around the corner onto Agricola Street. The new building is more spacious inside, making it easier to snoop around for fresh local food stuffs.

localsourcemarket.com

Fresh Pizza on Young St. After much anticipation, Mother’s Pizza finally opened its doors in early September, adding yet another food destination to the North End. Their pizza is amazingly fresh and local, while the drink menu continues this theme featuring local beers, wines, and sodas.

The space itself is open and brightly lit, making it the perfect place to anchor in for an afternoon or evening of ‘za.

motherspizzacanada.com

Local Craft Sodas We have a new craft soda maker in town. Odd bottle, based out of the North End, is bottling up three different flavours of craft soda (lime, cherry, and banana), with a couple of more on the way. To get one, just visit Boneheads BBQ, Sully’s Meat and Roast Beef, the European Pantry, or C/cafÊ in Plan B.

facebook.com/OddbottleSoda

Flip Burger in Downtown A high-end burger joint downtown with local beer on tap. What more could you want? Flip Burger is already a food hot spot, and the new Argyle Street location is open until 4am from Thursday through Saturday.

flipburger.ca

Got Your Own Local Discoveries?

Send us an email at:

magazine@locaconnetions.ca

L O C A L

D I S C O V E R I E S

Savour Food & Wine Festival 2014 Film Fest in Wolfville An ambitious project by Michael Howell and our own Lia Rinaldo, Devour! The Film Food Fest will be a week-long festival featuring amazingly cool food flicks, unique food events, and even some workshops. There’s a lot to do to the point where you would almost need the whole week off to be able to do everything. Regardless, tickets for each event are selling fast, so don’t hesitate on making arrangements. Devour! runs from November 13 - 17.

Our friends at the Restaurant Association of Nova Scotia are once again hosting their big Food & Wine Festival. In total, there are four unqiue events to choose from, or maybe you could just go to all four. Choices include Imbibe (cocktails) on January 30, Decadence (chocolate, wine and cheese) on February 6, Rare & Fine Wine Tasting on February 21, and Savour Food and Wine Festival on March 6.

edining.ca/savourindex.asp

devourfest.com

The Stubborn Goat Opens Its Doors Downtown Halifax just got even better. On Friday, October 18, the Stubborn Goat opened its doors to the public, and what a place it is. Inside, the decor is warm and inviting, making it the perfect place for lunch or dinner. The menu is also pretty special, which isn’t a big surprise. Behind the scenes we’ve been speaking with head chef and part owner Geir Simensen about his vision, and let’s just say: mission accomplished. The beer selection is also impressive (read a bit about it in our beer feature in this issue). Whether you are a beer simpleton, or an avid beer aficionado, there’s something for you. There’s also a nice selection of wines.

Halifax’s New LGBT Business Association It’s taken almost a year to get there, but the Halifax LGBT Business Association (formerly InterQ) has recently become an official entity. Registered as a nonprofit organization, the group chose to have their ‘coming out’ press event at City Hall, where Mayor Mike Savage and others were on hand to make the launch official. Turnout was good, but the next year will be all about increasing public awareness and getting to work on important community building projects.

facebook.com/HalifaxLGBT

The Stubborn Goat can be downtown found at: 1579 Grafton Street, Halifax

facebook.com/StubbornGoat

Local Community Garden on Dragon’s Den The kids from the cover of our third edition (Autumn, 2012), Hope Blooms, are going to be on Dragon’s Den. We can’t tell you what the result will be (we don’t even know ourselves), but on November 13 at 8pm, we’ll get to find out.

facebook.com/hopebloomshfx

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New Drinks at Pete’s Sol Maté, a deliciously refreshing beverage made and bottled in the Annapolis Valley, is now available at Pete’s. Sol Maté comes in two flavours (Original and Lemon/Lime), both of which are caffeinated naturally by leaves from the Brazilian maté tree.

solmate.lu

Local Food Delivery Would you like the convenience of having fresh, local food delivered to your door? GROPRO has you covered.

You simply go online, order what you’d like, and for an $8 delivery charge, they’ll deliver anywhere in HRM. There are a lot of products to choose from on their website, and they also offer the option of doing pick-ups at select local retailers like Getaway Farm, Selwood Green, Noggins Corner Market, and many more. Delivery dates are Mondays through Saturdays.

gropro.ca

L O C A L

D I S C O V E R I E S

Hours of operation: Anytime Celebrating Local Anniversaries When we think about why Halifax is so awesome, we immediately think about our city’s best retailers, organizations, events, and favourite public spaces. This year (2013), a number of our favourite places are celebrating significant milestones, and we’d like to take a moment to recognize this.

Our new Mobile Banking Specialist brings their financial expertise to you – anywhere, anytime.

Here we go!

250 Halifax Commons 110 Alliance Française 75 Java Blend Coffee 40 Atlantic News 35 Woozles Children’s Bookstore 25 St.Cecilia Concert Series,

Learn more: 492-6500 cua.com/mobile

Meadowbrook Meat Market

20 Lang Optometry, Rocco’s Restaurant, Noble Grape, St.Famille Grape Stomp, immedia C

Funky New Shop on Gottingen Yet another new shop has popped up on Gottingen!

Entrepreneur and roller derby girl (Halifax Misfits) Amy Donovan opened on the eve of Nocturne 2013. Her new store, Cocoon Boutique, seems to be a perfect fit for the neighbourhood, offering a fun and lively range of clothing.

Pretty much everything from pin-up girl dresses to roller derby gear. It’s a nice space inside too, making it easy to snoop around and check out their entire selection.

2179 Gottingen Street, Halifax 10

The Return of the Bear After a few years holding high-level culinary positions in Scottsville (Arizona), Vancouver, and Calgary, Chef Ray Bear has returned to Halifax and will be settling into his role as Chef and partner at Scanway Catering. Our recent information suggests that this has been a long time coming. “Ray has been a part of the family, and worked for the company off-and-on, since we were teenagers,” says Geir Simensen. “We’ve been talking about teaming up for years,” he adds.

facebook.com/Scanway

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Halifax

Our Walkable City E m i l y Fo r r e s t linkedin.com/in/localtastetrs l @LocalTasteTrs

T

his fall I took some extra time to indulge my passion for nice long walks near the ocean. I love leaning into brisk salt breezes, leaving any worries behind and just letting my mind wander.

I was able to take these walks right here in the HRM–no vehicle required.

I revisited two favourite routes from a few years ago when I was training for my epic coastal walk of Nova Scotia to promote the Heart and Stroke Foundation’s Walkabout program.

First, I decided to take off to Eastern Passage for a stroll through brightly coloured shacks and shops at Fisherman’s Cove. The area had been on my mind ever since a visitor on my food tour this summer asked where you can go in the city to see “real fishing boats coming in.” This is definitely the place. You just can’t beat the fish and chips out here, the charming and sometimes bizarre hand-made treasures, or the chatty store owners.

On this trip, I even found a dress shop selling decadent fudge along with the jewelry near the cash register.

Next, I had a go-around the popular wooden boardwalk at McCormick’s Beach, which comes so close to Lawlor’s Island that it made me feel like I could hop in and swim over in a minute. After that, a briny, windy walk up Shore Road towards the golf course, listening to the heavy rumble of waves along the way. Someone had taken a bunch of those smooth, wide, pearlgrey beach stones and constructed half

a dozen inuksuks, all in a row. They stood and watched me leave, serious little men framed by the harbour. Not surprisingly, I was heading for a quick stop at Cheese Curds for one of their famous burgers on my way home.

A few days later, a friend and I decided to explore the Purcell’s Cove area. This is a great route that starts on woodsy trails in Sir Sanford Fleming Park. We tried the gate at the base of the Dingle Tower and it happened to be unlocked. Huffing our way up the spiral staircase to the view at the top, we paused to look at the interesting plaques and carvings on every floor (and also for breath). Once back down, our route took us up San Franciscoworthy hills and back to Purcell’s Cove

Road, past beautiful mansions and yacht clubs. We hugged the water on Furguson’s Cove Road and got a great peek at the lighthouse on MacNab’s Island. My friend had worked a summer job on the Island years ago and told me great stories he’d learned of the days when the Bill Lynch fair was operating there, and boatloads of folks used to head over for picnics and hikes on a regular basis. Before we knew it, we were perched on the canons at York Redoubt, taking in yet another stunning view.

I’m looking forward to my next city walk, whether it’s through the streets, on trails or by the ocean. In Halifax, a city walk is truly something extraordinary. █

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What’s Your Nugget of Truth?

Phil Otto

ca.linkedin.com/in/philotto

S

mall business is the backbone of the North American economy and helps define the social fabric and culture of the neighborhoods and regions in which they operate. Most small business owners can tell you what they do. But few can really tell you what makes them different from their competition. Brand is a combination of reputation and expectation, and every single business has a brand.

The challenge is to take control of your brand, because if you don’t, your customers (and competitors) will define it for you. And worse, if you don’t give your customers reason to love you, the only differentiator will

l @brandguy

likely come down to best price. And, unless you have the clout of Walmart, we all know how that ends.

The most successful brands in the world, whether small mom and pop stalls at a farmer’s market or large corporations like Apple and Disney, have a nugget of truth with all of the elements of a great brand: memorable, differentiating, simple, and most important, authentic. It is their secret sauce, built from a love and passion for what they do, not from an ad campaign or army of experts or expensive studies.

Overspending leads to overthinking, over-analysis, and overreaching. The best brands in the world stem from common sense and simplicity.

As a brand strategist, I help my clients think about what they are selling through the lens of their customer. It is interesting how the conversation shifts when you look at your product or service from this perspective, and it is fascinating to see an entrepreneur innovate and grow when they apply this thinking to their business. Have you taken the time to define the one nugget of truth that makes your business different from your competition? Not something that makes you just a bit different, and certainly not just a bit cheaper, but what makes you mind-blowingly memorable.

Something powerful in its authenticity and simplicity.

In Apple’s world, ‘Think Different’ took them to places they never imagined because they weren’t focused on chasing the competition, they were focused on giving the consumer innovative products they didn’t even know they wanted. Disney’s fanatical attention to detail makes them one of the most trusted brands in the world because they take the time to ensure every touchpoint and customer interaction with the brand is memorable and extraordinary.

Everything you do is a powerful physical expression of your brand, from the label on your products, to your retail experience, to the voice of your social media chatter, to how well you take care of your customer after the sale. Because brand is what you do, not what you say. █

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“Where others may have seen a bonehead idea, CEED really got to the meat of the matter and helped put us on track to be a smoking success.�

Cindy Wheatley BONEHEADS BBQ

Entrepreneurial training headquarters.

For more information on our programs, please call 902.421.2333 or visit www.ceed.ca

A Better Work-Life Mix Lindsay Best ca.linkedin.com/in/lindsaybest

l @lindsaybestbiz

W

orkaholics. We all know one. Maybe you even consider yourself one. Workaholics are often told, “You need a better work-life balance.” I value my time off and even play a cute countdown game to my vacation. I believe in enjoying work and play equally. After all, it is your life! In some cases I agree with the earlier “work-life balance” statement, but there might be more to the story.

I recently had a discussion with a local entrepreneur and she alluded to the fact that her life seems to be all work and no play. But she didn’t seem unhappy or unhealthy, so I probed further. I inquired about what her and her family had been up to over the summer. Her answer was primarily work, but she then went on to describe how her family was busy visiting local restaurants, and taking advantage of all of the family events and festivals in the city. She was “working” the city with her friends and family.

This conversation got me thinking about work a bit differently. Maybe sometimes instead of work-life balance, we need a work-life mix. One way you can start experimenting with a work-life mix is to take the kids to a local shop and introduce them to the owner (who you know). Make this a teachable moment for your children. They can learn the value of a community and supporting your neighbor, and you can strengthen a relationship with a business associate.

When you engage the city personally and professionally at the same time, you may feel as though you are accomplishing more. You are working to grow the relationships that you already have, reducing the pressure to be working (or playing) and having a great time while you are at it. For small business owners, this flexibility to highly engage in your community and build relationships can be a competitive advantage. It also makes it easier to veer from the standard 9 to 5 schedule and accomplish so much more.

In August I participated in one of the Halifax Sausage Fest events. Yum!

I encouraged my friends to buy tickets too and we made a week-day “date”.

This is a far stretch from our typical schedule, but we had a great time!

I ran into people I hadn’t seen in ages and introduced them to my friends.

We all walked away with smiles on our faces and very happy bellies. I wasn’t on vacation, but I wasn’t really working, or at least it didn’t feel like it!

Still take your vacation. Ensure you are not working all of the time but also make an effort to think about your work life and social life a bit differently. Sometimes it’s okay to blur those lines. █

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C CO OMM MM UU NN II TT YY

BB UU I IL LD DE ER RS S

Pro Skates

Article: Bethany Horne Photo: Riley Smith

TRANSFORMING THE HALIFAX SKATEBOARDING SCENE, AND MAKING SKATEBOARDING ACCESSIBLE FOR OUR YOUTH

J

on Swinamer says in any city with a vibrant skateboarder scene, the local skate shop will have played an influential role in creating it. In Halifax, Pro Skateboards is no exception.

“When the store started 27 years ago, you could find skateboards (in Halifax), but in very random places. Like at Canadian Tire, or a pool table place.

A skateboarder’s dad said ‘I’m gonna start bringing them in, for kids.’ He started in his garage. And it just grew from there, organically.”

Swinemar was one of the first employees, and a few years later bought in to the business. Today he co-owns with Zach Tovey and Rob Bell.

Business has changed since the early days, he says.

“We’re trying to compete with online and big box stuff. Trying to offer good enough service that people are going to

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buy something here, instead of get all the questions answered here and then buy it online. Which is really common, and it’s sometimes just to save 50 cents or 5 dollars. It’s pretty frustrating.”

Swinamer was “design chair” for HRM’s biggest skate park on the Halifax Commons, and says the shop put in a lot of work to make it happen: “We donated money, fundraised, we did the meetings, lobbied the city.”

Now, a Dartmouth skatepark is being planned to be built across from the Sportsplex. For the Commons one, Pro Skateboards hosted three skateboard art auctions and raised more than $12,000. Swinamer says a similar auction is planned to raise funds for the Dartmouth park.

“They’re really fun events. We get about 40 blank skateboard decks, give them out to our artist skate friends” and other local artists, and have an opening

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and art show to sell the pieces.

To set themselves apart, they’ve also been “getting back to our hard goods roots: skateboards, snowboards, and surf boards.”

Snowboards have been there almost since the beginning, but surfing is a new addition. The closures of a couple of surf shops on the peninsula and Swinamer’s own growing interest in the sport finally pushed the shop to stock surf boards five months ago.

“There’s not much profit margin in surf gear. Right from the guys who build them to the guys that sell them. People just do it for the love of it, I guess,” he laughs. “They’re eye candy, though.

They get people in the store.”

It’s a natural progression for a skateboard shop that has grown up alongside its community.

“I’ve been skateboarding for 30 years and I love it, but with surfing …

PRO SKATES MILESTONES 1985 Pro Skates is born in skate dad’s garage.

real. fresh. local.

1986 Small retail shop opens on Quinpool Road.

1987 - 89 Pro Skates expands and introduces shop brand Shredz to the maritimes.

1990 Shop moves downstairs and opens with full time hours, and introduces new shop brand, Plenty.

1995 Pro Skates moves to Barrington Street. you’re sitting out on the ocean and it’s so peaceful and rad. You get a couple waves and you go home happy. It’s pretty awesome.”

“I’d said ‘I’ll put surfing on the back burner until I’m 50,’ because I figured I’d be skating hard until then. And then 40 came, and I’m starting to feel a lot like what I thought 50 would feel like.

Surfing you go home, you don’t get hurt.

With skating, I go home hurt every time. Surfing you go home feeling loose and cool and good.” █

You can visit the Pro Skates crew at their newest location on 6451 Quinpool Road, or online at: proskates.com

What does your perfect tree look like?

For information on events, contests, and where to find your real tree this Christmas season, visit iloverealtrees.com Christmas Tree Council of Nova Scotia

1999 Present owners begin evil hostile takeover.

2000 Pro Skates moves again, this time to Blowers Street.

2004 Teeth Beneath is filmed with Jason Eisenor and John Davies, sells out at ‘05 Atlantic Film Fest, with critical acclaim.

2005 Pro Girl opens in its own location.

2005 Shop amalgamation takes place and latest version opens on Quinpool Road, two doors away from the original retail location.

Turn up the heat this Autumn.

Choose a new look from our wide selection of unique eyewear and quality sunglasses.

453-6100. New Patients Welcome.

Complete eye exams in a comfortable setting.

Appointments Monday to Saturday.

5550 KAYE STREET (across from Hydrostone Mkt.)

C O M M U N I T Y

B U I L D E R S

Brian Titus

Article: Bethany Horne Photo: Riley Smith

INVESTING IN OUR BELOVED SEAPORT THROUGH CREATING AND HOSTING QUALITY COMMUNITY EVENTS

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ven after wrapping up this year’s Oktoberfest, Brian Titus of Garrison Brewery isn’t expecting any peace and quiet in the near future.

“Now I only have one and a half jobs to do,” instead of the two or three he juggles during busy summer months, he says.

The 2013 Oktoberfest was Garrison’s fifth, and raised more than $5,000 for charities like the German Canadian Association, which co-hosted the event, and the Halifax & Region Military Family Resource Centre.

“We’re involved in a lot of community events, and we get tagged for a ton of fundraisers. But we realized a few years ago that we didn’t actually have our own signature, once-a-year charity event,” Titus says about why they started the Garrison Oktoberfest.

According to Bavarian tradition, the harvest festival starts at the end

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of September and goes until the first weekend in October. Halifax’s version happens on one of the three traditional Oktoberfest weekends. This year’s attendance was up 50 percent, in part because the all-ages, daytime part of the festival had free admission for the first time.

“We had a full site all day long. It’s always a real festival. There’s keg bowling, a hammer striker. We roasted two pigs on site: everybody loves the smell of that.”

Then the children went home and the grown-ups came back for the 19+ portion.

“We had three oompah bands— how do you find three oompah bands in Halifax? We had to create one that didn’t exist.”

But one thing was missing at this year’s event: the seasonal Oktoberfest Brau. Beer was flowing, yes, but it was an ale, brewed with German barley

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and hops. Lager takes two to three times longer to brew, and Garrison has been brewing at full capacity.

Garrison’s recent expansion will help out, effectively tripling its tank capacity.

“This expansion that I’m underway with is the expansion that I never really wanted to do. But the demand is there,” he explains. “In the beginning it was a lot about education. Trying to get people to understand what we’re producing and why it’s different and why they should choose that over what they’ve been drinking for, perhaps in their family, generations.”

But beer consumers have changed since Garrison opened 16 years ago.

“Now they’re pushing us, instead of us pushing them,” reflects Titus.

Titus has undoubtedly had a hand in educating the Maritime beer consumer: with partner Bruce Mansour, he started Halifax’s own beerfest seven years

GARRISON MILESTONES 2007 Halifax Seaport Beerfest launches for one day in the street with 850 attendees and 120 beers.

book your party in our private room

2009 First Annual Garrison Oktoberfest with 500 attendees and two Oompah bands.

Seasonal Menu

2010 Quebec Pavilion joins Maine and Ontario at the expanded Seaport Beerfest.

2010 Garrison partners with the German Canadian Association and 900 attend the Halifax Oktoberfest.

2012 ago, and helped introduce 110 beers to about 850 people. This year, the Seaport Beerfest brought 5,000 people out to a Cunard Centre converted to feel like a beachside patio, with adirondack chairs, palm trees, and lifeguard chairs lined up along more than 300 feet of waterside. Showcasing 270 beers and ciders, supported by 170 volunteers, the event raised $7,000 for charity.

“We doubled the number of Maritime breweries that were there. Just about everybody making beer in Nova Scotia and most from Atlantic Canada were represented.”

“We can get really nerdy on beer,” says Titus, “but ultimately it’s a social product. And we want to make things kinda fun around beer.” █

The Seaport Beefest and Oktoberfest can be found online at: seaportbeerfest.com and hfxoktoberfest.ca

Internationally-recognized beer writer Stephen Beaumont is Beerfest VIP.

2012

www.saege.ca

5883 Spring Garden Road

we cater t h e b e s t pa r t i e s a l l ov e r t h e h rm

1,000 people attend the Halifax Oktoberfest to see three Oompah bands and the first German Auto Show.

2013 5,000 people take in the new Irish Craft Beer Village as the Beerfest moves indoors at Cunard Centre.

2013

Prepared with fresh and

locally inspired ingredients

The Halifax Oktoberfest sees 1,500 people, four bands, two pig-roasts, and over 30 German cars.

1505 Barrington Street 425-0386 www.scanwaycatering.com

C O M M U N I T Y

B U I L D E R S

Article: Bethany Horne Photo: Riley Smith

Durty Nelly’s

A LOCAL PUB THAT HAS ADDED A NEW LEVEL OF HOSPITALITY TO THE ARGYLE ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT AND DOWNTOWN HALIFAX

A

lthough Irish pubs are popular around the world, Joe McGuinness feels lucky to be running one in

Halifax.

“Atlantic Canadians are very similar to Irish in their laid back attitude and their sociability. They’re fun loving, easy going people,” he says.

McGuinness, the Irish publican of Durty Nelly’s, says Irish hospitality is all about familiarity.

“I look at Durty Nelly’s as my home,” he says. Originally, he says, many pubs were opened in people’s homes, where they would become a refuge for villagers living under British colonialism.

“The cornerstone of Irish society, the centre of the community, was the pub. It is where families gathered when there were births, deaths, and marriages.

Certainly, libations were always served.

But it was a social destination.”

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That authenticity is what McGuinness and his business partner Kyle Drake were going for. They had their bar built in Ireland and shipped across the Atlantic to be reassembled at the corner of Sackville and Argyle streets.

True to tradition, they’ve already hosted three weddings—one at 11 a.m. on St. Patrick’s Day. But “libations”, an ever-important part of the pub experience, is not the dominant one.

Market research done by beermakers Guinness and their parent company Diageo in the early 90s helped concoct the recipe for a perfect Irish pub: start with one of five traditional designs (Victorian, Cottage, Shop, Gaelic, and Brewpub), add quality Irish food made with local ingredients, beverages of course, “and the engaging social atmosphere emanating from the landlord and the staff.”

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Nelly’s is a mix of the first three design types. Music happens down by the cottage-style large hearth, and Victorian dark woods and brass fittings dominate in the dining area that face Argyle.

In Halifax, the concept has fit perfectly, McGuinness says.

“There is a Celtic connection. There is an availability of quality Celtic music.

I don’t think that there’s a better place outside of Ireland to find quality music than in the Maritimes.”

Besides the huge investment of shipping their whole bar over from the Emerald Isle, the partners hired celebrity chef David Adjey to help develop their menu.

“A lot of people thought we were crazy, spending way too much money.”

But loyal patrons have made him feel like the relatively new establishment, less than five years old, is already at

DURTY NELLY’S MILESTONES

1. Go for lunch.

2009 Construction on Durty Nelly’s begins after containers arrive from Ireland containing authentic Irish furniture, tiles, millwork, and fixtures.

2009 February, Durty Nelly’s opens her doors.

2. Take a picture.

2010 The premier of the Durty Nelly’s episode of chef David Adjey’s Food Network show “The Opener”.

2011 March 17, Durty Nelly’s hosts the nuptials for a couple to be married at the pub on St Patrick’s Day.

3. Share it.

2012 the centre of a community, like the pubs of yore.

“A couple times our building has had mechanical problems or plumbing problems. We’ve had to close down nights. To see the look on patrons’ faces when they come up and they see me outside the building. They’re like ‘Well, where are we supposed to go?’.

As tough as it is to tell them we’re closed that night, it’s touching to hear that.”

McGuinness cites the well-known phrase about there being “no strangers in an Irish pub, just friends you haven’t met yet.”

“We want you to enjoy your experience with us,” he says about Nelly’s, “and hopefully meet other people along the way.” █

Durty Nelly’s Irish Pub can be found on the corner of Arygle & Sackville Street in Downtown Halifax, or online at: durtynellys.ca

Durty Nelly’s gets approval to open our Sackville Street Summer Patio.

2012 Irish Actor Pierce Brosnan makes Durty Nelly’s a regular stopping ground for Gaelic Football and Celtic music.

4. Win a prize?

2012 Durty Nelly’s proudly donates $10,000 to the IWK Children’s Hospital.

2013 Durty Nelly’s seafood chowder made famous by being featured in the LA Times, thanks to a cruise ship passenger who visited the pub and wrote in to the newspaper.

Details on Page 34!

#EatLocalNS

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F E A T U R E

L O C A L C ON N ECTIONS HALIFAX | Au tu m n 2013

Megan Leslie

Article: Brenden Sommerhalder Photo: Riley Smith

NOVA SCOTIA AMBASSADOR, POLITICAL HEAVYWEIGHT, AND HALIGONIAN BY CHOICE

“

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ou do know I am a come-from-away, right?” grins Megan Leslie as the discussion moves to the topic of Haligonians who weren’t born here. “I try not to talk about it too much,” half-jokes the Member of Parliament for Halifax, and deputy leader for the New Democratic Party, the Official Opposition in the House of Commons. “Even after being MP for Halifax for five years, I’m still a little shy saying it.”

As is true for so many new Haligonians, it was our city’s wealth of educational offerings that brought Leslie to Halifax in the fall of 2001, earning her law degree from Dalhousie University in 2004. Four years later, Leslie was elected as MP, and became Halifax’s official representative in Ottawa. She would be re-elected in 2011 with a large increase in popular support. “I’m proud of where I come from,” says Leslie of her Northeastern Ontario hometown of Kirkland Lake, with a population of about 8,500. “But I don’t live there, I live here.

On purpose.”

For Leslie, her path through life so far—she only just turned 40 this past September—has been driven by her values as they relate to social, economic, and environmental justice. “[Justice] has been a motivator for everything,” she explains. “It’s what I’ve always wanted to work toward, even back in high school where I wouldn’t have been able to articulate it in that way, but that’s what motivated me.”

In the eight years between moving to Halifax and first being elected as MP, Leslie immediately got to work in the community and took a hands-on approach to involving herself with justice issues. She served as a community legal worker for the Dalhousie Legal Aid Service. She’s a founding member of the Affordable Energy Coalition, a respected and influential organization with a mandate of ensuring universal access to energy. She has coordinated mobile legal information clinics around Halifax for those who are in need of legal services but don’t typically receive them. And, she has been a community advocate at community appeals board meetings and at residential tenancy, small claims, and income assistance hearings–to name just a few of her activities.

But Leslie didn’t necessarily see getting elected as the ‘next step’ toward her goal of working on justice issues. She believes that for real movement on an issue, it takes stakeholders and influencers from a variety of perspectives to be working at the same issue from different angles, and with different roles.

“Don’t ever go to more than one of my talks, because I say the same thing,” she jokes. “It might be about different issues, but it all comes down to the fact that alone, politicians are powerless.” She explains that at the end of the day, speeches in the House of Commons are just words. “Nothing is actually going to change unless all of the pieces of the pie are saying the same thing, agitating for the same thing, and pushing for the L O CAL CO N N E CT IO N S H AL IFAX | Au tu m n 2 0 1 3

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C O V E R same thing,” she says. Her pursuit of her undergraduate degree and her law degree were all part of discovering which piece of the pie she could be most effective representing. Running for elected office came from the same place.

“I don’t think that being a lawyer or an elected official is better than being a community activist,” she explains. “But I do think that only some people can get a law degree—they have access to resources, they test well on the LSAT. Only some people can or want to get elected. So if I have those skills and opportunities, and it seems like a good personal fit for me, then I think that I should take those opportunities if I can.”

With that perspective, it all came down to serendipitous timing.

“There are not very many moments where you’re a progressive and you’re living in a place where the incumbent MP is also a progressive and she decides to step down at a point in your career where it makes sense to run,” says Leslie, who succeeded outgoing MP and former federal NDP leader Alexa McDonough.

“It’s strange work,” says Leslie of being an MP. “It’s thrilling, it’s emotional–that’s one thing I never would have guessed about it, how emotional it is. You have these incredible victories that make you cry, and you have these incredible defeats that make you cry, and people tell you stories about their lives that touch you and motivate you or depress you.”

“It’s super emotional, and it’s all-consuming. At 5 ‘o clock I don’t stop being an MP. When I’m in the grocery store, I’m still an MP.” Last year, Leslie was named Deputy Leader for the federal NDP, a role that frequently sends her around the country.

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F E A T U R E Leslie sees one of her primary roles as helping community to connect with ideas and resources and empowering community to make its own solutions. For this part of her job, Leslie’s heavy travel schedule has its advantages.

“A community has to develop ideas and support for those ideas on its own sometimes,” she explains. “I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to make a statement on all issues. But it’s appropriate for me to connect people with other people who have the same concerns. I really like to look at the work that I do in the community as being a social entrepreneur.” Leslie sees her role as one of a dot connector. “Sometimes all of the dots are here in our community.

Sometimes they’re not,” she says.

Being away from home can also sometimes be the best way to appreciate home. “I go around the country, and everyone has a thing,” reflects Leslie. “I landed in Saskatoon and they talk about big sky, and it’s right. It’s big sky. Or a place like Calgary, where you always know where the mountains are. They’re always there, sort of looming, reminding you of them. The physical landscape shapes culture in a lot of ways.”

“When I come home to Halifax, it’s all about just being here. It’s about waking up in the morning and making coffee with the beans that were roasted down the street. I live in a compact little neighbourhood downtown, and so we can’t help but know each other. I get out of the taxi and the people on my street say ‘hey Megan, welcome back’. They don’t know where I’ve been, and they don’t know if it’s been for a day or three weeks, but they’re my people. And I get to just come back seamlessly.”

“I think people are surprised when I talk about how urban

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and dynamic, and yet all the same about how communityfocused Halifax is to the point where I even have a very different experience than all of my Atlantic colleagues. There’s something very special going on here,” says Leslie with the smile of someone thinking about home.

In her travels, first moving to Halifax from Northeastern Ontario, then around the country as MP, Leslie has seen the value of global citizenship, both in expanding her own perspective and increasing her effectiveness as a social entrepreneur, and by seeing many Nova Scotians out in the world sharing our culture and making meaningful contributions. “I bump into them all the time, it’s great,” she says. “It’s also great to have people who aren’t from here working and living here. It’s good, people who have chosen this to be their home. That’s nothing but good.”

When it comes to deciding whether to set anchor or sail, Leslie gives some sound advice. “Do what feels best for you. If you feel you need to explore, then go and seize those opportunities. Absolutely. There’s a big world out there,” she says.

“But always keep us in the back of your mind. Always think about how you might take those experiences and bring them home for us to share. Don’t be afraid to leave, but don’t be afraid to come back.” █

A Life of Politics Nova Scotia has a total of ten elected Members of Parliament, each of whom has chosen to dedicate their time and energy towards serving the public’s interest. We don’t often turn to politics in this magazine, but we hope you enjoyed one of our local ambassador’s stories.

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Boneheads BBQ A Taste of the South in the South End and Fairview Article: Laura Oakley · Photos: Riley Smith hatever Cindy Wheatley, owner of Boneheads BBQ Kickin’ Southern Smokehouse, is doing, it’s working. Haligonians are loving both learning about, and eating, traditional southern dishes being served up considerably north of America’s barbecue belt. Classics like pulled pork sandwiches and smoky ribs are best sellers, but according to Cindy, customers are also interested in trying lesser-known items, all cooked “low and slow,” to expand their barbecue horizons.

Boneheads has been slinging meat to happy diners since opening in Halifax’s south end in January 2010. “It was my perfect spot. I wanted to be a great little neighbourhood joint,” says Cindy of the small and playful flagship location at Barrington & Inglis. Her goal was to foster a community by emulating the tight-knit, family vibe of classic southern barbecue gatherings in America. It worked. In response to the community love for the Boneheads BBQ culture, Cindy needed to opened up a second shop in the heart of Fairview on Dutch Village Road this past January. The second location also allows Cindy to meet the demands of Boneheads’ catering business, and provides kitchen space to test new recipes.

“We experiment as often as we can, whenever we have time,”

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says Cindy, which is really how the whole thing started. After traveling through the southern states several times, Cindy became a little obsessed with barbecue. She eventually invested in her own smokers at home and played around. Having spent most of her professional life in food service, in 2009, she decided it was time to run her own show. “Someone told me I’d have to be a bonehead to open my own restaurant,” laughs Cindy. And the first real smokehouse in Halifax was born.

Boneheads’ menu since opening has remained consistent with southern staples, with a mix of several regional styles found in the barbecue belt. Recipes have been tweaked and improved over time. Boneheads’ three signature sauces remain intact: Kickin’ Red, Smokehouse Sweet, and Southern Gold.

Boneheads is no longer the only smokehouse restaurant in Halifax, but Cindy’s success and loyal following come from her very real devotion to barbecue and her unwavering dedication to making everything from scratch. The recipes have subtle touches that offer home-cooked satisfaction and freshness.

Every morning Cindy’s team makes the side dishes for that day. Boneheads signature sauces are incorporated into many, like the deliciously tangy potato salad that contains the mustard-based Southern Gold. The coleslaw is not quite

L O C A L C ON N ECTIONS HALIFAX | Au tu m n 2013

Meadowbrook Meat Market Home of Jimmie Lamb Ham

vinegar-based, but not full-on creamy, with a bit of crisp green apple–balanced and beautiful. The beans are slow-cooked with smoky bacon. The onion ring batter is unbelievably light, airy and crunchy; something that she credits to not-so-secret ingredient Propeller Honey Wheat beer. The chilli, which is made with burnt ends, delivers a true smoke flavour and the mac ‘n’ cheese is fantastic. The hand-cut fries are always crispy, and the sweet potato chips come with an addictive house-made sour cream and onion dip. And the corn bread?

“Lots and lots of butter, low heat,” says Cindy.

Cindy’s team is literally smoking meat every day and night.

The meats require different lengths of time in the smoker; for example, the pulled chicken takes about five hours, which can be done during the day. The result is incredibly tender, juicy and smoky chicken that matches with the Kickin’ Red sauce.

Ribs also have a five-hour visit to the smoker, which are then are grilled and glazed; the meat is not falling off the bone.

Rather, it maintains some firmness and pulls away cleanly when you bite it–the southern way.

Big ticket items, like the beef brisket, are smoked overnight.

The taste “is probably one of the hardest to describe,” says Cindy. Customers have heard of brisket and are interested in trying it, but it tastes like nothing else. A very large cut of beef is rubbed, smoked for 14 hours, then sliced thinly. It should be eaten right after slicing. Its salty-smokiness pairs well with any of the Boneheads sauces.

The desserts, too, are authentic offerings, like the lemonlime icebox pie, a creamy banana pudding with layers of sliced banana and vanilla wafers (what Cindy calls “hillbilly tiramisu”), and an insanely rich peanut butter pie. Not surprisingly, desserts often are taken to go.

If you don’t leave full, happy, and messy, you’re doing something wrong. “I think you have to make a mess. You shouldn’t be able to get away without something on you,” says Cindy. The experience is casual and fun, from the indoor picnic tables, to full rolls of paper towel, to the cafeteria-style counter service, which offsets the silly amount of back-end labour that Cindy and her team put in. At both locations, hard work and love of barbecue shine through. █

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enVie Halifax

A North End Vegan Oasis That Non-Vegans Will Enjoy Article: Lia Rinaldo · Photos: Riley Smith

f EnvieAVeganKitchen l @enviehalifax omehow I found myself moving from being a judge in the first annual Sausage Fest to walking through the doors of the newest edition to the Halifax vegan scene, enVie—A Vegan Kitchen. There was a certain editor out there chuckling at my expense as he sent his meatand-cheese-obsessed writer into the fray.

Diandra Phipps and Cory Urquhart opened their hip, north end resto, enVie, at the beginning of August to a fair amount of press and hype. Joining their Fruition and Wild Leek brethren, they were slammed that first month with customers lining up to get in, happily doubling what they had forecasted. Surprisingly, only 50% of their customers are vegan (or vegetarian); most appear to be just intrigued with the concept. As they launch their fall menu, Diandra, along with chef Lauren Marshall sat down to talk vegan to me.

The two are often mistaken for sisters, and you can see why, as they excitedly finish each others’ sentences and speak with the same amount of passion about a menu and a way of life that excludes meat, eggs, dairy products, and all other animalderived ingredients.

“There is a substitute for everything,” says Diandra, who identifies herself as Italian vegan. “The challenge and most exciting part is how to replicate any dish out there and make it taste better.” She was once dared by a good friend, who is a vegetarian except for bacon, to create a vegan take on a classic Italian carbonara. I don’t think you could name a more antivegan dish if you tried–packed with eggs, cheese, and bacon—

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but she achieved it.

After some family health issues, Diandra made a move into veganism in the most unlikely of places, the ultimate land of sausage: Heilbronn, Germany, where, Cory was posted playing professional hockey. Through language and cultural barriers, she found it difficult to stay true to this new way of eating and soon found herself in the kitchen of Tanja Calce.

After many shared meals and philosophies, the two opened a restaurant together called Velo. Diandra ran the front of house and business side, and Tanja was in the kitchen. But it’s actually in the kitchen where Diandra found her passion, too.

Cajoled by hockey team members who insisted he needed protein to keep his game up, Cory soon followed suit. It turns out they were impressed when his new diet kept his performance and energy level on track. With their eyes on family in Nova Scotia and Cory’s hockey career winding to a close, the two headed home to start their dream of a vegan restaurant.

Enter Lauren. A classically-trained chef with a focus on French cuisine, cooking for ten years putting butter and cream in everything, who had her own metamorphosis and went back to school for nutrition. There is 100% collaboration between these two in the kitchen. And don’t forget Cory, who during this interview was frantically running smoothies from the bar to a full dining room mid-afternoon.

They are thrilled to be a part of a thriving vegan scene pulling inspiration from all over, keeping up on world food trends and putting their own vegan spin on things. It’s not just about the

L O C A L C ON N ECTIONS HALIFAX | Au tu m n 2013

food, it’s clearly a way of life for each of them; one that inspires change in health choices and the health of the planet. It’s about a move from processed foods to nourishing, whole foods.

“It’s not all grass and dandelions,” says Lauren, laughing.

“There’s no bird food here.” After six weeks of recipe testing with customers, the new menu strives to offer simple and deeply satisfying food options at a lower price point. Customers will see some of their faves remain—like the Quinoa Mushroom Burger and Kale Caesar—but will be intrigued with the Seitan Reuben, Tempeh Alfredo and Raw Pizza.

In terms of process, their dishes involve various stages of soaking, fermenting, sprouting, and the blending, mostly of nuts. Soaking nuts activates natural enzymes with extremely healthy and delicious results as they make their way into mayonnaise, cream sauces and cheeses. Seitan reigns supreme, and mushrooms sub in for meaty pulled pork and scallops.

Chia seeds and almond milk are high sources of calcium and protein. There is even a flax egg.

When pressed, they crew all find it hard to pick their personal favourites on the menu. For Lauren, a creamy wild mushroom risotto with roasted garlic, king mushroom scallops, persillade, arugula salad, and cashew parmesan.

Cory always defaults to pasta with the Tempeh Alfredo.

I ordered the BBQ option with raw taco shells, BBQ pulled mushroom, black bean salsa with a shredded lettuce, avocado, and apple cabbage slaw. My cohort went in for the risotto. We simply couldn’t finish our plates, thus busting another vegan myth of never feeling full.

And finally, Diandra who has a weakness for her favourite poutine, started experimenting with the concept and ended up making her own cheese curds. There is a definite art to making vegan cheese and they now offer a variety including a Gruyere for their Reuben sandwich.

The real winner for me was the charcuterie board, and I say this as a diehard cheese lover. In what can only be described as the nuttiest of all cheese plates, out came veggie pate, tofu chevre with cranberries, a light, lemony baba ghanoush, sharp cheddar, mustard pickles, pickled red onions, and the most delicious spiced nuts served with lightly-toasted Local Source molasses seed bread. And if anyone can do mixed nuts well, it simply has to be the vegans. █

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Sausage Fest 2013 A Week Long Celebration of Local Food Article: Alexander Henden · Photos: Riley Smith & Author

he idea to do an event called Sausage Fest came to me on a sunny day in mid-May during a walk in Downtown Halifax. I’d only heard the term ‘sausage fest’ for the first time back at our 12 Beers of Christmas event in December, but finally had that eureka moment where everything came together. I knew at that very moment that we were going to do a week-long collaborative festival that celebrated local food and drink, and we were going to call it Sausage Fest. Brilliant! So immediately, the phone call was made and we got to work on Sausage Fest. Within a few months, we were stuffing our faces with some of the best meats in Nova Scotia.

So what exactly was Sausage Fest, anyway?

For those who partook in some of the festivities, you have some idea what it was. For those who did not, Sausage Fest was a week-long festival where local restaurants, producers, markets, breweries, wineries, and retailers came together and showcased their creativity and

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talents through hosting a number of events, and offering some very creative specials during the week. It ended up being an impressive collection, with many high points being worthy of recollection.

On the specials front, Boneheads BBQ (featured in this issue) were one of the biggest stars of the show, offering patrons a total of four different sausages: Fat Mac (covered in mac and cheese, and bacon), Dinn’s Donair (smoked donair sausage, diced onions, tomatoes, and housemade donair sauce), The Big Easy (cajun sausage, lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, cajun mayo, and pickles), and Da’ Brat (which featured a custom “cold slaw” from Halifax Footlongs). Things actually got a little out of hand at the Fairview location, as there was no stopping the public’s meat lust.

We also had some very tasty specials during the week from Ace Burger, Al’s Sausages, Dee Dee’s Ice Cream, Durty Nelly’s, Freeman’s Little New York, Getaway Farm, Local Source Market, Luckett Vineyard’s, Nomad Gourmet,

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l #SausageFestHFX

Obladee Wine Bar, Ratinaud French Cuisine, Saege Bistro, and 2 Doors Down. Most of these you can find in our “Sausage Fest - The Official Facebook Guide” photo album on our Facebook page. Of course, there were some amazing events as well, and we managed to attend almost all of them.

On the Tuesday, Local Source and Bridge Brewing hosted a Ladies’ Beer League Dinner at Creative Crossing, while a small group of us (non-ladies) opted for a wonderful evening at Obladee Wine Bar. On Wednesday evening, we attended the Wolfville Farmer’s Market Summer Sausage Celebration. They actually do these community dinners at the market every Wednesday, but this one featured sausages from Al’s Homestyle, Wild Mountain, Longspell Point Farm, Naturally Nerida Farms, Peasant Pantry, and Jordan’s Natural Acres. Following our lovely dinner in the valley, we headed to Garrison Brewing for the Ragin’ Cajun Party. Here, Chef Andrew Ferrell of 2 Door Down made some 100% local (including the ocra) gumbo using meat from Getaway Farm of the Seaport Market. There was some live cajun music from Tappage Gumbo, celebrating our history and heritage, and of course, some deliciously local craft beer from Garrison.

Thursday was a bit over the top. It started with a threecourse rooftop dinner at Local Source where local blues legend Garrett Mason played for a captive audience. The beer from Bridge was flowing nicely, and the highlight for us was getting to sit beside Garrett’s mom for the entire dinner. Following the dinner, and with a very full belly, we somehow managed to make it to Ratinaud French Cuisine’s event, Les Saucisses en Folies. And what a feast that was.

By Friday, Sausage Fest was in full swing, and Chef Ludo of the soon-to-be-opened Agricola Street Brasserie was putting on a show at Propeller’s first Prop’r Cask Night in many months (they’ve been busy). Of course being a cask night, guests got to enjoy a special one-off cask of beer, while Ludo served up a feast of feasts.

By Saturday, we somehow found ourselves still going strong, and in the Annapolis Valley for our big Weekend Drive event. The weather was on our side all day (all week actually), making it the perfect day to check out four of Nova Scotia’s finest vineyards. After meeting for coffee at the Wolfville Farmer’s Market, we headed to our first destination, Domaine de Grand Pré, where Hanspeter Stutz was showing off his pride and joy (house made sausages). Our next stop was Luckett Vineyards where Pete Luckett had invited all the local sausage makers to set up shop on the hill for a full day of sausage fun. Afterwards, we headed to L’Acadie Vineyards where they had teamed up with Al’s Homestyle, pairing their Passito (red) with Loukanika sausage and veggies on a skewer.

It was perfect. Our final stop was Gaspereau Vineyards where Chef Steph Levac had made some Chorizo corn chowder. We were all well stuffed at that point, but somehow made room for one of the best chowder’s ever made. Wow! Sunday was the final day and our grande finale, the

H A L I FA X F O O D B LO G G E R C H A L L E N G E W I N N E R

by Kathy Jollimore

INGREDIENTS 1 onion, diced 3 cloves garlic, minced 2 cups crushed tomatoes 3 chorizo sausages, casings removed 1 tablespoon maple syrup 1 whole chipotle in adobo sauce, chopped 1 teaspoon adobo sauce 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped 1 teaspoon cumin 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika 3/4 teaspoon orange zest 3-4 eggs garnish: green onions, cilantro, feta cheese, avocado

INSTRUCTIONS Preheat oven to 375.

Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Sauté onions ‘til browned. Add garlic and cook 2 min more. Add remaining ingredients except eggs, being sure to crumble the sausage into the sauce. Reduce heat and simmer 15 min.

Crack eggs on top and bake until just set, about 8 min.

Serve garnished with sliced green onions, cilantro, crumbled feta cheese and a side of avocado slices.

For more delicious recipes from our Halifax Food Blogger Challenge winner, visit: eathalifax.ca

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Incredible Picnic and Sausage BBQ at the Halifax Seaport Farmer’s Market. This event was a family event, and thanks to the folks at the Downtown Halifax Business Commission, we had lots of extra seating for everyone. We also had a bike and stroller valet courtesy of Clean Nova Scotia, a big kid’s jumpy castle, tents for Select Nova Scotia and NS Aquaculture, and three very entertaining competitions for the public to enjoy, each hosted by Mike Kennedy and Colette O’Hara of the Awesome Halifax Foundation.

The first competition was the Halifax Food Bloggers Challenge where our ‘Halifamous’ judges chose the winner from the three finalists of Round One, the winner being Kathy Jollimore’s Chorizo Baked Eggs, featured in this edition. Kelly Neil with Chorizo and Bacon Stuffed Pork Belly was a close second, and Jessie Harrold with Turkey Fennel Sausage, Caramelized Onion and Cheddar Nachos with a Cherry Chutney a close third.

The second competition was the Awesome Halifax Chef Market Battle (like Iron Chef) where local chefs Ludo Eveno (Agricola Street Brasserie), Derrick Johnson (Local Source Catering), Bill Blackburn (HMCS Iroquois), and Frederic Tandy (Ratinaud French Cuisine) competed using fresh local food from the Seaport Market. The secret ingredient for the competition was (surprise!) sausages, and Chef Ludo took honours.

Our final competition of the day was the Extreme Sausage Competition (sponsored by Extreme Group), where Meadowbrook Farm, Getaway Farm, Ratinaud French Cuisine, and Chef Steph Levac competed. As with all three competitions it was close, but Chef Steph’s Fois Gras Poutine sausage was the winner.

We also awarded the winner (Frederic Tandy of Ratinaud French Cuisine) for the Sausage Fest “Pooch Edition”, a tasteoff event from Saturday at Planet Paws Pet Essentials where the dogs got to be the judges.

The Incredible Picnic and Sausage BBQ event also featured a pop-up BBQ, where people could purchase cooked sausages and more from Getaway Farms, Meadowbrook Meat Market, Pete’s, Halifax Footlongs, Bramoso Pizza, Dee Dee’s Ice Cream, Jitterbug Sodas, Bonnyman’s Wild Blueberries, and Ironworks Distillery.

All in all, it was a great way to cap off an amazing week.

So with our first Sausage Fest in the bag, a lot of people are asking us if we are planning to do this again next year. The answer is YES! As consumers and as organizers, we have caught a glimpse of the potential that exists when talented locals work together, and we want more. A lot more. █

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Eats & Tweets PICTURE THIS: You’re at one of your favourite local eateries with one of your best chums, and you are so mesmerized by the plate in front of you, you whip out your mobile device and snap an image or three.

Congratulations, and welcome to the world of ‘Food Porn’!

Burger & Fries - 2 Doors Down

Grilled Cheese - Norbert’s

Rebecca Atkinson

Sarah Rumley

Fish & Chips - The Port Pub

Chocolate Cupcake - Tempo

Alexander Henden

Shaun Simpson

Burger & Fries - Westcliffe Diner

Lobster Roll - Maritime Lobster Shack

Iris Estrada

Laura Oakley

Eating and tweeting is a fun way to celebrate the local abundance, and equally as important, it’s a great way to share your experiences with others.

Here at Local Connections Halifax, we’d like to encourage this, so every issue we’re going to host a contest.

Tweet a photo of your food for a chance to win some great local loot.

This issue we’ll kick things off with a bunch of different plates, with the winner getting two tickets to our Craft Beer & Local Food Celebration in January.

Share your photos with us!

f LocalConnectionsHalifax l ConnectionsHFX

ConnectionsHFX

PLEASE NOTE: For our Eats & Tweets Food Photo Contest, our selected judges are purely subjective in their decision. The one that makes them want to eat the most, wins. Also note, we do not accept entries from business owners wanting to submit images of their own stuff.

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GRAND PRIZE Congratulations!

Vegan Poutine - enVie Halifax

The Club - Canadian Bacon

Michael Dinn

Laurie Burns

Baker’s Lunch - Mother’s Pizza

Lemongrass Chicken Banh Mi - Indochine

Rev. Bob Chaisson

Jules Chamberlain

Durty Dog & Fries - Ace Burger Co.

Faux Pho - Front + Central

Lia Rinaldo

Susan Meldrum

Rebecca Atkinson this issue’s winner of

localconnections.ca/events

#EatLocalNS - Next contest launches November 18 at: facebook.com/LocalConnectionsHalifax L O CAL CO N N E CT IO N S H AL IFAX | Au tu m n 2 0 1 3

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The Golden Age The Beginning of a New Era in NS Craft Beer

Article: Brenden Sommerhalder · Photos: Riley Smith, Meghan Tansey Whitton, Alexander Henden eer. For many a Haligonian, when we first hear the word, it evokes thoughts of lagers and IPAs, porters and pilsners, reds and stouts. Somewhat fewer of us, although still an impressive minority, expand our word association with beer to include such oddities as spruce, maple, pumpkin, mango, jalapeno, vanilla, and lavender beers—or beers with any combination of the above, and beyond. Across demographic boundaries, our beer vocabulary is large and growing, along with our sense of adventure when it comes to exploring new ways of stretching our idea about what beer can be. More and more of us are avoiding the generic in favour of the genuine.

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Halifax is a place where beer drinkers can turn their beverage choice into a hobby; where visiting a restaurant, pub, or bar for the first time can also mean an introduction to a new kind of beer, often brewed just a stone’s throw away.

My, we’ve come a long way.

Brian Titus, owner of Garrison Brewery, remembers what it was like when he opened the doors of his brewery 16 years ago.

“Outside of a couple of brew pubs, it was really just the major domestic brands, take it or leave it, and really only a couple of options on tap,” he recalls. “Now you’ll see bars with fifteen, twenty, even fifty beers on tap with a large representation of craft beer, and in particular, a large representation of local

L O C A L C ON N ECTIONS HALIFAX | Au tu m n 2013

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Maritime craft beer.”

Jeff Pinhey has experienced the evolution of Halifax’s beer scene. He’s a founding member of the Brewnosers, a local crew of beer enthusiasts that have united over their common passion, which has been around since 1986—although Pinhey had been a beer aficionado for years before that. “It all started with Kevin Keefe in 1985. He was making real ales from that point on. His was the second brew pub license in Canada,” Pinhey recalls. “He fought a lot to be able to do it. And you can still buy his beer now.”

Pinhey says it wouldn’t be until over a decade before the next big advance in the Halifax beer scene, when Titus’s Garrison Brewery, and John Allen’s Propeller Brewery, opened their doors. “We weren’t planning to bottle. Bottling is expensive,” recalls Allen. “Now we’re on, I think, our fifth generation of filling equipment. We couldn’t have guessed that.”

Halifax remains as good a place to be in the beer business as it is to be a beer lover. “We’re always short of beer,” says Allen.

“We’re always catching up. We’re always sending out what we can to keep people happy. There’s all sorts of demand.” And Halifax’s maturing beer pallet means more fun for brewers, too. “It’s a testament to where the market is at now, the fact that beers with ingredients like ‘bucket loads of mangos and shaved ginger’ are being produced and are sought after,” says Titus. “They love what they do,” says Allen of his brewers. “Craft beer is fun for them.”

Greg Nash, recognized in the scene as a rockstar brewmaster and responsible for some of the region’s most special craft brews for over a decade, welcomes the growing popularity of his craft. “The goal is ultimate exposure of craft beer to the general public,” he says. “And it’s best when it’s local. Beer just doesn’t travel well. When the beer is made here, it has the chance to be its best. It’s just chemistry.”

With a mature craft beer market, talented and creative brewers, retailers buying into the value of craft beer, and a population with a zest for local, Halifax has truly entered its golden age of beer. So raise a pint with us as we celebrate this exceptional Halifax beer scene that we’re so happily growing accustomed to.

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Our Local Breweries When it comes to the production and accessibility of high quality brew, Halifax is the undisputed craft beer capital of Atlantic Canada. With seven breweries and brew pubs within the city’s borders, a population of pubs and restaurants pouring their products, and a strong supporting cast of breweries from across Nova Scotia, Halifax treats her beer enthusiasts well.

The craft beer scene in Halifax got its start with the opening of Granite Brewery in 1985. At the time, Granite was a brew pub, which it remained until its 2009 move to Halifax’s north end, where you can still fill your growler with their gritty brew.

In 1997, Halifax saw the opening of two breweries that are now fixtures in our beer scene. Garrison and Propeller have approached the business of brewing and selling beer with their own distinct styles—Garrison with a confident polish, and Propeller with a certain scrappiness— and, as explored in the August, 2012 issue of this magazine (15 Years of Beers), together they have managed to help prepare the industry for the level of consumer interest apparent in Halifax today. Garrison is set up at the Seaport Market, and Propeller calls Halifax’s north end home, with a recent expansion across the harbour in Dartmouth.

Rogue’s Roost entered the fray in 2004, and sits across from the site of the new Central Library on Spring Garden Road. In 2009, Hart & Thistle opened its doors in the Historic Properties on the waterfront, giving Halifax brew king Greg Nash an outlet for his creativity and eye for quality. RockBottom Brewpub also opened in 2009, and recruited Nash in 2011, putting them on the map for their quality product. Finally, just this year, Bridge Brewing set up shop in Halifax’s north end, serving up excellent Belgian-inspired craft beer, receiving early fanfare and demand that, on occasion, outpaces supply.

With a roster like this, it’s hard not to see today as the golden age for Halifax’s beer scene. But it’s an age we’re probably only just entering. Propeller’s John Allen predicts there is more variety yet to come for Halifax beer drinkers. “We’re in a better position now in terms of mark ups and remittances to the NSLC, so it’s encouraging for small operators now. It’s a little more viable,” he says. “The way the industry is going, we’re

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going to see a lot more places open up around here. Probably pretty small places, little micros.”

This trend toward a greater variety of beer options has been mirrored across Nova Scotia, with recent openings in communities including Sea Level (Port Williams, 2007), Hell Bay (Liverpool, 2011), Boxing Rock (Shelburne, 2012), and Big Spruce (Baddeck, 2012). Anchored by Nova Scotian fixtures like Paddys Brewery in the Annapolis Valley, in business for over 18 years, it’s nearly impossible to find a craft beer dead zone in the province.

Making it even easier to be a craft beer drinker in Nova Scotia, restaurants, pubs, and bars across the province are eager to serve craft brew, and to keep exploration of beer accessible for everyone. “Approachability and diversity, that’s what it’s all about,” says Leigh Doerksen, a consultant with Halifax’s Premier Wine & Spirits, who helps establishments around the province to secure different varieties of craft beer from around the world. “There’s nothing pretentious about it at all. Restaurants around here want to have diversity, teach people about good beer, and have a good time doing it.”

The People & Places When it comes to enjoying good beer, the beer itself is only part of the fun. The setting and the company all contribute to the experience, and in Halifax, everyone can find their jam.

“It’s one of the most accessible things possible,” says Alexander Henden, director of this magazine, which frequently hosts local beer events open to anyone. “The more accessible it is without losing the science, craft, and the art, I think it’s a winning formula. The existence of things like the Ladies Beer League proves a point that there’s a really strong demand from consumers in different areas who really want access to the product.”

Tracy Phillippi, co-founder and organizer for the Ladies Beer League, couldn’t agree more. Phillippi moved to Halifax about a year and a half ago, and describes herself as a passionate craft beer drinker. She spends a lot of her time around beer, as a beer writer, brewer, and judge, and as marketing manager for Garrison Brewing. “We want to be able to promote the craft beer industry to women in Halifax,

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and we want to gather a female-friendly space for women to get together, try something new,” says Phillippi. “We also want to steal some wine drinkers. We want to take female wine drinkers and help them realize that beer is great for women, too. It’s not about babes in bikinis and football. It’s about the craft and the culture.”

Todd Beal didn’t think much about craft beer until a couple of years ago when friends of his introduced him to some local brew. “It really opened my eyes,” he says—so much so that he began blogging about the craft beer industry in the Maritimes.

“Province-wide, there are so many interesting new breweries in Nova Scotia. It’s a great time to get into craft beer here.”

If road tripping around the province doesn’t sound like the way you want to experience craft beer (or even if it does), Haligonians have a number of options when it comes to establishments happy to answer the craft beer call. “Education is part of the fun,” says Veronica Gruninger, who curates the craft beer menu at the recently-opened Stubborn Goat Gastropub in the heart of downtown. “So I really wanted to push it to show people the kinds of craft beer we can experience here, both locally from here in Halifax, but also the high-end and the obscure.” And people who want to do their own craft beer tourism of the international, high-end, or the obscure without leaving their homes can find an exceptional variety at Premier Wine & Spirits on Dresden Row. Soon, beer lovers and explorers will have a new go-to on Barrington Street, as well. “We’re going to be a bar that is for craft beer enthusiasts by craft beer enthusiasts,” says Andrew Connell, co-founder of Stillwell Craft Beer Bar, set to open in the coming weeks. “We want to bring a new edge to the local beer scene,” agrees Laura MacDonald, co-founder of Stillwell along with Connell and MacDonald’s brother, Christopher Reynolds.

If shared enthusiasm makes a community, then the craft beer scene in Halifax is a thriving one. Even if you’re only in it for the beer, you’re bound to meet new people you will come count among your friends along the way. █

L O C A L C ON N ECTIONS HALIFAX | Au tu m n 2013

WHAT KIND OF GOAT ARE YOU?

Halifax’s Craft Brew Hotspots The Stubborn Goat 1579 Grafton Street, Halifax, NS f StubbornGoat

Bar Stillwell 1672 Barrington Street, Halifax, NS f barstillwell

The Henry House 2576 Agricola St. Halifax, NS henryhouse.ca

Agricola Street Brasserie 2540 Agricola Street, Halifax, NS f AgricolaStreet

Rockbottom Brewpub 5686 Spring Garden Road, Halifax, NS f RockbottomBrewpubRestaurant

Hart & Thistle 1869 Upper Water Street, Halifax, NS hartandthistle.com

Rogues Roost Brewing Co. 5435 Spring Garden Rd., Halifax, NS f RoguesRoost

The Split Crow 1855 Granville Street, Halifax, NS splitcrow.com

Maxwell’s Plum 1600 Grafton Street, Halifax, NS themaxwellsplum.com

NOW OPEN! 1579 Grafton Street · 11:30am - 2am · 7 Days a Week! f StubbornGoat L TheStubbornGoat

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Nova Scotia’s Craft Brewers Big Spruce Brewing Co.

Hell Bay Brewing Co.

Rogues Roost Brewing Co.

64 Yankee Line Road, Baddeck, NS f BigSpruceBrewing

38 Legion Street, Liverpool, NS f Hellbaybrewing

5435 Spring Garden Rd., Halifax, NS f RoguesRoost

Boxing Rock Brewing

Paddy’s Brew Pub – Kentville

78 Ohio Road, Shelburne, NS f boxingrock

42 Aberdeen Street Kentville, NS paddyspub.ca

Rudder’s Seafood Restaurant and Brew Pub

Bridge Brewing Co.

Paddy’s Brew Pub – Wolfville

2576 Agricola St., Halifax, NS f BridgeBrewing

460 Main Street, Wolfville, NS

Sea Level Brewing Co.

Propeller Brewing Co.

980 Terry’s Creek Rd. Port Williams, NS f SeaLevelBrewing

Garrison Brewing Co.

96 Water Street, Yarmouth, NS ruddersbrewpub.com

2015 Gottingen Street, Halifax, NS f propellerbeer

1149 Marginal Road, Halifax, NS f garrisonbrewing

Rockbottom Brewing Co.

Granite Brewery

5686 Spring Garden Road, Halifax, NS f RockbottomBrewpubRestaurant

6054 Stairs Street, Halifax, NS f GraniteBrewery

Hart & Thistle

• Baddeck

1869 Upper Water Street, Halifax, NS hartandthistle.com • Pictou

Kentville •

• Guysborough • Wolfville

 Halifax • Windsor

• Shelburne • Yarmouth

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• Antigonish

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The Rare Bird Pub Guysborough, NS f rarebirdpub

Townhouse Brewing Co. 76 College St., Antigonish, NS f AntigonishTownhouse

Uncle Leo’s Brewery Lyons Brook, Nova Scotia, NS f UncleLeosBrewery

And according to our sources, there’s at least another 4 on the way for 2014!

Local Craft Beer Events Ladies Beer League Cask Fest

Sunday, November 17 (2 sessions) An evening at the Stubborn Goat featuring unique, one-off, caskconditioned ales from seven different maritime craft breweries, this event is open to all beer lovers. So ladies, bring some men, and men, bring some ladies! lblcaskfest.eventbrite.ca

Meet Your Local Craft Beer & Local Food Celebration

Thursday, January 16 at 6:30pm 7 Rooms. 7 Experiences. This evening event will be an epic showcase of local beer, cider, food, and more! All tickets are all-inclusive. Come hungry and thirsty. localconnections.ca/events

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Below is a decent selection of the nearly 100 craft beers available across Nova Scotia.

Halifax Craft Beer Retailers

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Premier Wines & Spirits

Bishop’s Cellar

Harvest Wines & Spirits

1535 Dresden Row, Halifax, NS f PremierWinesHFX

1477 Lower Water Street, Halifax, NS f BishopsCellar

757 Bedford Highway, Halifax, NS f harvestwines

Cristall Wine Merchants

Bridge Brewing

Garrison Brewing

Sunnyside Mall, Bedford, NS f cristallwinemerchants

2576 Agricola St., Halifax, NS f BridgeBrewing

1149 Marginal Road, Halifax, NS f garrisonbrewing

Propeller Brewing - Halifax

Propeller Brewing - Dartmouth

NSLC

2015 Gottingen Street, Halifax, NS f propellerbeer

617 Windmill Road, Dartmouth, NS f propellerbeer

Various locations. f theNSLC

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If you haven’t tried at least half of these, you have some work to do. Giddyup!

Growlers Not all craft brewers bottle their beer and opt for growlers, though some offer bottles and growlers.

Growlers are a convenient way to pick up 2L of your favourite craft beer.

Perfect for dinner parties, chillin’ with tha’ homies, or just about anything.

You simply pay a one-time deposit, and all you pay for is what you put in the bottles after that!

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Common Roots Urban Farm

D

id you know that the Halifax Peninsula is home to a real live farm? Located on a Capital Health interim land use site on the hill where the Queen Elizabeth High School used to stand at Robie and Bell, Common Roots Urban Farm is two full growing seasons in, and thriving.

Created by Partners for Care, a registered charity that supports the patients of Capital Health, the 3.5 acre Urban Farm is a pilot project meant to inspire a community-built vision of urban agriculture.

When you walk or drive by the site, you might first notice the huge hay bale structure. But if you step through the garden gates, just outside the doors of the QEII hospital emergency, you are instantly surrounded by a feeling of peace amongst the rows of lush green vegetables, comfortable sitting areas, and sawdust-lined paths.

“We average about 10 visitors per hour,” says Project Coordinator, Jayme Melrose. Some of these are folks who need a bit of respite from an emergency room visit, tourists staying at the hotel across the street, and ordinary Haligonians passing by. “In fact, the vast majority of volunteers on the Farm are people who have noticed the site and become interested enough to have a look,” says Melrose.

It’s these scores of volunteers, plus three paid staff, who keep the Farm running from April through November. In addition to the individual plots that anyone can rent for $30 a season, there are also free “nibble” patches, and a huge Market Garden. Using a CSA (Community Supported

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Agriculture) model, shares of $500 each are sold to grow a diverse array of vegetables. Each week of the growing season, roughly 150 pounds of fresh produce are delivered by bicycle to the Food Bank.

Even before Melrose came onboard the Urban Farm, she was obsessed with food and on fire about the need to convert more of our urban space into a productive landscape—one that can grow edible food. “It’s always been confusing to me that there are so many lawns filled with inedible things when there are so many hungry people and so many people looking for work,” she says. “Why aren’t we growing food everywhere?”

Back in 2011, it was these impassioned convictions—and what she calls her “big mouth”—that got her foot in the door.

She has much to be proud of in what the farm is doing, but at the top of her list is what she calls social engagement: the opportunity for meaningful exchanges in this vibrant, expanding oasis in the heart of the city.

Common Roots hosts work placements, recreational/ horticultural therapy, and school groups and day camps.

“We give people a chance to see where their food comes from, what a potato plant and a row of beans actually looks like.” Melrose says that many of the people who rent plots of land aren’t experienced gardeners. “Some just didn’t want to garden alone and so we offer hands-on learning about food production in a space where people can work together.”

It’s this sense of a flourishing community that Melrose finds most fulfilling. “People are drawn to the Farm, from all walks of life, and they are making connections and creating relationships with each other. These are people who would probably never have met otherwise.”

According to Melrose, the Urban Farm is an idea whose time has come. “More and more people are asking really important questions,” she says. “Could the hospital grow its own food? What about our universities? How do we have more fresh local food? How can I turn my lawn into food?”

Melrose is hopeful that the momentum behind this burgeoning movement will continue to grow over the next few years. She envisions a day when Halifax would have one Urban Farm per district. “Imagine if everyone in the city could be that close to a source of fresh, organic produce that they are helping to grow? Wouldn’t that be amazing?” █

For more information about Common Roots Urban Farm, visit: partnersforcare.ca/urban_farm

L O C A L C ON N ECTIONS HALIFAX | Au tu m n 2013

Article: Renée Hartleib · Photo: Meghan Tansey Whitton

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Harvesting Halifax

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ubbed as a “university town,” Halifax is rather used to the idea of people leaving it after spending just a few years living here. We often hear about a transient population and a trend of moving “out west.” Solutions on how to retain young talent within the city are always a hot topic within the public sphere. What we don’t often hear about is how our small east coast city made an impact on the people that experienced our city and took their physical selves elsewhere. Let’s harvest some Halifax stories that remain within the minds and hearts of people around the world who lived and loved Halifax.

There is a a multitude of students who descend upon the east coast to complete a semester of studying abroad, and the Atlantic charm can cast a spell on them. One such story is that of two Danish guys who came to Halifax on student exchange and subsequently fell in love with its impressive waterfront, lobster cuisine, Maritime hospitality, and good service. These Haligonian qualities inspired the duo to create their version of Halifax with their restaurant in Copenhagen.

They called it the Halifax Burger Restaurant.

Since its establishment in 2007, the Halifax Burger Restaurant has earned acclaim as having the best burgers in Copenhagen, and has expanded with additional branches. Try this. Just google “Halifax burger Copenhagen”—thousands of webpage results (mostly raving reviews) will be generated.

Seriously, google it! It’s quite impressive! I learned about the restaurant from an exchange student from Copenhagen Business School who is attending Dalhousie University this fall. He told me about the hype he heard about the restaurant around Copenhagen, which led him to choosing Halifax as his Canadian adventure destination. I wonder, what stories and inspirations will he take back home about our city?

Rewind to August of this year, I’m standing at the reception of a Swiss hotel in Geneva. The receptionist looks at my reservation papers and excitedly inquires, “You live in Halifax?” I smile and nod back. I didn’t expect the next part. Her face lit up and smile widened as she recounted, “I lived on Quinpool and I loved it!!” That was the beginning of a conversation that lasted longer than the typical guest and receptionist interaction. She spoke about her adventures in Cape Breton, strolls down Spring Garden, bus commutes and Atlantic Super Store shopping. But, I knew that she has been immersed in the city’s fabric the moment she brought up Dartmouth as “the dark side” – a playful jab at a community in my city. Here I am, across the Atlantic Ocean, talking to a bubbly French girl about Nova Scotia!

Yet another encounter takes place in Switzerland that showcases that we live in a truly connected world. I traveled to Geneva to attend the Annual Curators Meeting for the Global Shapers Community, an initiative supported by the World Economic Forum. Invited as the curator of the Halifax Hub, I was ecstatic to be part of this event where fellow curators descend on the Swiss city from across the world’s diverse continents. I wasn’t prepared for this surprise though: David Aikam, the Managing Director and Head of New Champions, turned out to be a Dalhousie graduate!

Even better, he praised the university for a one-of-a-kind program that was taught at the time. Such an influential and respected leader who worked with global powerhouses, the International Olympic Committee, and the World Economic Forum, started his educational journey right here in Halifax.

These are just few of the stories experienced through the people who stepped foot on the East Coast and who no doubt were influenced by it. Who knew such a small city would hold a special place for many who carry its culture wherever they go? In times of uncertainty and negativity all round, it’s refreshing to collect and cherish the positive narratives that embody the cities that live within us. █

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Article: Anisa Awad · Photo: Riley Smith

O u r Cu l tur e, E nr iching the World

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NS Wine - A Source of Pride Nova Scotian Wine Has Become Excellent and There’s Good Reason For It

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t’s hard not to notice how Nova Scotian wines have really evolved over the last few years. It used to be a challenge to find good-quality local wines, but now it’s the other way around. This isn’t a fluke or a blip on the radar, it’s the real deal. Nova Scotia’s wine makers have entered the game. By world standards, Canada’s wine industry in Canada is still very, very young, so these early achievements are worth celebrating.

When you look at wines from British Columbia, it’s hard to imagine that they once were where our industry was. In the mid-1980’s, the province’s wine certainly wasn’t a source of pride for the province, and most of the top restaurants simply weren’t serving the product. It wasn’t until one day, when a few of the right people starting setting up shop in the Okanagan Valley, that the evolution began. Today, almost 30 years later, BC wine is more than just drinkable, it’s truly excellent, and if you visit the region you will be amazed by just how many quality local wineries there are, many of which are great to visit. BC has an industry which has flourished, and the Okanagan Valley

has become even more of a destination.

In Nova Scotia, we’re on this path as well. You see a lot of investment happening in the wine stocks, the wineries (as public spaces), the marketing, events, and perhaps most importantly, you see the investment in the people and knowledge base it takes to make a great product. There’s a lot of behind-the-scenes work taking place, and we can easily reap the reward of this with a quick visit to Bishop’s Cellar, Premier Wines, Harvest Wines, Cristall Wines, or even the NSLC. And it’s no longer about simply supporting local. The product stands on its own quite well, and the novelty of serving Nova Scotian wine at a dinner party, with guests realizing that it’s actually quite good, makes for great conversation.

As we close off yet another issue of the magazine, we’d like to encourage you to explore the abundance of great wine our talented locals are producing, and celebrate all that’s good about Nova Scotia at the same time. █

Article: Alexander Henden Photo: Riley Smith

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Showcasing the BEST Our Region Has to Offer Support the cause. Advertise. advertising@localconnections.ca