News
Virtual Recreation Town Hall
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We’re inviting recreation sector practitioners and partners to join us for a Virtual Town Hall on Thursday, March 5th, from 2:00-3:30pm to discuss implications for the sector from the 26-27 Provincial Government Budget. This session will provide an opportunity to check in with sector peers and share what we know so far. We’ll look to gain insight into impacts of proposed funding cuts to help guide next steps for the sector and for RNS.
Statement on Provincial Government Funding Cuts
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Recreation Nova Scotia has issued a statement regarding recent provincial budget decisions that include a reduction to our core funding and significant changes to grant programs that support communities across the province.
These decisions have implications for our organization and for the broader recreation sector. In the statement below, our President and Executive Director outline what we know at this time, the importance of investments in recreation to community wellbeing, and share how we are responding.
pdf Read our full statement here. (91 KB)
We are working with colleagues in Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage to understand the changes as information becomes available. At the same time, we’re engaging various partners to coordinate a strategic advocacy response. We thank our membership and the broader sector for their continued commitment as we navigate this issue and welcome your input moving forward.
RNS Award Winner Spotlight – William Roy, Warm your Bones Festival
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Are you looking for innovative ways to activate your neighbourhood and encourage your fellow community members to get outside and active for the winter months? Take some inspiration from this year’s Heart of Recreation Award winner, Will Roy, Board President and founder of the Sport and Social Club of Cape Breton, who introduced the ”Warm Your Bones Festival” in Sydney in February 2025.
Recognizing that many community members struggle to be socially and physically active during the winter months, the festival was designed to encourage people to get outside despite the cold weather and find ways to stay active and engaged with the community. The festival had three elements: cozy drink/food specials at local venues, a series of recreational activities, and a street party in downtown Sydney. Will spent many hours building partnerships with more than twenty local organizations, venues and facilitators. He also coordinated over a dozen special events, including arts programming (such as drawing, collage, crochet, and writing workshops), physical activities (like winter hiking), and cozy recreational fun (such as board games and a movie night).
The partnerships that Will built with local businesses, artists, and facilitators were keys to the festival’s success. These community members from a range of sectors not only facilitated the programming but also helped people discover new reasons to get out during winter and explore their community. Given the social nature of the events, the festival also fostered social connections between community members, creating the opportunity for participants to meet new people and socialize.
Warm Your Bones fest is the best thing about February. We saw lots of folks brave the weather to come get our Mac n Cheese special! It was fun and something to look forward to during the darkest part of the year.
- Selkies Neighbourhood Diner
Building on the success of last year’s event, the Warm Your Bones Festival 2026 will take place from February 12-22 and will once again feature hot drink and cozy food specials at local cafes and restaurants, crafty, fun activities like board games, crocheting, soap making and paint nights, and activities to get folks active in outdoor spaces. Find out more at www.warmyourbones.ca .
Looking to host your own fun winter events? Find resources to plan your own community events to take the roof off winter at https://www.recreationns.ns.ca/take-the-roof-off-winter.html.
Moments That Matter: African Heritage in Nova Scotia
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February marks African Heritage Month in Nova Scotia. It is a time to celebrate the achievements, resilience, and contributions of Black communities, past and present. We wanted to share some uncommon “Did You Know?” facts that highlight Black history and its spectrum in Nova Scotia. These stories reflect the important role recreation, sport, and community spaces have played in Black communities across the province, and beyond.
We invite you this month to learn, reflect, and celebrate with us.
Did you know?
Most Canadians know the music of Bob Marley. Fewer know that one of his most powerful songs, Redemption Song, traces its roots to a 1937 speech by Black rights activist Marcus Garvey in Sydney, Nova Scotia. Garvey’s call to “emancipate yourselves from mental slavery” directly inspired the song’s most famous lyric. In the early 20th century, ‘Garveyism’ had a strong presence in African Nova Scotian communities, with active Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) chapters in Halifax, Sydney, and other Black communities across the province. These communities were part of a global Black freedom movement rooted in self-determination, pride, and resistance. The same themes echoed in Redemption Song.
Learn more: https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/the-african-nova-scotian-roots-of-bob-marleys-redemption-song
Did you know?
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has a special connection to recreation and sport that ties back to Canada, including Nova Scotia. His father and Black Loyalist descendent, Rocky Johnson, was born and raised in Amherst, Nova Scotia and became a legendary professional wrestler, later inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. Dwayne not only followed in his dad’s footsteps into professional wrestling, but he also spent part of his early athletic career playing Canadian football with the Calgary Stampeders in the CFL, an experience he has called one of the defining periods of his life.
Did you know?
In 1970, Saint Mary’s University made Canadian university hockey history when Bob Dawson, Darrell Maxwell, and Percy Paris took the ice together as the first and only all-Black forward line in Canadian university hockey. Their presence also made Saint Mary’s the first Canadian university to roster three Black players on its hockey team. At a time when Black athletes faced widespread racism and exclusion, their achievement was groundbreaking, not just for the sport, but for representation, resilience, and history in African Canadian communities.
Learn more: https://www.smuhuskies.ca/general/2021-22/releases/20220203sbi7nz and https://www.smuhuskies.ca/sports/general/2015-16/Releases/First_all-black_line_in_Canadian_university_hockey_honoured
Movie Media Meet Up Series Highlight
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This winter, Recreation Nova Scotia and the Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre’s Every One, Every Day Program launched a powerful Movie Media Meet Up series focused on decolonization and anti-racism in recreation and the outdoors. Having held our first gathering in December, the conversations are already shaping how we think about access and our relationships to land and community.
Through four in-person sessions, this series uses Canadian films as a starting point for meaningful dialogue, inviting participants to examine how colonial systems continue to influence recreation spaces and outdoor experiences. Together, we are creating space to reflect and imagine more just futures in recreation, grounded in learning, accountability, and collective action.
The first session began by collectively creating community rules of engagement. Rather than arriving with a fixed set of expectations, participants were invited to shape how they wanted to be together in the space. This process centred respect, curiosity, and active listening, helping to build trust and set a supportive tone for the evening. This was an important step, as the group prepared to engage with complex topics.
Participants then watched There’s Something in the Water, a documentary that exposes how environmental racism and industrial planning have disproportionately impacted Black and Mi’kmaq communities in Nova Scotia. The film raises critical questions about who has access to clean, safe, and joyful spaces, while also highlighting the power of community leadership and collective action in the fight for environmental justice.
Following the screening, several key themes emerged through thoughtful group discussion that connected the film’s messages to recreation and community well-being. Participants reflected on how environmental justice is closely tied to access to recreational spaces, health, and quality of life, with many sharing that they were newly learning about the realities of environmental racism in Nova Scotia and how uneven access to healthy land continues to impact communities.
The conversation also highlighted ongoing tensions between governments and land users, questions of decision-making and responsibility, and the importance of supporting communities that are leading change rather than speaking for them. Throughout the discussion, participants connected these themes to their own lives, sharing personal stories that deepened their relationships to land and recreation.
As the Movie Media Meet Up series continues, we are carrying these reflections forward with intention. Each session builds on the last, creating space not only to learn and unlearn, but to imagine what meaningful change in recreation and outdoor spaces can look like. By the end of the four sessions, we hope to collectively identify a clear call to action. One that is informed by community voices and focused on tangible steps toward more equitable and decolonized recreation across Nova Scotia!
Looking for more information about our Movie Media Meet Up? Follow the link: https://www.halifaxiseveryone.ca/movie-media-meet-ups
Recreation Nova Scotia participates in Canadian Parks and Recreation Association's Forward Together Summit
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Recreation Nova Scotia (RNS) staff and board members travelled to Ottawa last week to participate in the Canadian Parks and Recreation Association (CPRA)’s Forward Together: A Summit for Collective Impact, joining national colleagues to advance the role of recreation and parks in building healthy, connected communities.- Launching a national Collective Impact model to renew the Framework for Recreation in Canada
- Establishing a $100M annual Recreation Infrastructure Renewal Program
- Creating a $2M annual crisis-preparedness fund
- Positioning CPRA as a national partner for youth workforce development