The Site of Halifax National Festival 2010

Location in City:
          The Halifax Metro Centre and World Trade & Convention Centre complex is in the centre of downtown Halifax (view map) at the foot of Citadel Hill National Historic Site.

Access by Road:
          The Trans-Canada Highway enters Nova Scotia from New Brunswick and provides a connection to all points in the United States and Canada. Tourists heading for Halifax turn off of the Trans-Canada Highway (NS Route 104) in Truro and travel about 100 km on Route 102 to Halifax.

Access by Public Transit:
          Halifax International Airport is 40 km from downtown with regular shuttle service to the downtown hotels.
          VIA Rail Canada offers trans-continental connections with Western Canadian cities and some US destinations. 6 trains arrive weekly from Montreal and points west.

Downtown Access by Public Transit:
          The WT & CC is 4 blocks up the hill from the Ferry Terminal connection to Dartmouth.
          A major junction point for bus routes is at Scotia Square on Barrington Street, which is 1 block away from the WT & CC.

The Venue -- Number of Buildings and Separation:
           We plan to use two floors in each of two adjacent and interconnected buildings.
           One escalator connects the top floor of the WT & CC to the ice level of the Metro Centre.

World Trade & Convention Centre and Halifax Metro Centre:
           This combined facility is centrally located in downtown Halifax just below Citadel Hill National Historic Site. The Brunswick Street entrances lead onto the Concourse Level which circles the Arena, providing a 3000 square foot hall on one side and a 4000 square foot hall on the other. The arena itself has a central floor area of 17,000 square feet and seats 10,000 spectators. Beneath and behind the stands there are additional spaces appropriate for shops and registration. From the arena floor an escalator leads down one floor to the 3rd floor of the WT & CC where the Highland Suite of halls is located. Another escalator leads down to the 2nd floor of the WT & CC which contains the Port Royal Rooms and the Mariner Suites. We plan to hold all the ceremonies and pageants in the Halifax Metro Centre Arena.

Parking:
           The following hotels have parking for their guests: Prince George, Delta Halifax, Halifax Marriott Harbourfront, Citadel Halifax Hotel, and the Cambridge Suites.
           In addition there is general parking in Scotia Square, the Casino, Purdy's Wharf, and under the Court House. Currently there are also parking lots along the waterfront.

Dance Hall Assignments, Proposed March 2010

These are our tentative hall plans for 2000 dancers.

We hope to be able to put down some hard dance surface area in every dance hall.

Expense and energy will probably prohibit full hard dance surfaces in the carpeted halls.

We do plan to cover the carpet with a hard surface for the cloggers and round dancers.

We hope that those square dancers who can dance comfortably on carpet will come prepared with the necessary shoes. If you have not tried dancing on carpet please consider the fact that 3 days of dancing on cement can be quite hard on the legs and feet. Carpet does provide a relaxing, padded alternative. All that is needed to square dance on carpet is hard leather soled shoes and a slight readjustment in picking up your feet rather than sliding them.