Nova Scotia’s Culture

Experience the Culture of Nova Scotia

Step dance. Smell the sweetgrass. Try the rappie pie. Follow your family’s footsteps to freedom. Nova Scotia’s Culture is a mix of Acadian, Mi’kmaq, Scottish and African Nova Scotian foundations; a passion for the past; and an unparalleled love of a good kitchen party. From the spectacle of an Antigonish Highland Games to simple storytelling around a sacred fire to searching out your family tree in small town archives, there are endless ways to experience your own personal Nova Scotia.

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Nova Scotia's Cultural Festivals & Events

Our calendar includes more than 750 festivals and events celebrating tartans, harmonicas, seafood, ukuleles, and blueberries along with traditional powwows and caber-tossing men in kilts. Renowned Nova Scotia cultural festivals and events’include DRUM! – a spectacular production celebrating the rhythms of our founding cultures and the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo, the world’s largest annual indoor show and the oldest continuous highland games held outside of Scotland.

Music and Art Festivals & Events

Music and art are mirrors of a culture’s soul. Our artisans welcome you at the doors of their studios to come in and see first hand traditional artistry and craftsmanship at work. Tour a pewtersmith’s workshop. Visit the world-famous rug hookers of Cheticamp. Pick up a Studio Rally Map and plot a route that takes you to potters, quilters, carvers, blacksmiths and jewelsmiths.

From the sizzling fiddles of the Acadians to the haunting reels of the Celtic performers and through to stylings of today’s hottest alt rock performers, music courses through our hearts and souls like the saltwater that shapes our way of life.

• The Celtic Colours International Festival celebrates Gaelic music and culture across glorious Cape Breton Island at the height of the autumn leaf season.
• The TD Canada Trust Atlantic Jazz Festival lights up the whole city of Halifax with red hot jazz from an internationally-respected line-up of musicians for nine days in July. 
• Halifax Pop Explosion, a five-day festival of new music, media and culture takes place each autumn.

Nova Scotia is home to some of Canada’s most enduring and best loved folk festivals like the Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival where music and camaraderie are set against the enchanting backdrop of this UNESCO World Heritage town and the Stan Rogers Folk Festival, celebrating the life, music and legacy of Stan Rogers in Canso, a small fishing town on the Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia.

Live Theatre in Nova Scotia

For live theatre lovers, Neptune Theatre, the region’s largest theatre company, offers a broad range of theatrical experiences from the classics to world and Canadian premieres. In every corner of the province, you’ll discover established artists and rising stars alike playing intimate venues like the Savoy Theatre, the Astor Theatre, Th'Yarc, Chester Playhouse and the DeCoste Centre.