into the airplane’s overhead compart- ment, the tall stranger across the aisle in 15D quickly arose to help him. “Here, I’ve got that,” he assured while securing the luggage. 15E gave a heartfelt“Thank you!” and then he turned to me,Mr. Stranger in 15F next to him, and smiled. “You can always tell when you’re going to Nova Scotia,”he said. “Everybody’s nicer.”
As
As a constant traveler - onewho has arced from Leipzig to Las Vegas to Lahaina in search of spectacular meeting venues - I make it a point to avoid trapping myself by stereotyping any particular country and its people. However, I’ll gladly make the exception when it comes to the Eastern Canadian provinces, especially, the maritime one of Nova Scotia.
Utterly accessible (Halifax’s Stanfield International Airport is about 1-1/2 hours- by-air from most major Mid-Atlantic cities), exceptionally beautiful – indeed, with its sensational (and drive-able) Scotland-like highlands/timbered low- land scenery, miles of craggy coastline dotted with romantic fishing villages; a
the man occupying seat 15E struggled to stow his duffle bag
succulent bounty of seafood (Dighby scallops, Atlantic salmon, Malpeque Bay oysters, plus, lobsters as fresh and meaty as any you’ll find in Maine), along with offering the city of Halifax and its bur- geoning development, Nova Scotia is more than weathered wharfs and whale watching.
It’s those people who also matter - thoughtful,helpful and courteous citizens - the kind who actually will wait for the light to turn green;who’ll gladly pull to a stop so you can cross that walkway, and, for the most part, they’re folks who will ask if you need help finding your destina- tion (or stowing your bag into the over- head compartment) and not expect any- thing in return, other than a simple “Thank you”of gratitude.
It was no surprise then, while going through Canadian Customs, to be accord- ed a nice, warm greeting by my desk agent instead of the requisite (and suspi- cious) third-degree and a snarl like I’m used to when entering so many other countries. Driving the quick 20 minutes from the airport, I began to see Halifax before me – the shimmery harbor and its armada of freighters, leisure crafts, tour and fishing boats; the graduated chock-a- block of 19th,20th and 21st century build- ings combined with so many church steeples rising up the city’s natural slope toward its pinnacle. And, at that peak, I could see The Citadel, the two hundred year-old national historic site resting majestically like a solid Scottish sentry.
I couldn’t help but to notice the differ- ence in this city’s skyline since my first and only other visit here back in the mid- ‘80’s. Today,along with a plethora of hotel and office towers, there are cranes jutting upward like an erector set. They are lofty heralds of exciting growth and expansion currently occurring as the city and its peo- ple ready for the 2016 opening of the new convention center.
Grafton Street
Soon, I arrive at my home-away-from- home for the next three nights,The Lord Nelson Hotel and Suites. This circa-1928 property, with its imposing red-brick façade, is situated directly across from the glorious Halifax Public Gardens (ask for a view facing it),and amere block fromthe
stony Citadel. Throughout Lord Nelson there’s an air of great character and pre- served history from its Georgian style, sweeping white columns, and on up its impressive white marble staircase.
Named after Admiral Horatio Nelson (who ironically never came to Halifax), the property has an OldWorld flare and it offers over 12,500-square feet of flexible meeting space, combining antiquity with modern technology. There are also 262 well-appointed guestrooms. Each night’s rest in my own comfortable room is soon to be punctuated by the fulfilling break- fasts I’ll enjoy each morning in The Arms Restaurant, the Nelson’s full-service English-style pub.
I begin my whirlwind tour of Halifax and soon learn that three days are just enough (but not nearly enough) time to spend here. First, I meet with Scott Ferguson, president and CEO of the gleamingWorld Trade and Convention Centre,which is the current hub for meetings and large con- ferences in Halifax. Scott’s enthusiasm toward his soon-to-be convention center and what it will bring to the city once it’s completed in two years-time is as palpa- ble as it is legitimate.
“Connecting innovators with ideas has Halifax going for a world audience,” he summarizes like a kid who’s waiting for Christmas morning to arrive. “Our com- pact core and small-city feel, along with the thought-out connectiveness of the centre attached through an underground system with our many nearby and water- front hotels,will make this small city a big deal.”
The impending convention center will make a huge splash in an ocean full of prospective planners...
I amimpressed by how this city embraces and utilizes it maritime roots and history of being the gateway to Canada and the United States for over one million immi- grants. Nowhere is this more evident than within the Canadian Museum of Immigra- tion at Pier 21, the“Ellis Island of Canada.”
Exhibition hall by day, the venue holds exceptional spaces and galleries at night in which to conduct meetings offering
Mid-Atlantic EVENTS Magazine 73
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