2011 Natal Days Festival, Part 1: July 28-Aug 1, 2011

It's that time of year again. For the 116th summer, the five day celebration of Halifax's founding and three-time mayor, Alexander Keith. rolled into town for a funstravaganza that is unrivalled in the Maritimes. It's kind of sad to admit, but Natal Days seems to be an even bigger event in Halifax than Canada Day.

As a special treat, the HMCS Montreal was open to the public on the Waterfront. I didn't go on it this year, because the lineup was huge, and I was rushed to get to my next event. However, regular readers will remember the Navy Centennial was celebrated here last year, and I boarded the HMCS Athabaskan then. I suspect this ship looked very similar from on deck.

From here, it was time to head to the Public Gardens for the annual Mayor's Tea Party.

There was a live swing band, poppin' out the tunes, and plenty of dancing going on. However, it must be said I was a bit out of my demographic...

I didn't pay any attention to my age though, for there were cookies to be eaten and they weren't going to eat themselves.

This being the United Nations Year of the Person of African Descent, a gospel concert as well as a hip-hop concert were put on in the Central Commons. All total, there was about 8 hours of music, and I know some of these people stayed for the whole thing. I hope they put on some sunscreen.

Of course, what would a holiday be in Halifax without fireworks? After the concert, at 9:30 PM, the best fireworks show I've ever seen in Halifax was launched. Only 150 or so metres away in a ball-diamond, the low level fireworks boomed like thunder as they lit up the sky just over our heads.

After the first fireworks show, I rushed down to the Waterfront again to see what was supposed to be the best Bridge fireworks show ever, or at least that's how it was billed. I'm certain it would have been too, if I could have seen it. A colossal planning error meant no one on the Halifax side of the harbour could actually see the fireworks. Furthermore, the show was so far away that I could barely hear them either. It was a disappointing way to end the day, but I made sure to show everyone around my pictures from the Commons fireworks show to let them know what they missed.

Random Halifax Picture #16

Unfortunately, I missed the now annual Commons Powwow - Mawio'mi - but I was able to catch the very very last song of the entire weekend event. This is a bunch of, soon to be voiceless, boys singing "Victory Song." I can attest that the sound is as intense as it sounds from this close.

HRM Point of Interest #21: Outdoor Oval

Later this month, some many hundreds of the best amateur athletes in Canada will arrive in Halifax for the 2011 Canada Winter Games. In preparation for this, the city of Halifax built a massive outdoor long track speed skating oval, the circumference of which being larger than the length of three football fields.

Since the oval was built on the Commons, the city decided to provide a once-in-a-life-time opportunity for the citizens of Halifax to lace up a pair of skates and skate on an Olympic sized speed skating oval for free.

7 days a week, from... well, at least before Christmas, until just before the Games start on February 11 the city of Halifax has/will open up the oval (with its own Zamboni) to the public. There are even free skating lessons offered daily, and free helmet and skate rentals too.

From my understanding, the city of Halifax had planned to make this a one time affair. However, the response from the citizens of Halifax has been so overwhelming, that various aldermen have supported making the oval a permanent winter fixture on the Commons.

I, for one, couldn't be more in favour of such a move. While I was skating on the oval a few weeks ago, there were at least 300 other people on the ice, not including the 500 other people waiting to get skates, drinking hot chocolate, or simply resting.

Not only would it be a fantastic use of a public space that is otherwise wasted during the winter months, but it's also an obviously effective way of getting citizens to be more active (in a country where this is badly needed). In fact, I'm prepared to make an EP Declaration right now, that this is the best use of public funds by a city, ever!

7th Annual Dykes vs. Divas Softball "Game": July 18, 2010

The Halifax Pride Week, from July 18-25, the third-largest gay pride event in Canada, can't officially be considered "under way", until the annual softball match between the Dykes and the Divas has been played. The Dykes team consists of, well... dykes, while the Divas team is an eclectic group of cross-dressing males.

(Yes, that is correct, the short stop for the Divas is sitting in a lawn chair at the second base "make-up station".)

The game drew a large crowd this year to the Halifax Commons - surprisingly large, with people lined up three or four deep around the entire fence, all the way to the outfield - and the play by play announcers were downright hilarious, if not a bit crude.

(Divas in the Outfield. Some of them even brought gloves this year - "a new look" according to the announcer.)

(Dykes score two to take an early first-inning lead.)

To be honest, I couldn't be bothered to watch even one full inning of this painful display of bad softball. The point of the match though, was to gain attention and raise money for charity. In that regard it was a huge success, although I wasn't the only person there who questioned its being labeled a "family event".

HRM Point of Interest #4: Victoria Park

Part of the original 1763, 235 acre land grant known affectionately today as "The Commons," the name Victoria Park came into usage in the 1880s to describe the thin green area, with peaceful tree lined path, adjacent to the Public Gardens. While not as popular as the Public Gardens, Victoria Park is much more peaceful, and is a popular place for employees at the nearby hospital to come and enjoy lunch. The park also contains three monuments erected by The North British Society to honour Robbie Burns, Sir William Alexander, and Sir Walter Scott, as well as the Colonel Sydney Oland Memorial Fountain.

(Oland Fountain in Victoria Park.)

(Monument to Robert Burns in the Victoria Park Plaza.)

Canada's 143rd Birthday (Canada Day): July 1, 2010

On July 1st, 1867, the British North America Act was signed creating the new nation of Canada. Since that time, Canada has had its ups and downs, but on this, the 143rd Birthday of Canada, the focus was on how much fun one ea-pea could cram into a single day.

Funapalooza '010 started at 8:00 AM, when I stood in line with over 300 other Haligonians to receive a free pancake breakfast on the Grand Parade in front of City Hall (yes, that building in the background). I was so hungry that I went back for seconds and thirds.

(Captain Canada, as I'm now calling him, hands out Canadian flags with his two daughters.)

(Square dancers entertain the crowds at the Grand Parade.)

While I was having breakfast, I also ran into my new Korean friend, Jeung Eun-gyo, whom I had met at the Membertou 400 Festival a week ago, and with whom I had gone to visit the ships during International Fleet Review Week.

At 9:00 AM, Eun-gyo, some of his classmates who later met us at the Grand Parade, and myself all walked over to Pier 21 where my new friends were having an orientation meeting because they would be volunteering with the Multicultural Festival happening from July 2-4. As you can see from the picture above, we ran into Captain Canada again along the board walk too.

At 10:30 AM, the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo's annual Canada Day Parade started, and by 10:45 or so it had made its way down to Spring Garden Road, led by the Mounties (above), where I was waiting curb side.

(Who doesn't love a good marching band?)

(Look at that precision!)

(Members of the Juliana Bicycle Team from Holland.)

(A different angle.)

At 11:30 AM it was time to head over to the Citadel, where admission was free for a special Canada Day presentation, including a performance by the Pipes and Drums of the 78th Highlanders, a 21-gun salute, and free birthday cake!

(The Pipes and Drums of the 78th Highlanders performing.)

(A cannon being fired during the 21-gun salute atop Citadel Hill.)

(Halifax mayor, Peter Kelly, hands out free Canada Day birthday cake to eager children and even more eager ea-peas.)

(Random tee pee in between the wall and one of the ramparts.)

(You are cordially invited to a Canada Day Dinner Party.)

After finishing my cake, I hurried over to the Commons where the annual Canada Day Family Picnic on the Commons was taking place. Since I wasn't a child, and I didn't have one, this wasn't very interesting to me, and I figured I shouldn't hang around too long taking pictures of other people's children, so I continued on to the next Funada Day event.

At 2:00 PM, the Public Gardens was hosting a free outdoor concert at the Band Stand. More importantly, they were also giving out free maple cookies.

It was also getting hot by this point in the day, so I broke down and bought some excellent hand-paddled vanilla-peanut butter-fudge ice cream at the Sugah! ice cream shoppe in the Gardens.

At 3:00 PM, I peddled my bicycle across the Angus L. Macdonald Bridge to Dartmouth for the Molson Canadian "Canada Rocks" free outdoor rock and roll concert, at Alderney Landing - along the waterfront of the north side of Halifax Harbour.

(The David Myles Trio - don't let the suits and instruments fool you, whether they're playing rockabilly, traditional Nova Scotia folk songs, their own brand of gospel, or "Bruce Springsteen rock and roll" songs about climate change, these guys know how to entertain a crowd. Check out their fabulous "Don't Drive Through", written for CBC Radio 2's Great Canadian Song Quest, track 3, here.)

The concert was not the only thing going on at Alderney Landing; there was also a gathering of local artists on the waterfront. In the picture above, Dave King, owner of the Pugcasso website, poses in front of the Halifax Harbour with his prints and original paintings (mostly of dogs). I decided to "support the arts" by buying a large magnet from him for $4.

(Doug MacCabe graciously poses with his painting of the famous Irish shoe store/pub, Dick Mack's. Doug is a medical researcher who paints in his spare time. He has dedicated his life to promoting the arts of all kinds in Nova Scotia.)

At 7:00 PM I cycled back across the bridge to the Sackville Landing on the Halifax side of the harbour to see Viva Flamenco perform a free hour long concert on the board walk. The concert also doubled as a fund-raiser for a maternal and child health care NGO providing much needed medical support in the worst damaged areas of Haiti.

(A middle-east inspired flamenco dance from Viva Flamenco.)

After the dancing, I hurried back to Dartmouth again to see more of the Canada Rocks concert. The Juno Award winning Halifax band, Joel Plaskett and The Emergencies, played a monster set from 8:00 PM until 10:00 PM, at which time everyone hustled over about 25 metres to the edge of the water to get a front row seat for the fire works display.

The fireworks only lasted about ten minutes, and then it was back to the music as the rockin' went on until midnight. By this time though, I was exhausted, and I set out on the half-hour ride back across the bridge and uphill to my home. With the great weather, and excellent entertainment, Halifax was definitely the place to be to celebrate Canada Day this year.

(The shore at Alderney Landing, lined with people, waiting to see the fireworks. The Macdonald bridge is in the background, while dozens of boats sit patiently as their passengers also await the start of the show.)

Membertou 400 Festival: June 25-27, 2010

When French explorer, Samuel de Champlain, arrived in the area of Canada known as Acadia, back in the early 1600s, the Chief of the local First Nations people was a man called Membertou. Membertou was a great and wise chief who was also exceptionally friendly and welcoming. He not only welcomed the French immigrants with open arms, but in a show of incredible good will and friendship, he and twenty members of his family agreed to be baptised in to the Catholic faith on June 24, 2010. This "adoption" of Christianity marked the beginning of 150 years of strategic friendship and alliance between the French and the Micmaq people in Atlantic Canada.

This weekend marks the 400th anniversary of that historic event, and to celebrate the spirit of sharing and openness that made Membertou and his band of Mikmaq people famous, a gigantic three day free outdoor festival was scheduled to take place on the Halifax Commons.

The Membertou 400 Festival contains three days of cultural education, story telling, singing, drumming, dancing, concerts, and an opportunity to purchase authentic jewellery, art, and other items made by local Mikmaq artists and craftsmen/women. The festival is also the largest of its kind ever to be held in Atlantic Canada, and is the realization of a life-long dream for many of those people involved in its creation and development.

(Each of the women's jingle dresses has 365 bells on it. They are incredibly heavy, and take an inordinately long time to sew on.)

(John Lafford, a Mikmaq from Eskasoni, starts the construction of an authentic wigwam. Over the course of the Festival, Lafford and his team will use the original materials and methods of wigwam making to give visitors a first-hand look at what it took to erect one of these traditional Mikmaq dwellings.)

(Hide tanner, Joe Googoo, prepares a bear skin for tanning. The process takes Joe roughly eight days, but he told me that the ancient Mikmaq people could tan a hide in only three.)

(A young Haligonian tries his hand at the traditional Mikmaq game called Waltes. The wooden dish is made out of rock maple, takes a week to carve, and costs $800. The point of the game is to try to bang the dish on the ground in an attempt to flip the bone discs over. Depending on the way in which the bones land - face up or face down - a player can win points, represented by the wooden sticks beside the bowl. Later, the players can force other players to "pay them" some of their sticks. Depending on the way the bones fall, a game of Waltes can last anywhere from five minutes to five days.)

(Local Mikmaq artist Stephen Quellet works on an original painting he'll most likely sell for over $3000, judging by the price of his other works.)

(Aw man! Why are the Mounties always pickin' on me? I wasn't doin' nothin', ya hear me? Nothin'!)

I singled out Friday, June 25, as my day to attend the Membertou 400 Festival, because of a one day only free outdoor live concert being given by Golden Globe and Acadamy Award winning, 3-Time Juno Award winning, and Governor General of Canada's Lifetime Acheivement Award winning rock/folk/country singing dynamo, Buffy St. Marie (visit her excellent website here).

Most people at 69 years old would be at home complaining about their joints, but Buffy St. Marie has a new album and is out touring with a live show that would put some artists, one-third of her age, to shame. Her works like "Up Where We Belong," "Until It's Time For You To Go," and many others, have been been covered by the likes of Elvis Presley, Joe Cocker, Barbara Streisand, Neil Diamond, and Janis Joplin. However, the song I really wanted to see her sing was her famous 1964 anti-war song "Universal Soldier", and I did see it, and now you can see it too, thanks to the video I shot (below).

Another highlight of the weekend, was the absolutely massive competition powwow. Not only was it the largest competition powwow, with some dancers competing for cash prizes, ever held in Atlantic Canada, but it was so popular that the stands were overflowing, and anyone who did not come twenty minutes early had to sit between the stands, or even inside the ring. Needless to say, the event organizers were thrilled with the popularity of the event in which dancers, drummers and singers travel from all over Canada and even the United States came to participate.

(Grand Entrance, and start to the Powwow on Friday. Note the poor Mounties attempting to bounce awkwardly in time with the drumming.)

(A quick video from the inter-tribal warm-up to Friday's Powwow.)

(Another video from the inter-tribal. Some of the women are wearing incredibly heavy "jingle dresses" with 365 bells on them; one for every day of the year.)

I enjoyed the festivities, and the historic, once-in-a-lifetime moment to share in what is likely the proudest moment in many of the participants lives, so much that I stayed outside on the Commons the entire day, right up until the dancing finished around midnight. I was even more impressed that from 1 PM until midnight, every single event ran exactly on schedule, with one event starting the second the previous event finished. It was an incredible display of punctuality not usually seen in Canada, and one that all future HRM event organizers would do well to take note of and copy for their own events.

In conclusion, I will never forget my experiences at this exceptional event, and wish to thank the organizers, as well as the city of Halifax, and the province of Nova Scotia for helping to make it a reality. Here's hoping more great Mikmaq/First Nations events can be seen in Halifax, and around Canada, in the future.

(Colourful teepees on the Commons at night.)