Postcards From Halifax
Hello. Facts Nova Scotia is a port city rich, in beauty, and history, it's. Known for its quality of life great. Public spaces and friendly. People it's a, fun place to visit any time of year and it's, the place I call home I'm. Laura Bayne join. Me as we tour one of Canada's, oldest, breweries, we. Have a newspaper article from just a few years ago when, a local diver, actually, found a partially, filled bottle, of alexander, keith's beer that was 125. Years old oh wow. Visit. One of the most beautiful, libraries, in the world one. Of the things that people tell me when they enter is that they walk in and they immediately, there's, a transparency to the building they can see around the building it gives an immediate sense of welcome and meet. Hellofax, is town crier. This. Is, postcards. From Halifax. Halifax. Is known for its beaches and, increasingly. For, its waves, some. Surfers, like Jan Lapierre even. Surf in the dead of winter. So. Jan what are the surf conditions like, today well, we're here a beautiful Lordstown beach the sun is shining. Beautiful. Waves coming in that's, the beauty of winter, surfing, is that all, these storms that come through kicking really great waves you. Can use a fair bit of people out there even right now so, I'm pretty excited to get out there awesome and it's it's really cold right now it's about minus 10 I'm a bundled up what do you have on to keep warm so this is a winter wetsuit, it's, six millimeters, thick and. The gloves and boots are both eight millimeters, thick, now, what suit is designed. To get wet so, when I get out there the, water gets in for a second it feels a little chilly and then your body temperature, warms that water rot in between you and the suit and actually becomes really quite cozy okay, well you get in there I'll take your word for it I'm gonna watch here from the shore herd up. Earlier. At Jan's home he, offered me some insight, into surfing, in the winter for. Most of us who surf we'd almost look forward to the winter time more, than the summer because there's more. Consistent. Waves, I'll, admit that it is a little bit of a niche activity that, way but, what we do have here is a lot, of variety you, know we have everything from. Beautiful. Sandy beaches to. If you're a surfer, and you're looking for something a little bit more advanced we have point breaks and, reef breaks and all these other different things but. Beyond. A doubt the thing that that's the most special, here is the community, it's the people. Today. There are a dozen or so surfers, braving, the cold with Jan the. Water temperature, in the ocean never goes below. One degree or, else it would freeze or the case, of saltwater needs to be minus two or three for it to freeze so. Even. Though the air temperature, is, minus. Ten minus 15 or what-have-you, the ocean, temperatures, really even, right now actually about four or five degrees so. When you're in it and you're submerged in it you're actually a lot warmer than you would expect to be because, the suit does such a great job and the water temperature is warmer than the air. Waves. Are, a precious. Entity, and this that I think really why surfing, is so, unique, and. Really. When someone becomes interested. In it it almost becomes a bit of an obsession because. Waves are finite and then, there you are riding that thing and, no. One wave is like another, you know each wave, is almost like a snowflake in that kind of sense that everyone. Is different. Surfing. Connects Jan to the big picture, I think.
The Thing that. Matters. The most to me is that the. Ocean is one of our precious most, precious, resources on this planet and I don't even like to use the word resource I would say it's you know it's something that's so fundamental to, not only humans, but all, life on Earth I mean we wouldn't be a planet. Filled with wonderful, creatures if we didn't have the ocean I think, today you know in 2020. It's, even more important, because you know as climate change becomes more of a priority in people's lives, the. More time you spend in nature the more time you, have to learn to respect it and to love it and when you are in there and I have been in many places in the world to surf. Many. In places that I've been have been very polluted, and, thankfully. Here in nova scotia a lot of our coastline is still fairly pristine, and I'd love for it to stay that way. Dan, how was it oh so, much fun conditions, are excellent right now lovely. Group of people who are out there tons. Of fun so, much I might actually get back in well, I can hear lots of waves crashing, around us so you, enjoy that and I'm. Gonna go get warm and maybe I'll give it a try in the summer the, ocean always welcomes you to come back anytime. Another. Very welcoming, place in Halifax happens, to be one of my favorites. The Halifax seaport. Farmers market, it's, housed in a former seaport. Terminal, right on the waterfront across. From George's Island a tiny island with, a small lighthouse, founded. In 1750. It's the oldest, continually, operating farmer's. Market in North America, the. Market is filled with vendors, selling everything you, can make baked catch or grow it's, a great place to come on the weekend and pick up some goodies, from. Farm stands, and pastries. To handcrafted. Jewelry and bath bombs there's. A lot to explore, Halligan, Ian's love coming here the. Vendors are personal, it's all. Pawns. There. They're unique the market has a lot of different. Food from different cultures, that we really like to explore so. We usually get, some dumplings from. Shaylen we. Like the African. Food we're big fans of goat, everyone. Has their favorite vendors. Bliss. Bowles is a relative, newcomer to the market and I've been eager to try their vegan smoothie, bowls each. One is like a little work of art no, surprise bliss, bowls shines on Instagram, toppings. Like hemp seeds fresh, fruit and coconut plus. A variety of sauces arranged, in pleasing designs, make, these bowls very, appealing, Laura. McLeod is co-owner. So. The two smoothie Bowl flavors we have the gratitude Bowl and the OSHA Bowl the, ocean, Bowl is, kind. Of tropical flavors, so it has mango, and pineapple and banana it's. A little bit sweeter and the, gratitude Bowl is mixed, berry base with spinach, and, so, it's not quite as sweet really.
Fun I, opted. For the ocean, Bowl it's, topped with rows of granola. Coconut. Chia, seeds and finished, with a fan of apple slices and a, drizzle, of caramel, tahini, sauce, all. Set there you go looks, beautiful I can't wait to try it I, grab. A seat by the window and, settle in to indulge with, a bit of sweetness this, bliss Bowl is delicious. Nutritious, smoothie. Goodness. The. Market is also host to craftspeople. Of all kinds. Donna. Hopper, of Ash works kitchen accessories, hand crafts her products, out of wood the, cutting boards catch my attention we. Make almost everything out of Canadian white ash each. Board, is different and features, patterns, from geometric, and check board to straight and curved, lines, and. We work with the different parts of the tree so the white ash tree has a nice dark heart to it the, SAP wood around the outside of the tree is nice and light and, I take the SAP wood and the heartwood and I book matching mirror image to create the patterns that you see here makes, a really dramatic design. And, its unique to white, ash we, call them heirloom, cutting, the last a lifetime, yeah it seems almost too almost too beautiful to use for a cutting board we, have a lot of people say that. One. Market hazard, is the number, of food samples, you can't walk by the maritime, gourmet, nut company, and owner Bob dunnsworth without, a taste, do. Something spicy I can try oh yes what do you like I. Got a 1 X here it's a peanut and, I. Also have a cereal, mix of time a little. Bit differently, but. The peanut I have two different levels of heat right now I have a third one but I sold out its its react it's, really hot it's called. Stupid odd well. This one the One X has got a little bit of a kick to it so I can only imagine the 3 X after. All those samples, I could use a drink, luckily, there, are many beer, and spirit, vendors here at the market like, Steinhardt, distillery, an award-winning. Craft distillery, based in Antigonish, County Nova, Scotia Michael. O'Donnell, takes me through the product line what. Do you have here we. Have spirits, vodka. Gin rum and LeCure what do you have for flavored gin flavor gin our best, selling product, or our. Best selling bottle. Barb, gin I'd, love to try that yeah the rhubarb sure, thing, oh. That's. That's nice I don't know if I would have right away said it's, rhubarb uber what if I would have known that yeah. It's um it is a little warmer as well we keep all of our gins at 47 and a half percent alcohol so you still get all that warmth up front then, about midway through you get that that, rhubarb flavor it's a good way to start the morning. The, market is also a great place for a coffee date and we've, got one with local award-winning, author Sarah. Soler sarah. Has written several regional, bestsellers, including 100.
Things You don't know about Nova, Scotia so. Sarah thank you for meeting with me I. Want to meet up with you because I understand, that you know a lot, about, Halifax. That you know a lot of fascinating, facts, well. I'm so glad you did reach out because I love, talking about Halifax, I love talking about random facts and telling stories about places history, okay so let's get into it all right so Halifax, is one of the oldest cities in Canada and, it's been the site of a lot of firsts, so did you come across any interesting. Firsts, well, the. First, coffee, house that was licensed, was, owned by William Pickett and that was just over on Argyle Street, not, far from where we are right now and so something that Halifax, is known for today is, drinking. Establishments. Yes and. I'm gonna guess that that has always been the case, well, actually I, was, doing a little bit of research before before. We talk today because I wanted to just check and see if anything's changed. So although we do now have the second, most. Pubs, per capita, in Canada, of any city in Canada I think st., John's holds the record for that right now it, wasn't until the 1970s. That. Were mid 1970s. That women, and men could, drink together in taverns, women, had their own places to drink and. They. Changed, in the 1970s. Because they decided that women would be a good, influence on, the, men. Apparently. They thought it would keep them in line so I heard, that you uncovered, some interesting facts about pirates. And of course Halifax, is on the water it's a port city so that makes sense so what did you find out about pirates, and Halifax, everyone, is fascinated by pirates including, me so, when. I started. Writing this book, and those articles of course I gravitated, towards them one. Of the things that I found that I thought was quite interesting is that the last piracy, trial was actually held here, in Halifax in, 1844. That was the trial of Edward Jordan and he, was sentenced because, he had actually, boarded, someone. Else's, it. Was a merchant scooter, he aborted and he had actually slaughtered. You, know most of the crew. Somebody. Managed to escape and then, ended up contacting, the Royal Navy they put out an alert and. Edward Jordan was, I, would. Assume arrested, when whatever, the Royal Navy's procedures, would have been at that time right and. He. Ended up being hung on Blackrock, Beach over, in Point Pleasant Park which is one of the places where pirates were commonly hung and, his. Remains, actually hung there for 20, years that's. Crazy. And disgusting, yeah would. He have been like coated, in would he you just would have been turned okay like as a warning, to other pirates, for all to see this is this will happen to you will be tarred and hung, and left on Blackrock, Beach for 20 years. That's. Exactly what it was well you said that was the last trial so perhaps. It was effective, it might, have worked so, do, you think that you've uncovered everything. That there is to know about Halifax, or do you still have more facts to uncover, absolutely. Not there's still so. Much more to uncover and so many new things that are happening that will become interesting. Facts exactly. Postcards. From Halifax, we'll be right back. Welcome. Back to postcards from, Halifax, I'm Laura Bayne. Surrounded. By sparkling, ocean the city of Halifax has, always been known for its incredible seafood but. Over the last few years its, food scene has grown tremendously, making. It a destination, for, foodies and food artisans, alike, if you. Find yourself in Halifax, craving, something sweet, we've got just the place for you fortune. Donut with. Over 10,000, Instagram, followers, their handmade, gourmet, doughnuts, featuring, over-the-top, decorations. And flavors appeal, to all of the senses, I'm. At the doughnut shop to meet up with production, manager, Mandy, Dunning, basically. When you walk in here hit. In the face with a whole bunch of really bright bold, colors, a lot of the walls are decorated in a lot of like.
Donut Fortuneteller. Circusy. Kind of artwork up on the walls so it's just like a really fun environment to walk into and like kids love it but. Most are immediately, drawn to the display of donuts stuffed, sprinkled, drizzled, or dipped in an eye-popping, array, of colors, and flavors, you. Guys sometimes have some really crazy like off-the-wall flavors, and I have like banana nerds today, and there's only actually like cotton candy yes, how, do you come up with the flavors honestly. It's just it's. Us hanging, out in the back and talking. And, researching. Bang Mandy. And her team come up with an ever-changing menu. Of delicious, donuts like birthday. Confetti, cake oreo, peanut. Butter and jam with chocolate, vanilla, sundae, party, and moon, mist a uniquely. East Coast combination. Of grape, banana, and bubblegum, what's. Been the most popular doughnut, you guys I've made the. Moon this has been flying off the shelves lately how. Many donuts do you guys sell in the run of a day um. Different. Points of the week are probably, a little bit different but for a, Saturday, of the Saturday coming up we're gonna be doing roughly. 2000. That's. A lot of donuts to get ready mandy, offers me the chance to try my hand at it so. Mandy what do we have here in front of us on the table okay, so to, start we've got our like the base of the yeast donut and, then from there you would take your donut dip it into our fondant, or glaze or whatever you're deciding, to do with it and. Then you can take your toppings, like we've, got some Reese's Pieces score, bits, Reese's. Cups nerds. Regular, sprinkles, little chocolate pieces you. Can dip it into that sprinkle, it on there and then we've also got things like like, butterscotch, caramel, chocolate. Things to drizzle on top Wow, amazing. Okay and you picked banana, fondant, because I said that that was a flavor that I liked, all right so why don't you show me how it's done so, basically what you would start doing is you, would mix up your fondant, they usually sit in little hot warmers so that it stays warm, so. You'd mix it up just to make sure that you kind of get, it a little sticky there you take your donut can. You kind of drop it in I do a little bit of a twist just, to kind of make sure it's on there you're, just dipping the one side of it yeah you just dip the one side and then you can take a little bit of an offset here, and you kind of got your cool, little thing here and then you can either.
Rim It or, dip half of it or. However, you want. Bacon, kind of takes chocolate, just. Do a little drizzle over top then. You go to banana, chocolate. Peanut, butter donut okay, that sounds amazing, I'm, gonna give it a try it's gonna be way Messier absolutely, I try. To dip it in the fondant like Mandy did but, it comes out less, than perfect. Okay. We can fix it Mandy. Uses an offset, spatula to fix my mess then, I copy her by going for the Reese's Pieces whoa, okay, covered. In Reese's Pieces. Mandy's. Donut is perfection. Mine. Is a monster, that I topped with caramel sauce, looks. Beautiful. Okay. So all that's left to do is give this a try absolutely. Looks like it's gonna be really really messy. Hmm. That. Is so fresh yeah, crunchy. With the Reese's Pieces you can have all the little textures, in there the fondant is still a little warm I think. That's a winner yeah. Speaking. Of winners our, next, hot spot was the recipient of a leftenant governor's, Design Award in architecture. In 2014. And a, Governor General's medal and architecture, in 2016. The, Halifax Central Library is a striking, modern, building, some, say the off-center, angles, of the five-story, glass building. Make it look like a stack of books for. An insider's, tour we're, meeting up with chief librarian, and CEO, Ossie Kachin, so. We are on the main, floor of Halifax, Central Library in Halifax Nova Scotia and, one, of the things that people tell me when they enter is that they walk in and they immediately, there's, a transparency to the building they can see around the building they, see people everywhere, they look it gives an immediate, sense of welcome because. It. Is full of people everywhere and that's, a perfect message to people that they're free to roam they're free to explore yea and that's how it feels is like a space where everybody might be welcome I'm. Wondering you can tell me on the first floor here what there is for people to do we have a range of public used computers, we have Paula Regan Hall which hosts. A myriad, of events, so one day it might be a university, lecture the next day it might be a symphony concert for, free or, it might be Margaret. Atwood who was here earlier this year, we. Have this this, fascinating. System where people return the books through the book slot and then they can see it go up and come. Through the ceiling of the library, and they can then come and peek through the window into our circulation room and see where it comes out it's. A little bit like Charlie's Chocolate Factory and. We also have a small cafe so, gone, are the days when you get kicked out of the public library for bringing your cup of coffee now you can actually get your cup of coffee at the library and a sandwich and you. Know you could have a pizza delivered here if you needed to so we, have become very food friendly and we have this beautiful installation. Behind us called library card so I'm wondering what you can tell me about that, so before. Central Library was opened we put a call to artists, and the winning artist was an artist named cliff Phelan and he has created this wonderful, installation. Of. 5,000. Essentially, 5,000, individual, art, pieces, that, are installed, like. Cards, on a wall yeah and it's huge so you could spend a lot of time kind of looking. Through that's right.
Osa. And I head upstairs using. Some of the many beautiful crisscross, staircases, and walkways that span the interior, with, skylights, above us as we climb we, stop on the fourth floor of the five-story, building so. Oh say can you tell me where we are now and behind us of course is the. Beautiful atrium oh this is a lovely place. To stand you you get the sunlight shining in on you but then you also have that ability to peek down and watch life unfold. So, can you tell me a little bit about what the vision, was for this library hmm. So this library was, really, designed, to reflect the aspirations, of our community, there. Was a lot of conversation about the kind of city we want to be so, can. We create a public, space that. Houses. All of our aspirations for the future of Halifax, for the way we want to live together with one another so not so much the you know books, videos, picture. Books piece it was more the aspiration, of the life who wanted to share that really, define, the space so, people talked, about, they. Wanted something that was environmentally. Sound so this is a LEED Gold building they, talked about, creativity. They talked about serendipity so, the idea of building a, space. Where, of course it has what you expect but when you come in you'll, probably discover, something, unexpected, the, library goers are allowed to move the furniture there's. A space for everyone whether, you're looking for solitude, or to socialize, can. You tell me about the First Nation Circle and why that wasn't right we knew in the building of this building that we wanted to acknowledge that we. Were built on the land of the make my people so we worked for the midmark community, and we have a lovely First Nation circle on the third, floor of the library it's. A circular seating. Area that is open and it's open to the east. And it has an eight-pointed, star built. Into the flooring, in the midst of the circle so designed. Using. Colors that that have, strong meaning for them in my community, the. Library, is one of the most physically, accessible, buildings in Halifax, with, features like spacious. Elevators, and washrooms, Braille, signs and tactile, indicator, strips, the. Seamless, integration of these elements make, it feel like a welcomed space for all our, final. Stop on the tour is the 5th floor a favorite, space for many visitors it, feels, like a quiet space today so, we put on our librarian, voices, so. As a we're in the living room right now why is this called the living room so, this is called the living room because it is the space, it's sort. Of the lounge where people can come and spend time it, is also. Visually. One, of the most beautiful, beautiful parts. Of the building and by. Naming, it the living room was a way for us to denote that everybody, is welcome here, surrounded. By windows the, living room offers a million-dollar, view, of downtown Halifax including. The harbor at no, cost. Well. It seems like a perfect place for us to end so thank you so much for the tour oh you're. Welcome anytime. Postcards. From Halifax, we'll be right back. Welcome. Back to postcards from Halifax, I'm Laura, Bayne. One. Of Halifax's great public, spaces is the grand parade, located. In the heart of the city and commonly, referred to by locals as parade, square it, was originally, designed as a public, and military drill square at the. North end you'll find halifax, city hall built. In the late 1800s. The, elegant, three-story. Sandstone. Building, has a seven, story clock tower with, bells that ring every, 15, minutes. Grand. Parade dates back to the founding of Halifax, in 1749, so. It's a great place to soak in some history in fact, the oldest, building in Halifax, st. Paul's Church is right behind me at the squares South End, built. In 1750. St., Paul's is the oldest, surviving Protestant. Church in Canada and as a designated, National, Historic Site the. Church played an important, role as an emergency, medical site and temporary, morgue after nearly 2,000. Residents were killed in the Halifax, Explosion in. 1917. Approaching. The church from Argyle Street you, can take in a heli famous, oddity, the face in the window, surrounded. By mystery, the, story is that at the moment of the blast a church deacon was standing, by the window and the, heat forever, etched his image in the glass.
Grand, Parade is used year-round for, outdoor public events, I, know. What that Bell means that's, Town Crier will Brewer let's go meet up with him. Town. Criers date back to the 18th, century, god, bless the mayor and Halifax. Halifax. Has kept the tradition, alive today. The town criers main role is ceremonial. And to make announcements, at special, events so. Will your hellofax is town crier is that right whose correction, can, you tell me about the very fancy, outfit that you have on today of course, it's an 18th century livery. Made. Out of a wonderful. Fabric, with. The gold button well, of course a lot of red and, white. And. Black so yeah yeah, it's very ornate looking, and you've got on the is it called a tricorn hat the three pointed hat that is correct so what made you want to be a town crier the reason why why, I wanted, to be in South Korea because I'm. Not I'm not just a strong advocate, for Down. Syndrome but also in, the disabled, community but. Also the, reason why. Is because I've, been, a public speaker and now I'm doing it louder, than ever, you definitely are doing it louder than ever I've noticed that you have one heck of a set of pipes on you and you sort of do a good, cry so. What do you think makes a good friar. Well. You, don't have a good voice box. Good. Stature. Well. Almost, like me you, can't be on script but, I'm not, always so, can I give it a try, of course, okay. I'll take your Bell here and just give it a give it a nice big ring and a oh yay Oh. What. Do you think do I, have. What it takes you did a good, job of, my steady. Alexander. Keith's started, brewing beer and Halifax back, in the 1820s. I'm. At the historic, Keith's brewery, which is one of the oldest in Canada to, take a tour learn, some history and best, of all taste, some beer I'm, Laura hi nice to meet you welcome, to alexander, keith's Nova Scotia brewery I meet, my first tour guide Christian, in a recreation. Of Keith's original, study with, the addition of a few beer taps, so. This is our India Pale Ale and that is the brewery responsible, for mr. Keith's incredible, legacy if you'd like to give it a set absolutely. Hmm. Nice and refreshing, it's a good way to start the tour, alexander. Keith's emigrated, to nova scotia from Scotland and started, his brewery at the age of 25. He. Also became, a respected, local citizen, and was City Mayor several, times, we. Have a number of interesting, artifacts, in here on the wall right next to the stairs we actually have is authentic, 200. Year old master. Brewing certificates oh nice, so. Laura now we are on the timeline, we've got a number of artifacts, up here, so the first I'd like to point out is we have a replica. Of alexander, keith's watch and, it has actually inset, with sapphires. And each of those sapphires is meant to represent one of his children and his wife. And just, over here at the end we have a newspaper article from just a few years ago when, a local died of her actually, found a partially, filled bottle, of alexander, keith's beer that was 125. Years old oh wow. Then. I meet up with my next tour guide Sophie, to learn about the beer making process, so welcome. To the office of our brew master Stefan giggly arty this, is where he likes to experiment with ingredients for all of his new creations. And so you have a lot of jars of things around and I can smell lots of aromas in here so I'm guessing this is just like where you have all, the different things that might go into making the different flavors, absolutely. Lots, of different ingredients and every beer will be a bit different as well Keith's. Commercial, beers are made elsewhere this, historic, building site, is now dedicated to making small batch craft, brews, how, about main ingredients, that go into making beer will be pure, water then. The next one is malted, barley and I have some here if you'd like to try some yeah sure I'll get that it tastes great. Just. Like a little, seed, type thing yeah it's like it's a cereal grain it's. Been terminated, a little bit mm-hmm crunchy, and then, the next ingredient that we add is going to be hops and I have some here as well you can smell, if you like. Yeah. So enough to me smells really citrusy maybe, like some grapefruit, absolutely. Yeah citrus, and sort of a floral, scent. Or aroma is usually the main things that people get from hops, Sophie. Takes me through the high-ceilinged, brew house this. Is where the art and the science of brewing will come together to create the beer we make here Keith's. Craft beers are often locally inspired and I'm eager to try some. I. Finished. My tour in the stonewalled, tasting, room where there's a Kayleigh or maritime, music party in full swing but. First things first I stopped, at the bar and order a brew from Stephanie. This. Is our Argyle roots IPA, back. In the day when the. Lower Water Street brewery was being built alexander. Keith's was operating.
Out Of a Berean on Argyle, Street in downtown Halifax its, clocking, in at 6% alcohol by volume and, 30, IBUs, that stands for international. Bittering units okay, I'll give it a try it smells nice and light yeah. Roll. It around your mouth see the flavor the body mmm. That's nice and bubbly and just has like a light fruity taste this is definitely one that I could easily, enjoy, a whole glass of I'm glad you enjoyed it my. Tour is just a small taste of what you can expect on the Keith brewery tour finishing. My beer I can't help but think about Alexander Keith and the, fact that his beer legacy, lives on some, 200, years later. Stay. Tuned postcards. From Halifax, will return. I'm, laura bane and this is postcards. From hellofax. The. Large hill overlooking, the harbor led, the British military, to found the city of Halifax here. In, 1749. On unseated. Nigma territory. Many. Early settlers built, their homes around, the base of what is now called Citadel, Hill and it's fair to say it's still at the heart of the city, the. Current fortification. Is the fourth to be built and is known as Fort George from. May to October the, Parks Canada site, is busy, with historical, reenactors, and visitors, the. Fort is open year-round and on the day I visit, I take a quiet snowy, walk inside, the garrison, and climb, up a rampart, for a better view, the. Empty grounds have an eerie feel and the, old fort has been the site of many reported. Ghost sightings. Visiting. Halifax, Citadel National, Historic, Site is a must do during any trip to Halifax. Most. Halla go nians living, or working downtown enjoy. The area of the hill outside of the fort walls its, slopes are popular, for sledding in the winter and lounging. In the summer. Many. Runners and walkers head, up the hill daily, for a bit of exercise and a spectacular view, of the city but. Be wary if you do so at 12 noon because. The noonday gun can. Really, give you a startle. Well. I'm awake let's, head back down the hill on the. East side of the hill you'll find the town clock one, of Halifax is most iconic, landmarks the clock, is a three-story, Tower built, atop a one-story, white clapboard building. Which, used to house the clocks caretaker. The. Town clock has been keeping time and Halifax since, 1803. The. Africville. Museum, is a little off the beaten track but it's a place every, visitor to Halifax should check out Africville. Was one of Canada's first black settlements, and it, stood here on the shores of the Bedford Basin the. Museum is housed in a reconstruction, of Sea United, Baptist Church and that's, where I've arranged, to meet up with Africville, museum executive director.
Juanita Peters the. Community. Of Africville. Has. Been on the shores of Bedford, Basin since, the late 1700s. The. People who lived there came, after. The American Revolution, the war of 1812, and, black refugees, it was a very unique community in that it was, small. Contained. It had businesses, of its own it had, its own post office, and. People worked. And thrived in Africa. Everybody. Knew everybody and, so when. People talk about their life in Africa field they talk about the comforts, of Africville. Of living, on the shores of eating out of the Bedford, Basin of. Knowing. Everybody, that was in every household, but. Discrimination. Made things difficult, despite. The fact that residents, of Africville paid, taxes, the, city of Halifax failed, to provide even the most basic municipal. Services. There. Was no running water, there. Was no, garbage, pickup. You. Know all the things you would normally get, with paying your taxes, pave roads how simple is bad and even. Though the residents, asked for those services, the, city refused, and went, on to add insult, to injury, over. Time there, were a number of things that were, built, and put around. The, village of Africville things. Like the. Abattoir, the infectious, disease hospital. The, open, dump, things. That nobody. Would want in their community, and of course over. Time it starts to. Devalue. The property, in, 1964. Without, meaningful consultation, with residents, the city made the decision, to relocate the residents, of Africville, and bulldoze. The community, why. Did the city want, them to move. At. That time the, the, narrative that was given to people was. That they were moved in. The name of urban renewal. However. If, you look around today and look over the land you'll, see that not much has happened, since. The, dislocation. And so, that is also very painful. For residents, as well one. Of the things that people. Still, talk about as the painful, part of that, dislocation, is not, just how much they were devalued. In what they were given for their property, but, how they were moved, so. They talk about being moved out in the, city garbage trucks. So. You. Know you add insult. To injury and, add, to the trauma what effect did it have on people, where. They were moved to what what what. Impact did that have on people being split up sure. The. Impact, is, great. It's. A grand impact, in that, people, are, removed. From each other and the, safety and security of each other your. Life has changed so, you've you've, built over generations. A community. And households. And now, you're, living in something that's not yours, so. A lot of people moved. Into into. Public housing there. Instead, of being surrounded. By these beautiful waters. And the scenery that you see today and was there then they. Are now surrounded, by a, lot, of pavement, and brick and cement and. And. And, and just not the quality, of life that, you would have when you're in a, safe. Community the. Museum preserves the, history of Africa, fill through, photographs, artifacts. And listening. Stations, which, offer visitors, the chance to hear archival, stories from the community. Why. Do you think that it's important for people to learn about, Africville. And what happened to it I think. It's important, for people to understand, and. Know, Canadian. History first and foremost. Really. Important, to understand. The. Role. That African. Nova Scotians, have, played, in.
Establishing. Nova. Scotia and the role, that we have put played the. History as long as we have been here you know I'm eighth generation. African. Nova Scotian, and not too many people can say that in. 2010. The, city of Halifax officially. Apologized, for the destruction of Africville and today. Every. Summer the site is host to former residents, and their families for. A reunion that celebrates, the history and enduring. Legacy, of the community, of Africville. Now. It's time to hit the water the. Halifax Dartmouth, ferry is a great, and inexpensive way, to see, the city the. Ride takes about 12 minutes and you'll be treated to views at the harbour the Macdonald, bridge and two city skylines, the. Halifax, Dartmouth, ferry began operation. In 1752. And is, the oldest, saltwater ferry in North America, the, top deck is outside, great, for good weather and taking, in the salty air there's. Also an inside, bottom deck that's accessible, and has, a spot for bicycles, the. Ferries traveled, back and forth frequently. But, we aren't headed back to Halifax just, yet there's, lots to explore in, downtown Dartmouth. Once. A separate City Dartmouth, is now part of Halifax, there. Was a time when Dartmouth was regarded, as a little rough around the edges it, even, earned the nickname the dark side but, things have changed, within. The last decade an explosion, of new rental developments, and locally, owned shops have, made downtown, Dartmouth the place to live or visit some. Even call it the Brooklyn of Halifax. Restaurants. Like the canteen, the Portland, Street Creperie and Lake, City cider all on, Portland Street are often. Packed, another. Fun place to visit is, New Scotland Yard Emporium. Multiple. Juno award-winning singer-songwriter, Joel, Plaskett is the owner I've. I've been working on Portland Street since. 2012-13. Now. And so I've. Kind of watched it change a lot over the last number. Of years it's been nice to be part of it can you tell me a little bit about the the, New Scotland Yard for the studio space that you opened yeah well the space were in here this is my recording, studio it's a commercial, space like I have a guy who runs the place and I.
Built. It so that I would have a place to work but also that it could be a place that other. Musicians, could rent if they wanted to make a record aside. From the studio the, New Scotland Yard Emporium, is also, a cafe and record, store music. For me is the, sort, of is, the world I inhabit and so, having a. Musical. Space and then a shop that sells music, and we're often musicians, come in or you know there's people talking music there's records on all the time that's. Nice and so, records and coffee to me sort of go. Hand in hand, you. Obviously. Could have chosen to move away go to Toronto why is it that you chose to stay and create a life here the, community, here, has been supportive, of what I do. So. I felt really fortunate, to, have. Dug in my heels here. And have had and to have had an audience and a community that's supported. Me. On a musical, level but also on a business level I think, it's always been you. Know Dartmouth, from, a Halifax point of view was always how to ads through the dark side or whatever would but I think people who lived here I got the impression that there was always a sense. Of pride at the place but also what kind of kind. Of like a don't tell too many people. You. Know I leave. Joel to finish my downtown, Dartmouth, walking tour I can't. Miss getting one of the famous quests ons from - if by sea cafe, on Oktar Lough Neagh Street did, I get a quiz on Fleet. So. Good but, now I need to burn some calories, from. Downtown Dartmouth you can hook on to one of the city's nicest, accessible, walking trails the. Dartmouth Harbor walk runs, along, the water and offers. Amazing, views of the Halifax skyline. The. 3.8 kilometer, trail ends. Next to the Woodside ferry terminal, another, ferry which conveniently. Runs, back and forth to Halifax. Postcards. From Halifax, we'll be right back. I'm. Laura Bain and this is postcards. From Halifax. The. Halifax waterfront, is full of interesting stops, and one, of them is Nova Scotian crystal, customer. Experience, representative, Stacy Latham, Murphy welcomes, me into their sparkling, showroom, of glassware, what.
Do You think it is about the crystal that is so special, to people yeah, I really, think it is the handmade nature of our product, this, is the only place that you can see crystal, being made like this in Canada so, it really, kind of brings, the whole thing to life Nova. Scotian crystal was started, by a group of Irish immigrants, who wanted to preserve this ancient and vanishing, craft can. You tell me a little bit more about what, goes on here so, we start with our pot, in the pot is the vessel that melts the raw material, our raw material, is melted to about 13 to 1,400, degrees Celsius, so very hot you have to like the heat to work here for short and, then our craftsmen, work in a team so, of either three to five people depending, on what they're making our, craftsmen, use a glowing. Irons to actually, create the shape using, their breath as well and then, they drop it into a mold and then that's gonna create the final shape of the piece the. Piece is then cooled, in our annealing, oven then, we have to go through a variety of finishing. Processes, to make sure that the pieces are ready for our cutters. Christel. Cutting requires extreme. Precision, one. Piece might have up to several hundred cuts. Kieran. Bowles is a master, cutter, can. You tell me a little bit more about the cutting process yeah. The cutting process is we, use industrial, diamond wheels and water, in the pattern is in our memory. And in our mind and stuff and there's, different angles you can take and that's what all the apprentices, have deep to go in each cut, so they're all the same depth and it's. Just a lot of time and effort. To learn how, did you get into. Into. Working with crystal my, father was a master, crystal. Maker and Waterford crystal in Ireland and when. He retired, from Waterford, yeah he's owned small crystal, place in Ireland so I learned there, just, stead of the. Fact availability. So I was, started. When I was about 14 part-time and then, full time at 18 and then it. Was tough. Times and earlier in that time and we, moved all the equipment over here with auto craftsmen and stuff so I guess I came with the equipment, Ciaran. Shows me a glass with, a locally, inspired pattern, called Citadel, what. Type of pattern would this be that's in, here okay. It's down. Here the crisscross patterns, are called Carroll and, that you described, that as any pattern of crosses, over itself and, then, these great long cuts are uprights, right. And so obviously, Citadel, big connection, to Halifax here, and so, just this seems like a very sort, of clean simple, pattern yeah very traditional, and the uprights were kind of.
Representing. Like soldiers standing upright tying, guard on the central oil this glass is very hefty when, you when. You handed it to me I have to say like this really has a lot of weight, in your hand and that's probably something that, people really notice when they come and pick up them especially, for full leg crystal we're full leg crystal so that's, way to it and, it. Just, value. For your money, exactly. A piece. Or a set, of Nova. Scotian crystal might, make the perfect souvenir from, your trip to Halifax or, if you're on a budget I've got, a spot where you can take a postcard, worthy selfie. Just, an hour's drive from downtown Halifax, is, Peggy's, Cove a picturesque. Fishing, village and popular, tourist spot. Peggy's. Point Lighthouse built, in 1915. Has made this one of the most photographed, locations. In Canada. Walking. Along the rocks is a popular, activity here but be careful, many, tourists, have lost their lives by getting too close to the edge being, hit by a powerful wave and getting swept out into the ocean the, rule is to only walk on the dry white rocks and to stay off of the black rocks as advised, by many posted, signs. Depending. On the time of year you visit a tour, of the village is a fun activity it's. A small place with fishing boats colorful. Houses and a restaurant. Peggy's. Cove is a special, place but. I've got one more spot in Halifax, I want, to show you. The. Ameri oval is open year-round in, the summer Halligan, Ian's come here to enjoy activities, like cycling, roller, skating, and skateboarding while. In the winter it's the smooth ice that's the big draw, the, spacious, track is the size of three NHL hockey rinks, making, it the largest artificially. Refrigerated, ice surface, east of Quebec City the. Oval has a ton of equipment available. To rent at no cost and they've, put an emphasis on accessibility. I catch. Up with Shawna Moulton, Aquatic, and Leisure Specialist, with Parks and Recreation to. Learn more Shawna. Can you tell me what kind of adaptive, equipment you have here at the oval so here at the oval we have four, specific pieces, of adapted equipment we have our sledge which. Is the same sled used, for sledge, hockey, that. Can be self propelled with the sticks, or someone, could push. The person behind, them we. Also have for, the snow we have a kick sled so. It's a wooden seat with. Runners and the person can push behind, them and then actually have the opportunity, to sort of jump on the rails when, you get go away slick and glide along with you we. Have a snow coach it's very similar, and, is more of a bucket seat so it's more comfortable to sit in move, us have a hippo camp which, is wonderful we have a snow blade for that, or, just the wheels and house. Have you guys tried to make the Oval an accessible, place but. We recently, installed a. Hoyer, lift so. That now, someone. Could, come down and hook. Their sling up and transport. From their. Wheelchair, to, the sledge or one of our other pieces of equipment and, we also, have our. Accessible. Washroom is down at the end of our hallway and everything, is on one level what. Sort of feedback have you gotten from people that are using the equipment oh we're getting a ton of positive feedback a little, bit of disappointment that we haven't forgetten gonna watch snow in Halifax, to enjoy our kick, sleds and snow coaches, but.
We Have a free learn to sledge program, on Saturday mornings, people, can register for online and that's been hugely popular I, decide. To swap my government-issued. ID for, a pair of size eight figure skates it's. A bit crowded but I managed to borrow one of the staff to be my guide it's, a beautiful, day for a skate, once. You do. Exactly. Although. You start to feel it in your in your, ankles definitely. The. Ameri oval is a great place to end my hellofax, travel, log if you're, planning a trip here I hope I've given you some ideas, for adventures, and if you weren't I hope I've inspired you to come and visit this beautiful place I call home. Post. Laura Bain producer. Wendy, Purvis videographer. Andrew, pick up additional camera, operators, mark, Hammond Hannah Giffen editor, Andrew, pick up field audio Cory, CL media. Accessibility, specialist, Simone, Cupid audio. Post Marc Phoenix graphics. Mike Smith senior. Producer, Michelle dudas president. And CEO David, Arrington, copyright. 2020, accessible, media Inc. You.
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