There is no question it is winter; the snow is sticking and it can feel cold and brutal outside. But never fear, Halifax families, let a contagious smile stick on your face because it’s a great time of year to read, skate, visit a museum, and share the warmth!
- This Saturday is Family Literacy Day—a Canada-wide celebration of reading and national awareness initiative created by ABC Life Literacy Canada in 1999, so rejoice in reading with the family the way you know best! Pretend the power is out (again) and curl up in front of the fire with some cocoa or dig into reading with free events at Halifax Public Libraries:At Alderney Gate Public Library celebrate Family Literacy Day with Mother Goose. Play some word games or listen to a story from 10-3. There is also a baby, toddler, and kids clothing swap at the same library starting at 12:15, so bring along your gently used clothing and Swap Don’t Shop!At Halifax Central Library, feel free to come dressed in royal attire from 11-11:45 for Fairytale Storytime with a special guest… Elsa!
- Get out to St. Margaret’s Centre Arena for a pay-what-you-can Skating Party sponsored by St. Luke’s United Church on Friday evening from 6-7. Hot chocolate and snacks will be shared rink side and skaters of all ages and abilities are welcome!
- Much more than a place to get in from the cold, Halifax museums are there to kindle sparks in hearts and minds! The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic’s Halifax Harbour Explosion 100-year anniversary exhibit has had such an explosive response, they’ve extended it until November 2018. The museum’s permanent Explosion exhibit, Halifax Wrecked, shows what the Explosion did. This special exhibit, Collision in the Narrows: The 1917 Halifax Harbour Explosion investigates it’s relevance. The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic is on winter hours, open 9:30-5:30 Tuesday-Saturday, Sunday from 1-5:30, and closed on Mondays and a family pass is only $11.85.At the Museum of Natural History, they have great interactive programming all weekend long! Feed some animals, imagine what it would be like to have an animal’s body, learn the science of skeletons, walk with Gus, the oldest known gopher tortoise, and check out specimens under microscopes. Their temporary exhibit is a great one: BODY WORLDS RX, an look inside the most sophisticated mechanism in the world… the human body. Get to the Museum of Natural History and check it out! Open 9-5 every day, a family pass is $17.95.
- This year’s Coats for a Cause presented by Mix 96.5 in support of Parker Street Food & Furniture Bank is having its final live on-air hurrah on January 27 from 10-3 at Mic Mac Mall. Until then, coats can be dropped off at Mix 96.5’s studios at 3770 Kempt Road, Suite 200 in Halifax or Sobeys in Tantallon. All coats will go to the Food & Furniture Bank to help those who really need it this winter. For every coat turned in, Casino Nova Scotia will donate $5, up to a max of $5000!
Keep in mind that a great Free Concert at Pier 21 is coming up and reservations are filling up fast! On February 11 at 1:30, Symphony Nova Scotia presents a Free Family Concert: Black Is Beautiful.