The Northeast Conference on British Studies

The Northeast Conference on British Studies will hold its Annual Meeting in Halifax, Nova Scotia from October 13th through 15th, 2023.

Here you can register for the conference and find links to the program, hotel information, travel advice, and the NECBS itself.

You can find a link to the conference program at our webside: http://www.necbs.org/conferences/

NECBS 2023 Local Information (graciously provided by our local organizer, Dr. Krista Kesselring)

Hotel(s): We have block booked a limited number of rooms at the Lord Nelson Hotel (1515 South Park Street) at a rate of CAD $219 per night plus taxes for bookings made before September 13. October is a busy month for events in Halifax. If you haven’t yet booked, please do so at this link (If you call the hotel, please mention the conference to get the discounted rate).

Should rooms at the Lord Nelson no longer be available, other possibilities within a relatively easy walk include the Atlantica Hotel (1980 Robie Street), the Courtyard by Marriott (5120 Salter Street) and the Garden South Park Inn (1263 South Park Street). Many other hotels are available nearer the Halifax waterfront.

If you’re staying anywhere other than the Lord Nelson, Google Maps is your best source of information on bus routes and schedules or walking routes and times. Bus fare is CAD $2.75, cash.

Getting to the hotel from the airport: The Halifax Stanfield airport is about a 30-minute drive from the Lord Nelson Hotel. Cabs and Ubers cost roughly CAD $60-70 each way.

If you’re interested in car sharing, try signing up here, reaching out to others signed up as appropriate and deleting your name once you have a full car.

A city bus (Route 320) does make the trip, costing CAD $4.25 (exact change) and taking about an hour to get from the airport to Scotia Square downtown, from which point it’s a 16-minute walk or short cab ride to the Lord Nelson. See here for the schedule.

Conference venues: We begin on Friday at the University of King’s College, with registration from 5:00 in the Wilson Common Room on the second floor of the New Academic Building (K on the campus map) and Dana Rabin’s plenary on the first floor, in Alumni Hall, beginning at 6:00.. The casual reception to follow will be upstairs on the second floor, in the Wilson Common Room, starting at 7:00pm. The main entrance to the King’s campus is at 6350 Coburg Road (C on the campus map). King’s is about a 20-minute walk from the Lord Nelson, or a 7-minute ride on the No. 1 bus (heading toward Mumford Terminal), which goes nearly door-to-door.

The sessions on Saturday and Sunday will be held on the Dalhousie campus at the Collaborative Health Education Building (the CHEB), located at 5793 University Avenue, on the corner of Summer Street. It is roughly an 8-minute walk from the Lord Nelson (go left out of the hotel then right up Spring Garden Road past the Public Gardens, then left onto Summer until you reach University Ave). Registration will be in the main foyer, with breaks, etc., in the adjacent Windsor Foundation Room (C170).

The Saturday evening reception will be held at the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site, centered in the Soldiers’ Library. To get to the Citadel, turn right coming out of the Lord Nelson onto South Park St, then right onto Sackville. It’s hard to miss…but while it’s only a 10-12 minute walk door-to-gate, do be forewarned that much of it is uphill.

Restaurants, Things to Do, etc.:

The city has lots to keep you busy if you have a bit of free time. Check out, e.g, the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 or the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, both on the waterfront. Our conference also coincides with Nocturne, the city’s annual ‘art at night’ festival. Check the Nocturne website nearer October for a schedule of events and map of installations. The Coast’s website lists other local events and musical performances. If you have the flexibility to stay on a few extra days, the city is hosting the major international ‘Universities Studying Slavery’ conference from Wednesday, 18 October through to Saturday, 21 October.

The city is full of fabulous restaurants. Within a 5-minute walk of the hotel there are a number of solid options, e.g.:

• Rasa, mid-price, Indian

• Cha Baa Thai, mid-price Thai

• Sushi Nami Royale, mid-price Japanese

• Le Bistro, mid-price, vaguely French

• Plus several cheaper pubs and taverns and lots of takeaways, also the Stillwell Beer Garden.

But dinner can be a good excuse to get into the heart of downtown or down to the waterfront.

For the former, stroll along Argyle Street, which has lots of options, from budget to mid-range. (Antojo Tacos is good, for example.)

On the waterfront, a few of the many include:

• All the spots in the new ‘Queen’s Marque’ complex, all very concept-driven with their own ‘stories’, and with prices to match. Café Lunette was voted the city’s best new restaurant in The Coast’s 2022 ‘Best of’ readers’ choice poll. Salt + Ash is the most affordable of the batch and has great water views, but for those reasons, reservations are recommended.

• Café Chianti, old-school Italian, very pricey, but some of the best harbour views of any restaurant the city.

• The Bicycle Thief, ‘Nova Scotian/Italian’, also very pricey, but very frequently the top spot in The Coast’s ‘best of’ polling.

• Black Sheep Restaurant, not quite on the water but very good locally sourced ‘New American’ dishes, craft beers and cocktails, and its location in the old brewery somewhat makes up for the lack of harbour views.

• Depending on the weather and the appetite, the Halifax Beer Garden on Lower Water Street, right on the water, may be all you need.