(Halifax, N.S.) – Downtown Halifax Business Commission’s (DHBC) DELIGHTFUL DOWNTOWN “African Heritage Month” light show at Grafton Park (corner of Spring Garden Road. and Grafton Street) starts tonight at 6 p.m. and will be projected on the former Halifax Memorial Library nightly throughout February.
This special light show is a dedication to this year’s African Heritage Month theme, ‘Seas of Struggle – African Peoples from Shore to Shore,’ and highlights four different migrations that people of African descent embarked on, to arrive on Nova Scotian shores.
This vivid production was conceptualized by DHBC’s placemaking team and designed by Nick Iwasko of Wasko AV, with special advisement from Halifax Regional Municipality’s Office of Diversity & Inclusion and their African Nova Scotian Affairs Integration Office (ANSAIO). The show also includes original music, composed by Bradley “Raslaxx” Frankson of Legacy Music.
“When creating the audio for this show, I really wanted to paint a picture. All the sounds, instruments, music genres, were chosen specifically for each scene. I wanted to take you on a journey,” says Frankson. “The text in this show is just as important as the visuals, so it was important that the audio captivate the audience, allowing you time to absorb what you’re seeing and hearing, and let it sink in.”
DHBC’s DELIGHTFUL DOWNTOWN “African Heritage Month” light show runs three minutes in length and focuses on the arrival of the Black Loyalists, the Jamaican Maroons, the Refugees of the War of 1812, and the Caribbean Migrants, and how each group contributed to the prosperity of Nova Scotia.
“Our original goal with these light shows was to attract more people to Downtown Halifax,” says Paul MacKinnon, CEO of DHBC. “But once we started planning them, we also realized how powerful our resources and platforms can be, to educate, and help marginalized communities spread awareness. Ensuring the people of Nova Scotia feel represented in DHBC’s work is important to us.”
DHBC’s “African Heritage Month” light show is one of many light shows being shown throughout the month of February, as part of DHBC’s DELIGHTFUL DOWNTOWN at Grafton Park.
For more information on this show and for the full DELIGHTFUL DOWNTOWN at Grafton Park light show schedule go to: https://downtownhalifax.ca/delightful.
And for more information on African Heritage Month and this year’s theme go to: https://ansa.novascotia.ca/african-heritage-month.
Land Acknowledgement:
Downtown Halifax Business Commission acknowledges that we are in Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq People. This territory is covered by the “Treaties of Peace and Friendship” which Mi’kmaq and Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet) Peoples first signed with the British Crown in 1725. The treaties did not deal with surrender of lands and resources but in fact recognized Mi’kmaq and Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet) title and established the rules for what was to be an ongoing relationship between nations.
About Downtown Halifax Business Commission (DHBC):
Downtown Halifax Business Commission represents over 1,600 businesses located in the central business district of Halifax, Nova Scotia. DHBC’s mission is to passionately pursue a more prosperous and vibrant Downtown Halifax, through good development, Downtown mobility, membership services, DHBC leadership, and Downtown placemaking. For more information, visit downtownhalifax.ca.
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For more information, and media inquiries please contact:
Jayme Lynn Butt
Communications Manager
Downtown Halifax Business Commission (DHBC)