Every year, Acadia University presents and hosts an amazing variety of cultural and arts events. Included are concerts in a broad range of musical styles, classical and contemporary theatre, stimulating literary events and lectures, unique exhibitions of art, and the Acadia Performing Arts Series. Whether the artists already have an international reputation or if they are developing stars of tomorrow, they are delighted to have the community participate and share their work. There are choices here for every taste and budget. We invite you to look over the selection and mark your calendar today!

The Astor Theatre is proud to be the oldest performing arts venue in the province. In 2002 the Astor Theatre celebrated 100 years of entertainment on the South Shore of Nova Scotia.

The Bella Rose Arts Centre Society was created in order to fill the need for a performing arts venue and cultural space in the Clayton Park neighborhood of Halifax Mainland North. The society is a registered, not-for-profit charity whose function is to operate the Bella Rose Arts Centre theatre and its programs. The mission of the Bella Rose Arts Centre is to foster appreciation and understanding of the arts within the school and community through an inclusive approach to fine arts programming.

Located at 283 Thomas Raddall Drive in Clayton Park, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, the Bella Rose Arts Centre is a 600-seat professional theatre designed for the performing arts. We welcome rental inquiries from booking agents, non-profit organizations and commercial businesses. Our venue is capable of handling a wide variety of events from conferences to concerts, theatrical performances to fundraisers and dance shows.

For more than thirty years Cecilia Concerts has been presenting diverse world-class chamber music experiences in welcoming, bilingual, and intimate settings that connect our community, educate and inspire audiences and artists, and enhance the rich heritage and culture of K’jipuktuk / Halifax.

The Chedabucto Place Performance Centre (CPPC) was officially opened on July 20, 2007. This marked the culmination of the diligent efforts of the volunteer group and the support of the community. The CPPC stands as an excellent example of people and government agencies working toward a common goal. All levels of government, the Strait Regional School Board, the Guysborough County RDA, and the citizens of Guysborough County as well as many people from outside Guysborough County, supported this project. The CPPC is an important addition to the cultural, educational, and economic assets of our region.The CPPC is operated by the Chedabucto Place Association, under the guidelines of a written use agreement with the Strait Regional School Board.

Objectives of the Chedabucto Place Association

1. Promote the cultural heritage of Guysborough County, with particular emphasis our founding and diverse cultures.
2. Enhance learning and networking opportunities for students and adults in the performing arts, the visual arts, stage and multi-media production, and cultural entrepreneurship.
3. Provide a performance venue that will attract world class entertainment to our area, as well as provide a venue for local performers to display their talent.
4. Enhance the cultural infrastructure in Eastern Nova Scotia, increasing the area’s attractiveness for both tourists and the local population.

The Chester Playhouse is a warm intimate 176 soft seat theatre in the lovely south shore village of Chester. Our motto is “world class entertainment with home-made cookies”. Our summer festival includes four professional theatre productions, a youth theatre show, musical artists from across Canada, as well as films and special events.

The CCGH works towards the overall development of the Francophones and the Francophile community of the Halifax Regional Municipality since 1991. In addition of acting as a representative of the francophone community of the Halifax Regional Municipality, to build partnerships and share information, the CCGH develops year after year, programs and services for the Francophone and Francophile community.

After five years of development, Light House Arts Centre is getting ready to open its doors in early 2022. LHAC is a multi-space, multi-disciplinary Arts Centre, located in the old World Trade & Convention Centre on Argyle St in downtown Halifax. Our Mission Statement is to “embrace culture and community to amplify opportunity, inspiration and connection.” Our goal at this moment is to learn as much as we can from the Presenting community so that one day soon we are developing and launching an annual Presentation Series.

Since 1971, the Dalhousie Arts Centre has been a key feature in Nova Scotia’s arts and culture landscape. The Dalhousie Arts Centre is home to the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium, which regularly features performances by local talent as well as world-famous national and international entertainers.

Dartmouth Community Concert Association was founded in 1957 and has had over 50 consecutive years of successful concert presentation. Most of our concerts would be described with the popular misnomer of “classical”. Our season usually runs from late Sep. to early May, with four (4) concerts, usually 2 before and 2 after Christmas. We use Woodlawn United Church as our venue. – an A-frame building with seating for approx. 500, with enviable adjacent paved parking for over 200 vehicles. We are a subscription-based series, but make individual admissions available at each concert. “Membership has its privileges” so therein lies the best deal! The performance area is limited (about 15′ wide x 20′ deep) but easily holds a 7′ grand, a string quartet, any soloist, duo, trio, choir – but not simultaneously!

Eastern Front Theatre dedicates itself to theatre artists who call Atlantic Canada home. Committed to telling our stories, we develop, produce, and promote the work and talents of our community, ranging from established artists to emerging voices. Eastern Front Theatre is a catalyst for Atlantic Canadian theatre projects. We aim to work as advocates for theatre makers in our community. By supporting artists at the stage they are in, with the assistance they need, we deepen artistic impact. We grow and adapt with our community as it changes and progresses. We measure our success with the relationships we foster. With new leadership, we are looking toward expanding our Stages Festival, where we present both Atlantic Canadian, Canadian, and International works of theatre.

The Evergreen Theatre is the sole project of the Fundy Folk Association; a not-for-profit, volunteer-run organization with a committed Board of Directors, whose mandate is to offer quality arts programming/cultural enrichment/social and volunteer opportunities to our rural community by presenting professional and amateur acts from a wide variety of performing arts, and by providing a performance venue, meeting and workshop space to the local community. The re-purposed 1860s-era Baptist church on the North Mountain above the Annapolis Valley brings a steady stream of professional artists from Nova Scotia, the rest of Canada and abroad to a rural area otherwise lacking a dedicated performance establishment. In its 15-year history, The Evergreen has developed from a local amateur talent event to a professional venue known across Nova Scotia, and further afield, as a surprising jewel in the travelling performance circuit around the Maritimes.

Glasgow Square Theatre is set on the Beautiful East River and provides a venue for community events and attractions to the benefit of businesses, socials, and residents alike. The structure itself provides for year round entertainment, focusing on local, regional and International talent. Our built in state of the art A/V and sound equipment produces the highest quality in sound and effects for productions of every type.

Glasgow Square also offers a great location for weddings, parties, receptions, seminars and much more!

Highland Arts Theatre, or “The HAT” as it’s affectionately called, is the name of a performance venue in downtown Sydney, Nova Scotia, formerly the home of St. Andrew’s Church. When the church was decommissioned in 2013, a team stepped up to transform the beloved historical building into a state-of-the-art centre for arts and culture. While the venue is available for rent and has hosted many of Cape Breton’s finest in the fields of music and dance, it is our mandate to create a year-round, professional theatrical presence in downtown Sydney, producing and presenting quality productions with a special emphasis on Cape Breton artists, songs, and stories.

Kinetic Studio is a non-profit organization dedicated to the creation, development and presentation of contemporary Based in K’jipuktuk/Halifax, we support professional dance artists by providing workshops, classes, artistic residencies, a seasonal program of finished and unfinished works, and more. We aim to foster a supportive, responsive and flexible environment that allows dance artists at all levels to develop to their full artistic potential. The work of Kinetic Studio takes place in Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral home and unceded traditional land of the Mi’kmaq people. We are grateful to be on this land, and have deep respect for those who have been its caretakers for many generations. We are committed to working to understand and live by the Treaties of Peace and Friendship which govern this land. Kinetic is committed to building and nurturing spaces where artists can explore, create and grow with equity, justice, and respect. We recognize the inequities in our society that result in many artists being vulnerable to abuse, harassment and discrimination. We reject these abuses of power, and commit to work towards creating safer spaces for everyone. We envision an environment in which all artists can create with the freedom and respect we all deserve.

Presenting a diverse range of live performance and film year-round, King’s Theatre is a 220-seat venue that has been an integral part of the Annapolis Royal community since 1921. Offering state-of-the-art LED stage lighting, digital sound, on-stage and cinematic projection, and a video recording system, it’s a very contemporary theatre in a very historic setting.

L’Association Le Moulin de la Baie presents a wide range of high quality musical concerts in the Clare region of Southwestern Nova Scotia. Although we don’t have a venue of our own we have two venues at our disposal: the Clare Social Club in Little Brook and the Théâtre Marc Lescarbot on the campus of l’Université Sainte Anne in Church Point.

Marigold Cultural Centre is in Truro, Nova Scotia.

We are a 230-seat theatre approximately 60 minutes from Halifax. Our beautiful building has been a fixture in Musquodoboit since 1928. A who’s who of talent has graced our stage, from Loreena McKennit and the Rankin Family to Ron Hynes and Valdy. Quite a feat for a venue in rural Nova Scotia.

Our theatre is also home to one of two remaining stage curtains by renowned artist William Gill. It can be displayed for public viewing, though we ask you to make arrangements with the MVBT office beforehand.

We look forward to seeing you all someday soon.

Now in its 56th Season, Neptune Theatre has something for everyone! Neptune Theatre boasts two stages with a variety of productions ranging from local and Canadian-made plays to story known around the world. Find out more about Neptune on Facebook Twitter, Instagram and YouTube channel NeptuneHFX.

The Osprey Arts Centre is a full service theatre with moveable seating. It presents music (classical and popular), dance and theatre, regional, national and international. The Coastline Gallery in its lobby features curated shows by visual artists from the area. Series include the Nautilus Music and Dance Series, Bringin’ It Home sponsored by Music Nova Scotia, a Theatre series, a Youth theatre series and the annual Shelburne Writers Festival the second weekend of August. The Osprey is the performance home of local musicians and theatre groups.

The Osprey may be rented for performances as well as private rentals for conferences, weddings and banquets.

The Osprey has youth outreach programs with the high schools and the community at large, as well as offering arts day camps for youth in the summer.

Savoy Theatre in Glace Bay Nova Scotia.

Ship’s Company Theatre is a professional theatre company located in the coastal community of Parrsboro/Awokun, Nova Scotia/Mi’kma’ki, Canada. Now celebrating its 38th season, Ship’s Company Theatre is a prime centre for the production and development of Canadian and Atlantic Canadian theatre serving a local, regional, and tourist audience. Our seasons annually include one or two Mainstage plays, a Second Stage play, a Kid’s Stage production, our Concert Series, and Youth Theatre Camps.

Strathspey Place is a 488 soft seat theatre, nestled in amongst the hills of Cape Breton in the scenic and picturesque village of Mabou, Nova Scotia approximately 45 minutes north of the Canso Causeway on Route 19. Strathspey Place and the High school, Dalbrae Academy combine to form the Allan J. MacEachen International Academic and Cultural Centre.

The emergence of Celtic music on the world stage has led to a focus on Inverness County, Cape Breton as a major repository of pure Scottish culture. Acadian and First Nations communities complement and enrich traditional Cape Breton Island music, dance, and folklore.

The need to preserve and promote this unique and diverse cultural heritage brought community groups together to envision a facility which would be appropriate for the performance, production, and training requirements of the region. The result is the beautiful facility of Strathspey Place, officially opened in December, 2000.

Mabou, along with numerous surrounding communities, has been home to world renowned talent and The Rankin Family of Mabou is certainly a shining example of such acclaim. In honour of one of the founding members of the band and the traditional music qualities he embodied, the stage at Strathspey Place is dedicated to the memory of John Morris Rankin who passed away January 16, 2000.

Symphony Nova Scotia is truly Nova Scotia’s orchestra. With a home base in Halifax and performances across the province, Symphony Nova Scotia reaches more than 50,000 Nova Scotians of all ages each year with some of the most innovative concerts and educational offerings in the country.

Though Symphony Nova Scotia had its origins with the Halifax Symphony (1897-1908, 1955-1968), the Halifax Sinfoniette (1947-1955), and the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra (1968-1984), the orchestra as we know it began in 1983 with only 13 full-time musicians.

Today, under the thoughtful and dynamic leadership of Music Director Bernhard Gueller, it is the largest employer in Nova Scotia’s cultural community, employing 37 musicians and ten administrative staff, along with over 150 contracted artistic, production and technical personnel. Its talented team has won many awards, including four East Coast Music Awards for classical music.

The orchestra has repeatedly been praised for its versatility and flexibility, performing everything from baroque to pops to jazz with equal finesse. International music veteran Howard Cable calls Symphony Nova Scotia “the most versatile orchestra in Canada,” and the Chronicle Herald says, “They can play it all: Beethoven, Shostakovich, Hatzis and Current, as well as Tommy Dorsey, Scott Macmillan, Rose Cousins, Buck 65 and Natalie MacMaster. We are, in this province, exceedingly fortunate to have them.”

Symphony Nova Scotia also places a high priority on community engagement and corporate social responsibility. Its education programs reach over 15,000 elementary, junior, and senior high school students each year – students who may not otherwise have access to symphonic music. The Symphony also conducts many accessible community programs, including pre-concert chats, performances in local public libraries, and free community concerts.

“Th’YARC Playhouse and Arts Centre built in 1979 was the first multi-function performance centre in Southwestern Nova Scotia. With a mandate to educate, entertain and promote both the performing and visual arts, the centre provides a venue for local and visiting performers and artists including professional and amateur . The centre contains a 335 soft seat theatre complete with fly tower. The facility also features an art gallery, artist studio, etching studio, costume studio, green room, a set construction area, several dressing rooms, and administrative offices. Th’YARC operates year round with a full time staff of three and approximately 500- 600 volunteers.”

The Creamery Square Arts Society is a nonprofit organization that manages The Grace Arts Centre in Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia. The Grace is a multi genre performance space housing the 170-seat Betty Murray Theatre and the Ice House Gallery.

The Stage at St Andrew’s is a performance and event venue as part of St Andrew’s United Church. Think fair trade for the music industry. That’s us. This is about the performers and the people who love their stuff. We want to provide music lovers an opportunity to access locally made music and culivate a connection with the artists who provide it. This is not driven by money. This is driven by music. From our perspective, it is about bringing community together. Why not bring Queer Punk and Traditional Gaelic artists on the same stage together? Artists and audiences will open themselves up to new voices. They’ve got their fans and we have the place where they can come together. Our venue is creating community for musicians, and bringing the community to them as well. We’re not trying to take over the local neighbourhood music venues, they are already doing fabulous things. We want to join them!