showing 1 to 10 of 15
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Best Book
on November 1, 2018 at 1:00AM
Gold Winner If I Had An Old House On The East Coast, Kat Frick Miller and Wanda Baxter
Silver Winner The Long Way Home, John Demont
Bronze Winner The Mill, Joan Baxter
The Nimbus publication If I Had An Old House On The East Coast clearly struck a nerve with you—some of whom definitely do have an old house on this here coast. Wanda Baxter’s was built on the south shore in 1783. “It’s as old as Lunenburg,” she says. “It’s really something to have an old house—I’m just totally in love with the whole thing. It’s just hard to get away from ever, thinking of the work that’s gone before.” The book is illustrated by Kat Frick Miller’s gentle, realist paintings, a collaboration that began with the tome’s conception. “I’m just really glad people like it,” says Baxter. “It does seem to be resonating. I think it’s hit a certain nerve. And people really love Kat.”
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Best Choreographer
on November 1, 2018 at 1:00AM
Gold Winner Monique Ryan
Silver Winner Brittany Todd
Bronze Winner Alexis Cormier
Serpentine Studios celebrated a full-on decade in business last fall, and the bellydance and fitness club’s co-founder Monique Ryan has left her movement mark on you. “I genuinely love choreographing dances and sharing them through performance and teaching,” says Ryan. “Over the past year I’ve been collaborating with other dancers from across the Maritimes on my biggest choreographic project yet, Night Garden Bellydance,” which goes off March 30 and 31 at Alderney Landing in Dartmouth. “I feel very lucky to be able to do what I love for a living here in Halifax,” Ryan adds, “and I am so grateful for the support of the community.”
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Best Comedian
on November 1, 2018 at 1:00AM
Gold Winner Mark Critch
Silver Winner Megan McDowell
Bronze Winner Dan Hendricken
This Hour Has 22 Minutes’ veteran anchor nabs your funny vote for another year, one in which he is splitting his time between the show and touring in support of his new memoir, Son of a Critch. “I am once again shocked and honoured to have been chosen as Best Comedian by the readers of The Coast,” he writes from an airport, probably. “Halifax’s comedy scene is one of the best in the country and I am blown away and terrified by the talent each and every day. I’m delighted to just be keeping up. Thanks again!” Congratulate Critch in person at the Lord Nelson on November 12 for a reading and signing.
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Best Crafter
on November 1, 2018 at 1:00AM
Gold Winner Nicole McInnis, Oh Dina!
Silver Winner Holly Nauss, Promise of a Pearl
Bronze Winner Amy Chandler, Friday55
“I’m honestly so surprised I won again. I just am,” says Nicole McInnis, who creates modern bridal headpieces with a vintage vibe under the moniker Oh Dina! “We live in this place where there’s so many amazing artists...wining gold again is beyond me.” In the past year, McInnis has moved to a new space in Dartmouth—“We have really high ceilings and there are flowers hanging everywhere, it’s really dreamy”—and racking up Instagram followers (over 10K). “I’m making stuff and shipping stuff,” she says. “I’d like to thank the Canada Post ladies in the Dartmouth Shoppers. They’re my girls.”
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Best Comedy Night
on November 1, 2018 at 1:00AM
Gold Winner Yuk Yuks
Silver Winner Hello City
Bronze Winner Goofy Moose at the Toothy Moose
Yuk Yuk’s retains its golden crown as the city’s Best Comedy Night. We could go on and on about the consistent big laughs and big names that Halifax’s dedicated comedy club brings to this town, but on behalf of the local comics, let us offer some advice for first-time audience members: 1. Don’t heckle or interrupt the performance. Just don’t. 2. Don’t try to be funny yourself. You’re not. 3. Stay off your phones! 4. Have some drinks, but don’t get obnoxious drunk.
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Best Dance Company / Group
on November 1, 2018 at 1:00AM
Gold Winner Maritime Bhangra Group
Silver Winner Halifax Dance
Bronze Winner Serpentine Studios
The five men of the Maritime Bhangra Group have continued their happiness journey across the country, raising money for charity (over $300K so far) and being ambassadors for Nova Scotia. This included an appearance on The Rick Mercer Report in March—Mercer wore his own bhangra costume and called the group “a bona fide viral sensation” (the group’s original video, “Snow Shoveler Bhangra” from 2016, is knocking on a million views). They’ve raised awareness of and money for victims of the New Brunswick floods and multiple cancer charities, all through the power of movement and dance-fuelled positivity.
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Best Dancer
on November 1, 2018 at 1:00AM
Gold Winner Kunwardeep Singh
Silver Winner Monique Ryan
Bronze Winner Maria Osende
During the Maritime Bhangra Group’s appearance on The Rick Mercer Report in the spring, Mercer said to Kunwardeep Singh on air, “You’re living up in Toronto now, right?” “Did someone pay you to say that?” Singh responded, dodging the question. Whether Singh is here or repping Halifax elsewhere, Mercer’s assessment of one-fifth of the group is the same as yours: He’s “a rock-star dancer.”
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Best Fashion Designer
on November 1, 2018 at 1:00AM
Gold Winner Katrina Tuttle
Silver Winner Lisa Drader Murphy
Bronze Winner Maggie MacCormick
Since shopping for a wedding dress is one of those big milestone moments, Katrina Tuttle wants every aspect of the experience to be beautiful: “The dress starts to come alive with a watercolour sketch, so it makes memories—the bride can remember when her dress began to take shape,” she explains. The neo-couture experience she offers clients—from custom gowns to the range of adaptable options in her Made To Measure line—means the details of your dream dress are within reach. “It’s all about paying great attention to our clients,” Tuttle adds, “tailoring it to each bride’s needs and providing an experience.”
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Best Film / TV Actor
on November 1, 2018 at 1:00AM
Gold Winner Jonathan Torrens
Silver Winner Susan Kent
Bronze Winner Koumbie
Jonathan Torrens’ biggest gigs in the past year weren’t actually televised, unless you had a particular Eastlink subscription: A sharp and funny return to hosting the East Coast Music Awards, which he’ll do again in his home province of Prince Edward Island next year; and the hit Canadiana podcast Taggart and Torrens, bahds. (There is still, of course, that CBC TV show Mr. D.) Despite the national stage, he continues to remain achingly humble: “It’s very exciting to be recognized in this way by readers of The Coast,” he says, “and if the names of the other nominees in this category are any indication, the future of film and TV here has never been brighter.”
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Best Filmmaker
on November 1, 2018 at 1:00AM
Gold Winner Andrea Dorfman
Silver Winner Koumbie
Bronze Winner Josh Owen
It’s been a busy year for Andrea Dorfman: Her searing NFB documentary The Girls of Meru, about child defilement in Africa, debuted at the Atlantic International Film Festival just as her latest feature, Spinster—the reason for all those Chelsea Peretti sightings—wrapped shooting. “I love making films and especially love that I have been able to make them in Halifax,” says Dorfman. “I could not have continued to do so all these years had I not been able to draw upon, and collaborate with, the incredibly rich community of talented artists we have in this city and within a community that continues to highlight and support the work of artists. Thank you!”
