15 Best Performing Arts in Nova Scotia, Canada

From July through early September, actors perform works by the Bard and others in Point Pleasant Park, at the southern end of the Halifax peninsula. The natural setting—dark woods, rocky shore, and ruins of fortifications—provides a dramatic backdrop. Performances take place from Tuesday through Sunday at 7 pm, with an improv night on Mondays (weather permitting) and you can arrive up to two hours before to secure a good spot (at least 30 minutes before is recommended).

The area's leading cultural institution, the university's 337-seat Boardmore Playhouse hosts an annual season of plays, ranging from Broadway musicals to Shakespeare as well as the One Act Festival, the Youth Theatre Festival, and various concerts.

The Rebecca Cohn Auditorium at Dalhousie University's Arts Centre hosts a full program of performances, including touring national and international entertainers—recent shows have ranged from Rufus Wainwright and Mavis Staples to comedian Billy Connolly and various tribute bands—and opera and classical concerts featuring Symphony Nova Scotia.

The center presents a summer-long program of concerts, dinner theater, comedy, pipe bands, Highland dancing, and ceilidhs with Gaelic music and dance. Past headliners have included acts ranging from k.d. lang to the Scottish Symphony Orchestra.

Performances are staged here most nights, depending on the season, and the lighthearted fun begins when you arrive in the lounge.

More than just a port for the many cruise ships that dock here each year, the pavilion is a popular entertainment venue, too. Its main stage and lighthouse stage host many musical acts, especially during events like Sydney's nine-day Sydney Harbour Front Festival in August and the 10-day Celtic Colours International Festival in October. Even if you're not arriving by ship, the pavilion is easy enough to find: just look for the 60-foot fiddle that towers outside it.

Drama, concerts, comedy, and independent films are among the offerings at this intimate but up-to-date venue that opened in 1921 as a movie house.

You can take in traditional Cape Breton music and other entertainments nightly at the Louisbourg Playhouse, a 17th-century-style theater that was modeled after Shakespeare's Globe. Originally constructed as part of the Disney movie set for Squanto: A Warrior's Tale, the venue was donated to the community in 1994 after filming wrapped.

This sweet 208-seat theatre and gallery space hosts plays, concerts, and cultural events showcasing regional performers (as well as amateur and local theatre groups). Concerts range from popular Canadian folk artists to Celtic bands to cover bands and on occasion you get to see these performers in a much more intimate setting than they might usually play.

Puppets and performers retell classic and contemporary children's stories here. The troupe's home base is the 400-seat MIPAC (Mermaid Imperial Performing Arts Centre) adjacent to its Gerrish Street headquarters, but catching a show can be tricky because of the hectic worldwide touring schedule. If you can't time your trip to coincide with a play date, you can still marvel at Mermaid's props and puppets, as several floors filled with them are open for public viewing.

The neo-Gothic St. Bernard Church, an imposing stone structure famous for its acoustics, hosts classical concerts on some summer Sundays at 4 pm. Acclaimed artists from Canada and beyond perform here under the Musique Saint-Bernard banner. The church, a few miles north of Church Point, seats 1,000. Tickets are available at the door. It's also open to visitors on nonconcert days May through October, with an art exhibition throughout July and August.

The country's oldest professional repertory playhouse—it opened in 1915—is also the largest in Atlantic Canada, with a main stage and studio theater under one roof. It presents year-round performances ranging from classics to comedy and contemporary Canadian drama, plus occasional concerts.

Top-notch plays, comedy, and a concert series are presented from July through September at this three-stage facility. At its heart is the Kipawo, a former Minas Basin ferry that was transformed into the original floating theater in the 1980s. 

Concerts, plays, and musicals are presented at this arts center that is also one of the many venues for the annual Celtic Colours Festival.

Featuring traditional music and dancing, ceilidhs are held at St. Michael's Parish Hall every evening from July to late August, starting at 7:30. The hall opens at 5 for ticket sales, or you can be sure to get in by phoning ahead for a reservation.