Get your fill

Photo by Amin Helal

As you adjust to your new digs here in Halifax, and as you feel your mind expanding with your introduction to post-secondary education, you might find yourself craving a little something extra to stimulate your creative side.

Halifax, despite its small size and quaint reputation, has a pretty lively arts and culture scene. It can take a person in the city a while to really know the good spots, but lucky for you, I’m writing this so that you’ll be in the know right off the bat.

If live music is what you’re looking for, you’re in the right place. Halifax is blessed with a number of awesome local bands (my personal favourites are Cousins and Monomyth), and some pretty great venues like The Marquee Ballroom and Gus’s Pub.

The Halifax Pop Explosion (October 21-25) brings 200 bands to 20 venues around the city. I know it’s during midterm season, but trust me, you won’t want to miss this!

If you’re a film buff, the Atlantic Film Festival — one of Canada’s premier film festivals — takes place September 11-18. For theatre, check out Neptune Theatre and the Bus Stop Theatre.

For visual art, check out spots like the Annie Leonowens Gallery, Argyle Fine Arts, and Plan B Merchant’s Co-op — just to name a few. Nocturne: Art at Night (October 18) is an incredible event that will show you just how amazing and involved the Halifax community can be.

This article would be utterly incomplete without a word or two about the Khyber Centre for the Arts. Formerly a huge, beautiful artist-run space right downtown, the Khyber has relocated to a (much) smaller space in the North End. Keep your eyes out for news about whether their old space will be sold (gulp!). Many fingers are crossed that the Khyber will regain their original space.

This barely scrapes the surface of the great things to see and do in this city. But hey, you could also just lock yourself in your dorm room with Netflix for your entire first year like I did.