What puts the power in Power Hour?

For most people, Friday night marks the start of the weekend. But in Halifax, Dalhousie University students get a head start before the workweek is over. 

While the sun is still high on Thursday afternoons, crowds of young patrons line the corner of Granville and Duke Streets, ready to kick off an evening of rowdy tradition, tomfoolery and the kind of marathon drinking that turns a school night into a weekly ritual. The lure? The Split Crow Pub, known by generations of students as “Splitties.” 

“It’s a maritime kitchen party,” says Mark Galic, who’s owned the Split Crow for 11 years. 

“People are tap dancing when they come in. We greet [them] as they enter, make sure they have drinks, they’re entertained and fed if they’re hungry.”

The Split Crow’s notorious “Power Hour” is the night’s main attraction, according to Shamar Bennett, a fourth-year Dal commerce student. From 9 to 10 p.m., every Thursday, 10-ounce Molson Canadian draught beers are poured for $2.50 each. Trays of 26 beers go for $65, and for the less ambitious, half-trays are priced at $32.50.

Getting in, however, is its own sport. The bar’s limited capacity causes droves of thirsty patrons to wrap around the building’s exterior as early as 3:30 p.m. to secure their spot. Waiting over two hours to get in isn’t unusual. 

“I wish we could let more people in, but laws are laws,” Galic says. “We have a number that we have to stick to.”

The question of when to arrive is a puzzle that only seasoned Splitties-goers are able to solve. For Dal students like Bennett, there is no such thing as too early. 

“The line has always been that long, you just have to know the right time to go,” he says. 

Inside, another waiting game begins as the crowd holds its breath until 9 p.m. The bar’s dim light blurs familiar faces as chatter builds into a steady roar, glasses clink in chorus and friends press shoulder to shoulder, together in anticipation.

“There’s nowhere else to be on a Thursday; so you’re going to see everyone you want to see,” says Henry Waldron, a fifth-year Dal commerce student, who’s been a Power Hour devotee for the past four years. 

Regulars find the live music just as intoxicating as anything on tap. 

“The music choice, the bands they bring on, never fail my expectations,” Waldron says.

For some, the music is what sets the tavern apart. 

“If Splitties didn’t have live music, I don’t know if it’d be as popular as it is,” says Sidney Thornburn, a fourth-year Dal management student.

By 8:50 p.m., the air inside is electric. Anticipation builds towards the countdown that feels like New Year’s Eve every single week. Voices rise above the music, strangers are now best friends and a crowd starts to congregate around the bar. During those final minutes, students throw back their last drinks, clearing the table before the real game begins.  

As the clock strikes 9 p.m., a bell clangs and the room erupts. 

“Everyone starts cheering. It’s just a joyous feeling,” says Bennett.

Ducking past servers balancing towers of golden liquid courage, students scramble for tables as massive trays slam down with frothy precision. 

“When you get a tray, it’s like a team bonding experience,” says Waldron. “You sit down, this behemoth of alcohol between you, and you usually fail — but you have a good time trying and watching all your friends get hammered while trying not to get too hammered yourself.”

Splitties Thursdays lures students with the promise of cheap beer, but after the inevitable pre-Power Hour splurge that comes with showing up hours beforehand, the jury’s out on whether it’s a financially sound idea for the fragile student wallet. 

But for some Dal students, that hardly matters.

“You tell yourself, no matter what, I gotta beat Power Hour,” Bennett says. “The deal itself — people don’t really care about the alcohol. It’s knowing you made it with your friends.”

Since opening in 1979, the Split Crow has cemented itself as a Halifax staple. Power Hour, which first launched as a way to “bump up Thursdays,” according to Galic, developed into a rite of passage for Dal students. 

Its place on the calendar wasn’t always fixed. In the late 2000s, when another bar claimed Thursdays nights, the Split Crow tended its regulars on Saturday afternoons, and the demand never wavered. 

“50 people would be lined up at nine o’clock in the morning on Saturdays, before we even opened,” Galic says. 

The rhythm of the city shifted again in the summer of 2021, following COVID-19 restrictions. 

“When we reopened after COVID, Thursday night became huge again,” says Galic. “Every bar was at half capacity, so it probably had something to do with other bars being full. People liked coming here, and it stuck as the thing to do on Thursdays.”

That post-pandemic momentum shows no sign of slowing.

 “It was nothing like it is now,” Galic says, gesturing to the pre-weekend crowds. 

“As a business owner, I think it’s great,” he says. “It feels good to have people who want to come here because they’re having a good time. That means we’re doing our job well.”

For those hoping an early start means an early night’s end, an unspoken rule that’s become tradition begs to differ. A 10 p.m. mass exodus sees the stumbling crowd find its next home at the Pint Public House on Argyle Street. 

“It’s been done for years,” says Bennett. “You go, Splitties, then Pint. No one breaks it.” 

Whether it’s the cheap beer, live music or community, Splitties has carved out its place in Halifax nightlife. Generations of students have passed through its doors, and for the foreseeable future, Thursday nights belong to the Split Crow. 

“It’s arguably the best bar in Halifax,” Bennett says. “It’s the only place you should be on a Thursday. It’s family.”