showing 1 to 10 of 33
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Best Activist
on November 7, 2019 at 1:00AM
Gold Winner El Jones
Silver Winner Rana Zaman
Bronze Winner Jo-Anne Larade
El Jones has won this award since 2015, and in that time says she’s begun to prefer the term advocate to activist. Advocacy “suggests that we work with communities, not just to take action, but to advocate for rights,” says Jones. It’s more about “that daily work that you have to do in communities, much of which is not public and it’s done collectively.” She adds: “It’s important to remember that every time we fight for human rights, there are people who are losing their rights that are suffering at the centre of that, we really need to keep that in mind.”
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Best Activist Organization
on November 7, 2019 at 1:00AM
Gold Winner Adsum for Women & Children
Silver Winner Youth Project
Bronze Winner Autism Nova Scotia
Hall of fame Ecology Action Centre
“This is in some ways an expression of confidence in what we do,” says Adsum for Women & Children’s executive director, Sheri Lecker, on the organization’s first win. “An affirmation that we’re focused on some of the right issues, the things that matter to our community and to our province around people being housed and being cared for.” Adsum’s work, says Lecker, is part practical and immediate—providing safe housing for those who need it—but “it’s the combination of action with a having voice” to speak up and out for those whose voices have may have been dismissed or silenced.
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Best Athlete
on November 7, 2019 at 1:00AM
Gold Winner Ellie Black
Silver Winner Lindell Wigginton
Bronze Winner Jillian Saulnier
Ellie Black has had a big year. She won five medals at the Pan Am games in Lima and qualified for the Olympics in Tokyo next summer. On top of that, she’s snagged the highest honour in the hearts of Haligonians. (The place of this in relation to her galactic accomplishments on the international sport stage is up for discretion.) “One of the most special things about being from Halifax is showing the next generation of younger athletes…that it doesn’t matter where you’re from. If you have a dream and a goal and you work hard, you can achieve it.”
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Best Blogger
on November 7, 2019 at 1:00AM
Gold Winner Arthur Gaudreau, Halifax ReTales
Silver Winner Kayla Short, Short Presents
Bronze Winner Allie Conway and Sam Kwiatkowski, Allie & Sam
“I never got into it for the right reasons, I just did it for me and then people followed,” says Arthur Gaudreau, AKA Halifax ReTales, of his wildly popular online presence. As he approaches his ninth anniversary as the city’s source for quick-hit retail updates and gossip, Gaudreau has seen some change in his coverage—he’s now a columnist for the Chronicle-Herald—but has aimed, above all, to keep his updates consistent, reliable and the same as it ever was. (He took his first week off from the blog in five years this summer!) “I like helping Halifax love itself, it’s really that simple. I want people to get their feet out on the street.”
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Best Bus Driver
on November 7, 2019 at 1:00AM
Gold Winner Sudeep Raj Gupta
Silver Winner Tara Scudder
Bronze Winner Walter Rudderham
Being recognized as Halifax’s Best Bus Driver is no small feat. In a city with expanding transit initiatives, and 619 operators on the road already, there has to be something special about the way you do your job to get this top honour. More impressive is that there are quarterly schedule changes for Halifax’s operators. Sometimes their shifts stay the same, but many change, and it’s normal for an operator to drive many routes in a single shift or workday. So it’s not just one route’s favourite driver, but someone who makes the day of all riders, all over the municipality. Hats off to Sundeep Raj Gupta for earning these serious passenger props.
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Best Community Project
on November 7, 2019 at 1:00AM
Gold Winner Hope Blooms
Silver Winner Common Roots Urban Farm
Bronze Winner Dartmouth Community Food Centre
Craig Cain has been with Hope Blooms since he was eight years old. Now, he’s 20 and works full-time for the organization while studying for his red seal in cooking. (A passion he discovered via Hope Blooms.) As a community project, Hope Blooms is a place to “discover new things about yourself, and then learn from the things you love to do,” says Cain. And things keep growing. The organization recently broke ground on its new location, a product of the “dedication, love and support from the community,” which he says “has been just amazing.”
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Best Councillor
on November 7, 2019 at 1:00AM
Gold Winner Lindell Smith
Silver Winner Waye Mason
Bronze Winner Lisa Blackburn
Lindell Smith is three years into his big gig at City Hall, and not only does he continue to earn the respect of his colleagues, but the citizens of Halifax say he’s the best at his job, too. His secret? He doesn’t play by traditional politician rules. “I just keep things simple. I don’t do things for political gain, I just do it because either it’s right or I feel some kind of attachment to it.” He’s learned that “you can be yourself in a role as a politician and still hold your integrity.”
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Best Drag Performer
on November 7, 2019 at 1:00AM
Gold Winner Elle Noir
Silver Winner Farrah Moanz
Bronze Winner Eureka Love
Hall of fame Rouge Fatale
“Two in a row? Let’s go for 10,” says Chris Cochrane—the performer behind Elle Noir—about her win. The only out, trans, Black drag queen this side of Montreal had a busy 2019, including serving as the Pride Ambassador and undergoing sexual reassignment surgery. “I’m used to being in competition, it’s what I do,” Cochrane says. “But I think in the last year I’ve been very public, so to get that feedback is wonderful.” While she’s been spending more time educating these days versus performing—“When Elle goes out now, she has to be perfect—and it costs a lot of money to be perfect”—she’s incredibly proud and grateful.
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Best Festival
on November 7, 2019 at 1:00AM
Gold Winner Halifax Pride
Silver Winner Halifax Busker Festival
Bronze Winner Halifax Jazz Festival
“Ingrained in our festival is the need to be extremely thoughtful and diverse in what we’re doing and how we’re doing it, says Halifax Pride executive director Adam Reid. “The needs of our community are incredibly broad, and their expectations when they come to the festival are really diverse. So we need to ensure we’re creating a festival that includes all parts of the queer community.” Which it does, putting in the work to be continually more accessible. “It’s never the wrong decision,” he adds, “removing a barrier for one community always seems to just make accessibility better for everyone.”
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Best Halifamous Person
on November 7, 2019 at 1:00AM
Gold Winner Rouge Fatale
Silver Winner Brett Ruskin
Bronze Winner Allie and Sam
Jason Spurrell can’t believe it when he gets the call that his drag persona, Rouge Fatale (who was sent to the Best of Halifax Hall of Fame after winning 10 consecutive Best Drag Performer awards) won Best Halifamous Person. “Ellen Page herself has won this award,” he says. “When I first got the email, I honestly thought I’d won Best Character after that damn agave plant [beat me last year]. I’ve become fond of tequila because it’s the blood of my enemy,” he adds in total deadpan, before switching back to earnest: “To be the fist gender-fluid or gender-non-conforming or drag persona to be out in this category, this is big for me: Just to know that our drag worth is that important.”
