🔥 Alexandra McDonald's Halifavourites + a stacked weekend

Hey Halifax!

Ben Caplan has been making Nova Scotia budget explainer videos, and they're going viral — turns out people actually want to understand where their money's going when a folk singer breaks it down instead of a politician. It's been a rough few weeks for arts & culture in NS. If you want to do something about it, we built a tool that makes it easy to contact your MLA directly: halifamous.ca/speak-up. Takes literally 30 seconds.

Now — March Break kicks off Saturday, the Thunderbirds are in a playoff race, and this might be the most stacked weekend of live music we've seen in a while. Let's get into it.

You might have seen Halifax actor Alexandra McDonald on the big screen lately — she's starring in the remake of Youngblood, the 1986 hockey classic that originally featured Rob Lowe and Keanu Reeves. It's in theatres now. She's also an ACTRA award winner for her performance in Night Blooms, has appeared in Diggstown, Everybody’s Meg, and Pretty Blind, and as you'll see from her picks, she's a serious hockey person off-screen too. Here are her favourite Halifax spots:

The Narrows Public House (Gottingen St) — "It feels like you're walking into someone's well thought out, cozy home. Me and my boyfriend walk there once a week for a cider and dessert."

Espresso 46 (Isleville St) — "BEST COFFEE I'VE EVER TASTED. Their iced latte with a little bit of syrup is the best iced latte I've ever had."

Salvatore's Pizzaiolo Trattoria (Young St) — "I am already craving it typing about it. I would eat their garlic bread for breakfast lunch and supper."

PWHL at Scotiabank Centre — "Any PWHL team that comes and plays — don't care what team, just love cheering on women in hockey!"

Sportwheels Sports Excellence (Lower Sackville) — "It's a second hand hockey equipment store. Hockey is already a very expensive sport, wherever you can cut costs — do it!"

Night Blooms (Film) — "Not just because I won my first ACTRA award for my performance in it. It's such a raw and authentically made film. Stephanie Jolene had a vision and she nailed it."

SENSEA Nordic Spa (Chester) — "Me and my partner love to go on a winter evening and sit in the warm pools and have a glass of wine underneath the stars. It's heavenly."

See the full guide on Instagram →

This Week in Halifax

🍜 Oodles of Noodles is back on Quinpool Road all week — restaurants across the strip are serving up special noodle dishes. Go get slurpy.

🎤 William Prince is at the Rebecca Cohn TONIGHT (Thu Mar 12). Juno-winning singer-songwriter from Peguis First Nation. If you haven't seen him live, this is the one.

🎶 Ben Caplan + Moira & Claire are doing two rare intimate solo shows at The Carleton this weekend (Fri & Sat, 8 PM, $50) before he heads back on the road with the band.

🎸 +LIVE+ with Big Wreck & The Damn Truth bring their Rollin' Thunder Tour to Scotiabank Centre Saturday. "Lightning Crashes," "Selling the Drama," and Big Wreck opening. Big room show.

🎵 Ria Mae: Tour TWO at the Light House Arts Centre (Sat Mar 14, 8 PM). Halifax's platinum-selling pop artist brings her sophomore album home. 90 million streams and counting. All ages.

🍻 Rankin's Winter Warmers Season Finale is at the Marquee Ballroom (Sat Mar 14, 3 PM). Sold out, but tickets may be available at the door. We’re expecting some heavy hitting special guests.

🎭 Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at Neptune Theatre is in its CLOSING WEEKEND. Last chance to catch this insanely impressive show — Thu-Sun.

🥍 The Halifax Thunderbirds have won two straight and just jumped into a tie for the final playoff spot. Friday night vs Toronto Rock (7:30 PM, Scotiabank Centre) is their biggest game of the season — a win puts them a full game up with six to play. Keep an eye on Casey Wilson, the 4th overall pick they just traded for, who could make his NLL debut after nearly a year recovering from an ACL tear.

🎸 Arkells just announced an outdoor show at the Shore Club in Hubbards this summer w/ PEI’s The East Pointers. Mark your calendars.

🏖️ March Break starts Saturday. A few highlights for families:

• Pier 21 — FREE admission Mar 14-22, plus cooking workshops and scavenger hunts

• Discovery Centre — March Break programming Mar 13-22

• Beaty Centre for Marine Biodiversity — Brand new (opened Dec 2025), featuring an 18-metre blue whale skeleton. First March Break ever.

• Maritime Museum of the Atlantic — Free admission and interactive programming

• Art Gallery of Nova Scotia — Free admission every Thursday evening 5-9 PM. They're dealing with a 20% provincial funding cut, so show some love.

See all events this weekend → halifamous.ca/events

Moira & Claire never miss. They’re quickly becoming one of the top East Coast acts across any genre. They’ve been pumping out incredible collaborations, covers, and live performances over the past year and they just keep getting better. Listen to their new tune featuring PEI’s Noah Malcolm/

Worth Reading

Interesting stories from around Nova Scotia this week.

• Billy Bragg is coming to the Maritimes on his 'Pass It On' tour. If you love folk-punk protest music (and honestly, who doesn't right now), get on this before it sells out. CTV Atlantic

• A medical device invented by Nova Scotians just got a supporting role on HBO's The Pitt. Not the Hollywood break most people imagine, but we'll take it. CTV Atlantic

• Gordie Sampson inducted into the Cape Breton Music Hall of Fame. The Grammy-winning songwriter behind Carrie Underwood's "Jesus, Take the Wheel" and a ton of other major country hits. CTV Atlantic

That’s it for this week! Got an event we should know about? Hit reply and let us know!

P.S. Follow us on Instagram for more updates and giveaways!