This morning at the Seaport Market I was talking to Chris at Getaway Meat Mongers who told me he had spent all day Friday grinding fresh beef for the Brooklyn Warehouse’s Pop-Up, Chives Slider Station, Saege Bistro’s truffle burger and lamb for Stories Restaurant.  Over 500 pounds of fresh Nova Scotian beef and lamb – think about that for a minute.  Nothing was coming from a freezer, nothing was being shipped in from Kansas, just good old fashioned beef, grown in Nova Scotia for all of us to enjoy.  As I was visualizing just how much effort that took, the chefs were busy back in their restaurants preparing for the lunch rush.

And what a lunch rush it was – 1,000′s of you came out to explore, and to eat apparently.  Nearly every restaurant sold out in less than two hours – some much less.  Many of you probably left disappointed, wishing that there was more food, but for the lucky that were served, I hope you all had a tremendous experience.  Next time we’ll be much more prepared for you.

After my quick trip through the Market, I headed over to the Salter Block where NSCAD was having their Artist for a Day event marking their 125th Anniversary.  As many of you know, NSCAD is in a bit of flux right now – and “Nova Scotia needs NSCAD” signs were subtly placed around the event.  It wasn’t overt, and it wasn’t a protest in any way – today was a celebration of NSCAD’s 125 year history in Halifax and they made us all proud.  My six year old spent half an hour with the talented and patient Christopher Joyce who helped her make her own lino cut printing plate. Spencer made a ceramic bowl for Mother’s Day and I watched as a community came together.

From there I popped into one of my shops, Sugah! and checked on things.  The staff were a little bored, wondering if people were going to show up – I told them not to worry, I didn’t think they would be bored much longer.  Tonight, I’m pretty sure they don’t remember that earlier time today, because from 12:00 on they were slammed – non-stop.  I guess half price ice cream is a draw -thanks for your patience, hope you enjoyed it- bring Mom down tomorrow for Mother’s Day and we’ll do it all again.

A quick shot over to North & Agricola where the Brooklyn Warehouse Pop-Up, Ace Burger Joint at Gus’ Pub was in full swing – lined up around the corner.  I had to do some quality control on Chris’ beef (see earlier point) and had a fantastic experience.  I was there with my 7 year old, and couldn’t help but flash forward 20 years when I looked at the father and son team of Leo & George loving every minute of their smash success & wondering what Spencer is going to be when he grows up.

Then I popped up to Barrington St., the kids got to make buttons at Laing House and I talked to some of their staff – they were thrilled to be able to meet so many people in our community and some of their members were on hand as well.  Did a quick pop into Carbonstok where the talented Vish Purgass was doing his print making demonstration.  Every time I meet a unique artist like Vish, I’m amazed at the creativity we have in this fair city.

By now, any thoughts of eating more were in vain, Andrew at DaMaurizio sold out his gnocchi bolognese in under an hour, Craig Flinn at Chives was still reeling from the onslaught of customers he served and the lamb ragout was but a distant memory at Stories.  Not to worry, I had more exploring to do.

Headed up Spring Garden Rd, the kids & Trina kept going to the Public Gardens to do the Treasure Hunt and I popped in to check on Dennis & Monica at Fid.  Smiles on their faces, they too had sold out of their Banh Mi in record time, but true to form, Dennis wasn’t going to miss a chance to feed people great food and was whipping up D’s Pad Thai to all who knocked on the door.  Dennis gave me a sneak peak at the dozens of candid tattoo shots that he had taken all day – apparently people will show you a lot to save $1 off their food.

Popped in to see Ann & Liz at the new P’lovers location on South Park and despite 2 weeks of non-stop construction and getting their store ready for today’s grand opening they were still smiling and basking in the warm community spirit that Halifax showed them today.

Thank you to everyone that came out and made this such a tremendous success.  Happy Mother’s Day to all of the Mothers out there – we’ve got a few more events on for tomorrow, but please check the list to avoid disappointment.  Craig Flinn is madly prepping more burgers for Chives starting at noon – I’ve arranged for more staff at both Sugah locations for tomorrow and the kids are exhausted but a little enriched from everything they took in today.

So, today was a good day.  Thank you Halifax.

Gordon Stevens

So, you’ve read about our Open City event coming up on May 12-13 in Halifax.  You may have noticed some comments about the “Passport” and wondered, what the heck is that?

Essentially, there are a bunch of businesses that are going to be outfitted with I Love Local HFX stamps  -to see who, just click back over to the home page.

You’ll be able to grab a passport at any of these locations, get it stamped and enter a contest while you’re there.  The passport is really just a way for you to keep track of where you’ve been, to take some notes on where/why you’d like to go back and to share with friends and family later on.

Each participating business will ALSO offer you a ballot to fill in and win a prize from that business.

What we really want you to do is take your completed Passport and Pass-it-Along.  Give it to someone that you want to experience the best of Halifax – visiting friends, a new roommate, a big-box shopper who needs to be converted – whoever you think would enjoy an Insider’s Guide to Halifax – one that you created.

When friends & family come to visit, are you at a loss to tell them the must see stops?

How long has it been since you’ve visited the Citadel?

Haven’t you always wanted to try something new?

Open City is the answer to all these questions, and many more that you haven’t even considered.

On May 12 & 13, Halifax will be Open – kitchen doors at restaurants will be open, galleries will be open, stores will be open and showing you their wares.

We want you to get out of your comfort zone, to try something new and to learn more about this great city of ours & then we want you to share what you find. Tweet it, post it to facebook, tell your friends and family who are living abroad to come visit.

We’ll post everything that we know about on this site as it comes in, but you can also find things & share things on twitter by using #OpenCity

If you’re a musician, or know one, introduce yourself to a shopkeeper and arrange to play in their shop on the 12th & 13th.

If you’re a crafter of products, arrange to open your studio to the public, or do a demonstration in a store that sells your wares.

If you run a museum or gallery, do something special, or interactive for the weekend, consider offering free admission for the weekend.

If you’re a shop owner, do a little something extra – serve cupcakes, grab a keg of local beer, or just offer a special for the weekend.

If you’re a chef, take part in our SideDoor Take Out – high end food, to eat on the go, & sold out the back (or front) of your otherwise formal dining room.

Watch this space, we’ll be posting things as they come in – if you have an event or special offer that you want to see posted here, please click on the contact us button. Any independent business or restaurant, gallery, museum, or attraction on the peninsula is encouraged to take part.

As an added incentive, you’ll also be able to pick up an Open City Passport at various locations during the weekend – use it to track your progress, to keep notes and for chances to win prizes from some of your favourite I Love Local businesses.

So many times we lose sight of the fact that we are a small community, but one that is rich in diversity, rich in history and rich in spirit. As a community we got excited when Price Club opened in the new Bayer’s Lake – it was shiny and new and somehow marked our arrival as a “big city”. Over the next 20 years we rolled out the red carpet for international retailers to open stores in Halifax, while at the same time bemoaning the decline of our downtowns, & our loss of “community”.

Today, many people are questioning that wisdom, and are indeed longing for the days when we knew our neighbors, and knew our shopkeepers.

15-20 years ago, we celebrated being able to get Budweiser here, today, we stand in line outside Garrison Brewing for Brian’s annual Spruce Beer release.

Not that long ago, we would have welcomed a Pizza Hut, today we celebrate the creations of Jennie & her team at Morris East.

For a while we enjoyed the speed of chain restaurants, today we enjoy learning about our food and chatting with Dennis @ Fid, with Craig @ Chives, or with Andy @ DaMaurizio.

Today, we celebrate when young guys like George at Brooklyn Warehouse can go to work with his Dad, Leo, & garner national attention for their fantastic food and cozy neighborhood vibe.

Today, we take to twitter and brag about the unique finds we got from Andrea @ Inkwell, or from Chara @ Love, Me – not about the find at Winners.

Today, our kids ask to go to Woozles or Uncommon Kids because they are free to wander around and play with the toys and parents don’t have to fear losing them in a 50,000 square foot box.

This year we watched as a community came together to rescue a cat outside Boneheads BBQ, or to raise money for Hope for Wildlife after a deer jumped through the window at Uncommon Grounds.

We also watched as a group of community members including Andrew from Cyclesmith, Joachim from Trail Shop and Jeff from Kula Partners rallied the broader community to save the Oval, and tomorrow we will celebrate the Grand Opening of our new, permanent Oval.

This year we watched how a group of volunteers could bring together our arts community in the biggest Nocturne event ever, and I Love Local HFX was proud to help showcase this event.

Buy Local initiatives have their supporters and their detractors – thankfully, we are adding supporters every day and the level of consciousness surrounding our local shopkeepers, butchers, fishmongers & chefs is at a level that we haven’t seen in a very long time.

I don’t believe that multi-national retailers are evil, or that local businesses are puritans. I do believe though that locally owned businesses are a vital part of our community and that the group of businesses that have chosen to join me with I Love Local HFX do a damn fine job of supporting countless organizations in Halifax. We don’t do it because it is a corporate policy, we do it because we live here – our kids go to school here, we play sports here, we care about our parks, our playgrounds, and what our kids eat – We do it, because, like you, we love Halifax.

So, as you’re getting ready to enjoy time with your friends & family over the Holidays, I want to thank you for patronizing all of these businesses and for helping us to make Halifax the best it can be.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year
Gordon Stevens

follow us on twitter @ILoveLocalHFX

What is a local Happy Hour?  Well, it’s a chance for you to get out and explore some of Halifax’s great independent businesses, try local food, and perhaps have a drink or two.

There are no rules, and lots of businesses are participating.  Some businesses are offering free nibbles, some are doing very limited time sales, others are doing promotions designed to get you to travel around their neighborhood.

If you want to know what’s going on, just follow I Love Local HFX on twitter, or search #localHappyHour for the most up to date events and specials as they come in.

From November 25 to December 24 grab a date and find our mistletoe arch as it travels all over town. When you find the arch, grab your camera and post your picture to twitter or facebook for a chance to win.

You can follow the mistletoe on it’s travels around town by following @ILoveLocalHFX on twitter

At each stop, you’ll also find great daily promotions as well as a chance to win a daily prize.

Can’t find the arch? No problem, you can enter a ballot at any participating store all month long to enter to win the Grand Prize – a $3,500 shopping and dining spree that also includes Christmas dinner catered in your house by Scanway!

What are you waiting for – grab some lip balm, and find your love under the mistletoe.

Last week the Irving Shipyard was awarded one of the largest contracts in Canadian government history. Since then a vocal minority of people have spoken up to criticize the government’s sponsorship of the Ships Start Here campaign saying it was a waste of money and an attempt by the provincial NDP to take credit for something which they were not involved in.

As a business owner, and proud supporter of Nova Scotian ingenuity and entrepreneurship, this criticism is on the one hand laughable, but more importantly damaging.

The Consumer Confidence Index is one of the most widely watched barometers of economic strength in any jurisdiction. When we are confident, we spend more, we invest more, and invariably, we are more successful. Even if the Ships Start Here had absolutely no impact on the awarding of the contract, it was still one of the best uses of government funds to spur economic growth and confidence that I have ever witnessed because it told us it is ok to be confident in our future.

Too often we celebrate failure in Nova Scotia – too often we don’t encourage businesses to succeed – too often we don’t brag about the strengths that we possess as a province. Too often, we let petty politics ruin a good thing.

I am calling on all of us to let Ships Start Here to be a rallying cry for Nova Scotia to be confident, to be courageous and to be successful.

If you are a business owner holding back – show your confidence by re-investing in your business – hire more people if you need them.

If you are a would be entrepreneur – show your confidence by sharing your idea with the world, by making it happen, by taking it from an idea on paper to reality.

If you are a consumer – show your confidence by buying that new pair of shoes, by going out to dinner, by shopping locally.

Much has been written about the potential economic spin-offs and the multiplier effect of such a large boost to our local economy. Countless debates have ensued as to the validity of such claims. One thing is certain – the multiplier only works if we allow ourselves to be confident – if we allow ourselves to dream – if we allow ourselves to think that Nova Scotia can, and will, be successful.

Ships Start Here was also successful in providing an economics lesson into the power of spin-off jobs and economic multipliers. It is a simple lesson – when we spend money in our local economy, it gets spent over and over and over again. When we spend our money outside of the region it is much more challenging to get that money back. It is within the power of every Nova Scotian to make our economy stronger.

Simply sourcing components for the ships within Atlantic Canada will help – but just as important is the spending that each one of us do every day.

If you’re buying that new sweater, buying a locally made product from a local artisan would be best – second best would be to purchase it from a locally owned retailer. If you choose to buy that sweater from a multi-national retailer you are not being part of the solution for our economic independence as the power of the multiplier is felt in other areas of the world.

When you go out to eat – do it at a locally owned restaurant, serving products grown on local farms and from local producers. When we do this we keep our neighbors employed – we protect our food security – and quite often, we eat healthier.

When you support local businesses, they support your community – we all win.

Above all, I ask you all to take a moment to celebrate this occasion for Nova Scotia and to challenge yourself as to how you can make Nova Scotia an even better place to live.

Confidence Starts Here.

Thanks for listening -

Gordon Stevens