Wayves Magazine

Fringe is an annual performing arts celebration featuring independent, experimental, and alternative shows that are outside, often well outside, traditional institutional curation, and topics and performance styles that are not otherwise seen on stage. Halifax's festival has been an annual event since 1990 with a mix of local, national, and international artists.

photo by William Dicks Indie screenings are on the rise all over Halifax, and—by no coincidence at all—June and July saw some of the queerest across the city. I was lucky enough to attend Propeller Arcade’s screening of 1983’s Siege, an event cohosted by Strange Brew Film Society that featured a Q&A with co-producer and director Paul Donovan.

Rumours' owners Gerald McCowan & José Chiu, have issued a passionate plea for help. Rather than summarizing it, we're reprinting it here. Gerald writes to Wayves: I'm reaching out to you because I believe you understand better than most why Q spaces in Halifax matter — and what can happen when we lose them. You've spent decades documenting, supporting and preserving our community's history through Wayves Magazine. You remember The Turret and what that space represented.

OutFest is the largest Queer performance festival in Mi'kma'ki / Atlantic Canada, with local, regional, and national artists performing at venues across the city, and is accepting submissions for the 2027 festival which will be held April 12 - 18. They are accepting a variety of submissions, including those for the inQubator Program which is a two year development program, and Open Stage, for non-traditional performance pieces. Artists are guaranteed a fee $150/show + 100% of the box office.

On the night of 20 July 2026 at Gus’s Pub on Agricola Street, a special all Queer Pride edition of Monday Night LOL - a weekly staple at the venue - took place. The evening’s lineup featured both veteran performers and some fresh-ish blood. The show was sponsored by the women's soccer team Halifax Tides FC – who gave away two pairs of tickets for the Sky Tables (which are some of the best seats at the Grounds, btw!) to the home game at the Wanderers Grounds on 3 August 2026.

The Canadian Association of LGBTQ2S+ Lawyers (Call-Acal) is bringing its fifth annual Q law conference, "PRISME" to Halifax for the first time. PRISME will run Wednesday to Friday July 22 - 24 at the Halifax Convention Centre. Queer lawyers from across the country will converge to discuss issues facing Q individuals in the legal profession as well as the advancement of Q people in Canada and around the world.

Atlantic Canada has a new organization advocating for racialized queer DJs: FREEQ Atlantique is celebrating its debut on July 23 with, you guessed it: a DJ party. FREEQ Atlantique is the brainchild of Patricia (Patti) Kibenge, a 2nd generation Ugandan-Canadian single mother living in Kjipuktuk. She has been working as a DJ in Halifax for nine years with breaks for school and the birth of her daughter.

During this year’s Halifax Pride festival, people will again have a way to check out the city and queer history... from the water. Halifax Harbour Tours will be offering informative and fun tours guided by local historian Dan MacKay aboard the harbour’s only electric boat.

Dear Wayves readers: Just last week, during one of our typically Halifax city other-worldly mornings, I discovered a mysterious capsule which had apparently fallen through a time vortex! Inside was the transcript of an interview done [Editor: to be done?] in July 2056 between a future Wayves Magazine writer and a famous local author, discussing the history of the speculative fiction renaissance in Halifax! I have summarized the interview here, and in order to preserve destiny, free will, and...

Nova Scotia’s own Allister MacDonald (they/he) is revisiting the iconic role of Roger in RENT at Neptune Theatre this summer. Born in Antigonish, Allister has risen through the ropes as a Canadian actor and gone on to achieve amazing milestones, including becoming an ACTRA award winner, starring in the groundbreaking film Stage Mother, and performing in theatres across Canada. His character, Roger, is central in RENT -- late 20s, rock musician, former addict, HIV-positive.