Greek Fest | June 12-15

Greek Dancing, Greek music, and oh boy the Greek food. Might as well get the Greek plate and try it all. 

Multicultural Festival | June 15-22

If you’re looking to try a variety of ethnic foods without really committing, Multifest 30 is the ticket. There’s also a parade, workshops and a street party on Sunday complete with a pig roast. That’s a win right there. 

Right Some Good | June 27-29

Though there are a couple of dinners being held as part of this festival usually held in Cape Breton, the real deal is Sunday, June 29 when a section of Spring Garden Rd will become a full on food festival. Think culinary showdowns, Cape Breton music, and tons of local food. 

Lebanese Festival | July 10-13

Three days of celebrating the Lebanese culture and cuisine. I’m going for the zaatar where they grill the flatbreads on a traditional saj right before your eyes. Trust me, you want this.

Farmer’ Market Week | Aug 2-9

You know me and supporting local so this Farmers’ Market Week, check out a new market (you’ll be amazed at how many there are), make it a point to meet a farmer, or even get yourself to a local restaurant passionate about supporting our farmers. If you need a suggestion, you know who to ask. 

Halifax Seaport BeerFest | Aug 8-9

275 beers in one place? Nuff said. 

Sausage Fest 2014 | Aug 14-24

Though the details have yet to be fully released, expect a hell of a lot of sausage love. I mean, it is Sausage Fest people! I’d keep my eye on the Local Connections facebook page for updates.

Though there’s even more events to enjoy this Summer- Magnetic North Theatre Festival, Halifax Jazz Fest, Halifax International Busker Festival, and Halifax Pride to name but a few – there’s also so many more ways you can enjoy our East Coast Summer. 

• North by Night Market at Squiggle Park every second Friday starting this week
• Shakespeare by the Sea
• East Coast Chefs Collaborative dinner (No details yet but keep your eyes peeled for updates)
• Local Tasting Tour (if you have guests in town, this is a must do)
• Patio beers and cocktails 
• Sangria, a lot of sangria
• Food truckin’
• bikin’
• campin’
• beachin’
• eating as much ice cream as humanly possible 
• day trippin’ to Lunenberg, Mahone Bay, the Annapolis Valley.  You do realize how close everything is in NS right?!
• strawberry and blueberry pickin’
• Valley mini-vacay with Front & central and all the local wine 
• PEI 
• making the trek to Bite House (Cape Breton ) and Wild Caraway (Advocate Harbour) for eats I know will blow my mind

And of course we’ll be BBQing everything. We just went five days in a row and we plan to keep the momentum going. I have a feeling this Summer will be much chiller than the above list implies but whether it’s a big event or cocktails with friends on the patio, we’ll be soaking up as much of that sun as possible. 

If you have other events of interest you wanna add, leave a wee comment below. 

Happy Summering. 

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At least this city of ours has a few tricks up it’s sleeve to get us through the last nasty bits of Winter.  If I was you, I’d come out of that hibernation and celebrate the last 17 days til sweet, sweet Spring arrives.  

See you later Old Man Winter. 

1. Eat everything at the Savour Food & Wine Show

Go big this month and get a ticket to the Savour Food & Wine Show, hitting the Cunard Centre Thursday. Like I’ve said before, with over 75 vendors in one room- local restaurants, liquor distributors, local wineries and breweries –  it’s pretty much a free for all. To me, Savour represents a chance for the city to show us all what they got. Hopefully, this year it’ll mean less sliders and a world more creativity. 

2. Head to Wolfville for the Front & Central + Brooklyn Warehouse Pop Up Dinner

I’ve already made my thoughts pretty clear on this one. Believe me when I say: when these two chefs get together, madness ensues. The affordable five course meal will no doubt seduce us with sous vide this and smoked that. It will undoubtedly be a unique – and delicious- look at where our food comes from.  If you consider yourself a foodie, or whatever you call it, this is the exactly the kind of table you want to be sitting at.   

3. Take a pastry classes at Le French Fix

Think you’ve got what it takes to master French macarons or fondant chocolate? Let Le French Fix‘s Chef Chevallier show you the ways of the butter. I can’t imagine a more delicious way to say farewell to the cold days of Winter. 

4.  Take advantage of the Stimulus Package

Even though the ridiculous deal is on through til April, I kind of feel like we’d be stupid not to take Brooklyn Warehouse up on their offer. Monday & Tuesdays they’re offering up a 5 course prix-fixe dinner for the price of 3. That’s $35 for five plates of chef inspired local cuisine in case you missed it. It’s like they’re giving it away. Add to that evening specials on boards and beer Monday through Wednesday plus free corkage on Wednesdays to round out the sweetest of deals. Why wait til Friday for a night out?

5. Get your wine on

Bishop’s Cellar regularly hosts fun tastings every second Friday. It’s about time you put down that Apothic red and expand your wine repertoire. Did I mention there’d be food?

6. Let someone else feed your hangover

With brunch in the city on fire right now, you’d be mad not to get your hollandaise fix at one of our city’s best. Obviously, Coastal Cafe – who by the way recently added a brunch menu – ranks one of the highest for me with their creative take on eggs and bacon. Lately, however, several new restaurants are joining the brunch game. Check out Edna, Agricola Street Brasserie, the Stubborn Goat, 2 Doors Down, and enVie for you vegan folk. 

7. Go on a Burger Week binge

The second annual Burger Week takes over the city from Mar 20-26th. Offering up a ton of creatively designed  burgers – some too much in my opinion –  Burger Week celebrates everyone’s favourite hand held meal in the name of fundraising for FEED Nova Scotia. If you needed a reason to feel better about all that grease, that’s it. 

If we missed something you’re stoked about this month, let us know. The more we can do to flip Winter the bird, the better. Oh, and look, it’s snowing.  

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In the fourth of a series of collaborative chef pop up dinners at Wolfvile’s Front & Central, Chef Mark Grey of Brooklyn Warehouse teams up with resident chef Dave Smart for a forage into local cuisine. 

With a menu creatively designed around where we source our food – the shoreline, farm, ocean, forest, and garden – the five course dinner is not only shaping up to be incredibly delicious, but will open your mind about how we view local food. 

If you’ve dined at either of the above restaurants , you’ll know you’re simply not going to get a piece of locally raised meat on some seasonal mash. These chefs look at food differently, even differently than my food obsessed self. They see flavours where others wouldn’t, techniques that could turn an ordinary food into something novel; they get excited in showcasing rarely used local foods like hay or spruce. This is local food reimagined.

While I may have the inside scoop, rest assured this will look like nothing you’ve ever before eaten in Nova Scotia. Add that to the affordable $50 price tag and that’s reason enough to get out of the city for an adventure in local dining. 

Tickets are sure to sell out soon, so what are you waiting for?

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