Free concerts, shuttles in Halifax
Everybody loves free events.
Juno week is underway in Halifax with concerts and events happening all around the city, ending with the main event — the Juno Awards — on Sunday night.
While Junofest is a two-day music event (starting Friday) with more than 100 artists in 10 different venues, it requires a $65 wristband.
There’s also three days of free concerts called the Juno Block Party that are free.
BLOCK PARTY
Enfield rapper Classified is getting it going with a Welcome to the Maritimes set on Thursday at the Foundation North parking lot (next to the Waterfront Warehouse) at 1549 Lower Water St. His special guests will perform a tribute to Mi’kmaw culture, and there are performances by Joce Reyome, Reeny and Skratch Bastid.
On Friday at the same spot, TALK, a five-time Juno nominee and Good Kid, nominated for breakthrough group of the year, will play in Halifax for the first time. They’ll be joined by Dizzy and Nova Scotia alt-pop artist Maggie Andrew.
On Saturday, the Block Party stage will turn country with the James Barker Band, Tyler Joe Miller, Dave Sampson, SACHA and special guests.
Free tickets for each of the events are required for entry and can be accessed through the Junos website.
There’s also a free event at the Halifax Central Library on Thursday called JUNO Stories from the Studio. Those tickets are sold out. Also sold out: an Honouring Ceremony at Pier 21 on Saturday.
There’s another free event on Sunday at the Marquee Ballroom on Gottingen Street called Celebration Sunday, honouring 400 years of culture and musical influence by Nova Scotia’s Historic Black Communities.
FREE SHUTTLE BUS, EXTENDED FERRY SERVICE
HRM is offering a free hopon-hop-off shuttle bus service called the Juno Express to get people around to venues downtown
It’s operating:
■ Friday – 5:30 p.m. to midnight
■ Saturday – noon to midnight
■ Sunday – noon to midnight
The Alderney ferry service will go an hour later Friday through Sunday. The last trip
across the harbour from the Halifax Ferry Terminal will leave at 1:30 a.m. each day and the last trip from Alderney will leave at 1:45 a.m.
There’s also a shuttle running from the Sackville Transit Terminal (7 Walker Ave., Lower Sackville) and the Portland Hills Transit Terminal (651 Portland Hills Dr., Dartmouth) to downtown Halifax.
It will be operating:
■ Saturday – 3 p.m. to midnight (with the last trip leaving downtown at midnight)
■ Sunday – 3 p.m. to midnight (with the last trip leaving downtown at midnight) Parking will be shut down on several downtown streets Saturday and Sunday:
■ Argyle Street, from Duke to Prince streets
■ Carmichael Street, from Brunswick to Argyle streets
■ Market Street, from Carmichael to Prince streets
■ Prince Street, from Argyle to Grafton streets
■ Argyle Street, from Prince to Sackville streets (4 p.m. to 9 p.m. only)
In a news release, HRM staff noted the municipality is sponsoring a net-zero stage at the Halifax Central Library powered by 10 pedal bike generators and solar power. There will be free, all-ages programming on the stage, and the Ecology Action Centre will be there providing free bicycle tune-ups.