Latest news with #Lucasville
CTV News
18-07-2025
- General
- CTV News
Lucasville, N.S., residents concerned over proposed 118-unit apartment building
Plans for an apartment complex in Lucasville, N.S., are not sitting well with a number of residents in the area. Plans for an apartment complex in Lucasville, N.S., are not sitting well with a number of residents in the area. Plans for an apartment complex in Lucasville, N.S., are not sitting well with a number of residents in the area. Dozens of people attended what was billed as an emergency public meeting on the issue at the Wallace Lucas Community Centre Thursday night. The proposed 118-unit building in the 500 block of Lucasville Road is the latest in a series of developments residents say have been quietly approved by the Halifax Regional Municipality. They say the end result is reshaping the historic African Nova Scotian community without residents' consent. 'We've got traffic ... between 5,000 and 10,000 cars go through this road already, so it's going to add to that. We have a community centre here that cannot house the amount of people that we already have within our boundary,' said Devon Parsons with the Lucasville Vision Committee. 'We have no transit, we have no sidewalk, so there's many things that need to be fixed before anyone should even think about wanting to put a 118-unit apartment building on Lucasville.' Residents are asking the city to pause all Lucasville developments until residents have completed their own planning process and cancel permit extensions granted without factoring in the area's historic and cultural designation. A petition is also being circulated with more than 700 signatures. With files from CTV Atlantic's Bruce Frisko. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
CBC
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
'Something very unique': Halifax kiosk serves up African Nova Scotian heritage, culture
Social Sharing A new shop and food kiosk celebrating African Nova Scotian heritage and culture opened last week on the Halifax waterfront. Freedom Culinary Culture offers classic comfort dishes and a selection of goods by local African Nova Scotian artists. "I think that we have something very unique here that we don't have anywhere else," said Dean Lucas, founder of Freedom Culinary Culture. "With our communities, we have so many stories." He said the kiosk aims to make African Nova Scotian culture accessible to tourists. Lucas said he noticed a lot of Black tourists on the boardwalk last summer. While speaking to them, he realized they knew very little about the history of African Nova Scotians. "There was nothing provided by the cruise ships to let them know," he said. "I thought, how can we ... let them know that we exist and that we're here?" Books by local authors, quilts and jewelry line the kiosks' shelves. The menu is made up of local classics like blueberry grunt, fried pepperoni and maple molasses cornbread. Lucas said the menu was inspired by his father and grandmothers' cooking. "Just the things that I enjoyed eating and other people told me they liked," he said. "This is good food that we shared with Nova Scotians and Maritimers, but it's also part of our culture too." Lucas grew up in Lucasville, a prominent African Nova Scotian community established by Black settlers who had fled slavery in the United States after the War of 1812. He said his family has been there since its beginning. "So lots of friends, lots of memory. And I think where I'm at now, I need to get back. And I think this is my way." One of the chefs, Darius Fader, said he has learned to make cornbread and blueberry grunt during his time at Freedom. At 15, he's one of several young people employed at the kiosk for the season. "I feel like it's a good opportunity to explore my own culture more and just expand on my knowledge in terms of what I know about my history," said Fader, who has family in Africville and North Preston. Lucas said he hopes working at Freedom will encourage young employees to be proud of their heritage and help preserve African Nova Scotian culture. "My idea was to get them in here so they can represent their communities, talk about their heritage, as well as get them to learn and get involved with our history," said Lucas. Lucas said he thinks a focus on African Nova Scotian culture could be an opportunity for growth in tourism, and he hopes to see more businesses like his in the future. "We could probably turn this into one of the biggest Black travel destinations within the world once we get things going and build economies within our communities."
