• Most Popular Articles in Arts & Entertainment

  1. The cookbook sisters
  2. The Rankin Family reunites
  3. Home is where the heart is
  4. The Art of Dance in Halifax
  5. Up close and personal with Jimmy Rankin plus concerts, festivals and events
  6. Festival time! Summer heats up the entertainment scene!

  See More...

Celebrity Watch

RUMOUR HAS IT that seven feature films will be shot in the Maritimes this summer, so be on the lookout for crews and actors anywhere you’re cruising. Here’s the advice I like to stalk by: if you see a cluster of trailers and thick wires all over the ground, you’ve found a movie set. If you see an SUV, Lincoln town car, van, or limo nearby, you can bet one of the actors is inside. If you’ve heard rumours a certain celebrity is in town and you’re desperate to see them, start hanging around the nicest hotels and eavesdropping on the staff. If you’re in the right place, you might overhear a whispered comment about an impending arrival or request for an obscure brand of bottled water.

Now, moving on to the small screen, one of the most popular television shows shot in Nova Scotia is the Showcase hit “Trailer Park Boys”, so why not check out the place where it all began? Obviously, Sunnyvale Trailer Park is fictional, but Ricky, Julian, and Bubbles shot the show in several real trailer parks before creating their own set—I heard they kept getting kicked out of the real parks for their peace-disturbing antics. The first park they called home is Woodbine Mobile Home Park in Beaverbank. It’s pretty surreal to drive through it and see the same streets and trailers that appear in the show’s credits—don’t forget a bag of Ricky’s favourite “Zesty Mordant” Doritos for the drive!

Speaking of the scheming threesome, a “Trailer Park Boys” tour wouldn’t be complete with a trip to Bubbles Mansion—the bar on Prince Street in downtown Halifax owned by the bespectacled Bubbles himself: Mike Smith. He’s known to entertain his famous buds there whenever they come to town, so you never know who you might see.

While you’re in Halifax, there are a few more celebri-tempting spots to visit. Yachts are frequently docked in the harbour, so keep your eyes peeled for their potentially famous owners wandering around downtown. Motley Crue’s Vince Neil hosted an after-party at The Marquee Club after the band’s concert last March. Baywatch babe Pamela Anderson hung out at the Economy Shoe Shop during the weekend of the 2006 Juno Awards, and pretty much every visiting celebrity winds up there. Candy shop Freak Lunchbox has served famous customers such as Charlie’s Angels star Lucy Lui. Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson dined at The Press Gang back in 2001 during the filming of K-19: The Widowmaker. And when Kevin Spacey’s plane was delayed after he’d finished filming The Shipping News, he chowed down at greasy spoon Bill’s Diner in Fall River.

Rock’n’roll fans will want to stop off at organic eatery The Wooden Monkey for freshlybaked slice of memorabilia. Rolling Stones guitarist Ron Wood and his wife, Jo, had dinner there the night before the band’s September 2006 performance on the Halifax Common. Make sure to try their blueberry pie with spelt wheat crust and maple syrup flavouring—that’s what Mick and the boys all ate before taking the stage the next evening.

Halifax couldn’t stop buzzing about the Stones’ Concert on the Common last summer, but now the action is moving next-door. On Canada Day, the hottest spot in the Maritimes is going to be Halifax’s grassy gem, Citadel Hill. Nickelback is headlining a crazy show featuring Daughtry, Hedley, Staind, and Finger Eleven. Cross your fingers that we don’t get another downpour.

Prince Edward Island was bopping last summer when the Black Eyed Peas put on a Fergalicious Blast at the Beach concert. While the ambiance was not exactly beachy—it should have been called Blast on the Grass—the show was spectacular. The Pussycat Dolls were twirlin’ on a jungle gym of polls and rails, and Mobile, Stabilo and the Philosopher Kings got everybody dancing. This year’s headliner for the July 21 show is Aerosmith, and you can bet Steven Tyler’s shrieks are loud enough to rattle the windows of Green Gables. Sorry, Anne!


The White Stripes are scheduled to rock every single province and territory during their tour this summer, way more than most acts ever do, including stops in Moncton, Charlottetown, Halifax, Glace Bay, and St. John’s during July. But it’s no wonder Jack is loyal to his fans in the Great White North—he has family in Sydney and Antigonish, and is related to Ashley MacIsaac (who is set to open the Glace Bay show) and Natalie MacMaster. Maybe next he’ll build a white-striped mansion in Cape Breton to stay closer to his peeps?

If your dancing is more along the lines of shufflin’ and swingin’ than stomping and slamming, you can’t miss the Country Rocks the Hill concert on Moncton’s Magnetic Hill on September 1. Headlining power-couple Faith Hill and Tim McGraw are so popular, they’re sort of the Brangelina of country music—except without all the kid-collecting. It’s their only outdoor concert in 2007, so see page seven to win concert tickets!


After you’ve danced yourself to exhaustion at all those concerts, take a relaxing drive to try and spot a few celebrity homes. Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby—otherwise known as the pride of Cole Harbour—bought his first home in Enfield last summer. The enormous house is located in a gated community, and he reportedly paid for it with a personal cheque for $750,000—pretty hefty purchase for a 19-yearold!

But Sid the Kid isn’t the first celeb to grace the Enfield area. One of his neighbours is rapper Classified (aka Luke Boyd), and rumour has it a reportedly flipped-out Mariah Carey stayed at a home in nearby Grand Lake while filming the 2002 flick WiseGirls.

One of Cape Breton’s most famous—or should I say ‘infamous’—landowners is Richard Hatch, that narcissistic, naked sole Survivor. He scored the million-dollar-prize on the first season of “Survivor” and used a bit of that cash to buy 17 properties throughout Sydney, Glace Bay, Sydney Mines, Donkin, and New Waterford. But don’t expect to see Richie strutting nude around the Cape this summer— he’s doing time for tax evasion at the Federal Correctional Institution in Morgantown, West Virginia. Oops.

Reality show has-beens aren’t the only stars enamoured with beautiful Cape Breton. Sylvester Stallone and Barbra Streisand have vacationed there (hopefully not together), and Demi Moore is rumoured to own a summer home near Bras d’Or Lake. She fell in love with Nova Scotia while filming The Scarlet Letter in Yarmouth. If you’re heading down that way, make sure to check out the Manor Inn in nearby Hebron. You could stay in the deluxe room Demi lived in for six weeks during filming.

If you’re anywhere around Antigonish, be on the lookout for Ethan Hawke. He owns a private peninsula in nearby Tracadie, and likes to bring his kids, Maya and Levon, up for vacations. Pssst—try hanging around Tim Hortons, because Ethan’s quite a regular customer. Offering to pay for his double-double would be a very non-stalkerish way to meet, right?

Heather Sawers is an entertainment reporter with the Halifax Daily News.