Blog written by Mackenzie Cammisuli
Halifax is an amazing place – come on, we all know that! Sometimes it seems like this city never truly gets the credit it deserves and doesn’t get the chance to shine! To our surprise several times Halifax has been mentioned, or has appeared on film and we didn’t even know it.
Here are the top 5 mentions of Halifax in the media:
- The television show Haven
Although the show is set in Maine, the show is actually filmed in Chester and various other locations. Some of the shots feature famous restaurants and other hot spots across Nova Scotia!
Scenes are filmed in Lunenburg, Peggy’s Cove, Bridgewater and several other Nova Scotian locations.
Although the ship sank about 400 miles from Newfoundland, Halifax was the closest city. Located on the Halifax Waterfront, the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic displays exhibits featuring authentic artifacts from the ship. When the film Titanic was being shot, James Cameron spent a great deal of time at the museum and even remodeled the ship’s famous staircase based on the one displayed! It is also notable that the entire cast and crew spent some time here in Halifax and some scenes were also filmed here!
- Dan McKinnon’s song “Remember Me”
This song is a telling of multiple survivors’ stories from the Halifax Explosion. It was inspired when a mug with the words “Remember Me” written on it was found in Rockingham. This song was featured on an album that the musician wrote with the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic; all songs are a telling of Nova Scotian History.
- The tragedy of Swissair Flight 111
This is an event that Nova Scotians will never forget. It shook locals to the core and was a moment that was noted around the world with great sadness. This event has been mentioned on several television shows ranging from the History Channel’s ‘Disasters of the Century’ to ‘The Fifth Estate’ and National Geographic.
In 2000 a film called Blessed Stranger: After Flight 111 aired on CBC, W Network, CBS and was also aired in the UK. The film has also been aired in the UK. The movie was entirely filmed in Nova Scotia, and while the story itself is utterly heartbreaking, it pays great tribute to the tragic event and to the place where it happened.
- In 2010 poet Tanya Davis and videographer Andrea Dorfman shared a video on YouTube called “How to be Alone”
The video became extremely popular and with more than 7 million views. The poetry is beautiful but what’s even better is that entire film was shot in Halifax! The video features shots with Gus’ Pub, the Winston Churchill statue on Spring Garden Road and footage of the train tracks that run through the South End.
Other notable pop culture references to our beloved province is also mentioned in Pretty Little Liars, Vampire Diaries, The Simpsons, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, World War Z and even a John Mayer song!
Let us know if you can think of any other notable shout-outs to Nova Scotia that we missed on Twitter and Facebook!
