Did you know that there are hundreds of people experiencing homelessness in Antigonish? Including dozens of people sleeping rough each night? It’s an invisible issue, and maybe a surprise to many Antigonish residents. We sat down with Speireag Hendra, Executive Director of A Roof Over You Head: a non-profit organization aiming to address the lack of affordable and safe housing for those who find themselves homeless, precariously housed or at risk of homelessness due to various contributing factors such as poverty, mental illness, addiction, etc.

Speireag tells us about:

* The surprisingly large number of people experiencing homelessness in Antigonish, including the dozens that visit the A Roof Over You Head office each day

* The lack of emergency, temporary, or transitional housing in Antigonish

* The causes of homelessness, including skyrocketing rent and utility costs, lack of affordable housing, and general increase in living expenses that make it unaffordable to rent in this town

* The stigma associated with homelessness where the reality of who experiences homelessness and how they got there is quite different to our preconceived notions

* Many people experiencing homelessness are in fact working fulltime jobs

To learn more about A Roof Over Your Head, visit their website or Facebook page at these links:

https://www.facebook.com/AROYH/

https://aroyh.ca/

This week we spoke with Caleb Marshall, Managing Director of Festival Antigonish and Theatre Antigonish to address the rumors that the Bauer Theatre is closing. Highlights from this episode:

* The bad news: The Bauer Theatre faces significant fire safety compliance issues - A recent fire marshal inspection identified needed upgrades including sprinkler systems, roof vents, and fire separation barriers, with costs potentially ranging from $300,000 to over $1 million.

* The good news: The summer 2025 Festival Antigonish season is completely unaffected, and completely safe! Festival Antigonish will be staging two shows; "For Love nor Money" and "The Secret Garden of An Sìthean," with fire safety personnel on watch during all performances to ensure audience safety.

* The Bauer will likely be (temporarily) pausing shows after August - While engineers are proposing less expensive alternative safety measures to the fire marshal, the extensive repairs can't realistically be completed during the summer festival season, meaning repairs will start in the fall and the building may lose its assembly space designation temporarily.

* Both theater organizations will continue regardless - Theater Antigonish and Festival Antigonish are exploring alternative venues for fall/winters shows, like the university chapel auditorium or Immaculata, proving their adaptability after successfully staging shows on Keppoch Mountain during previous challenges.

* A new arts facility is being seriously considered - The organizations are conducting a feasibility study for a purpose-built, fully accessible arts center that could be realized within 5-8 years.

Despite the uncertainly of the future of the Bauer Theatre building, the good news is that Festival and Theatre Antigonish will continue to produce programming for the foreseeable future. With a bit of luck, the Bauer will be able to host shows again after repairs are completed. Regardless, a brand new theatre facility is likely coming at some point, which is also exciting news.

This week we sat down with Meghan DeCoste (Market Manager for the Antigonish Farmers Market Association), and Meghan Johnny (board member and vendor) to answer all your question about our amazing farmers market.

Highlights from the episode

* The Farmers Market Building and Operations: The Antigonish Farmers Market owns a large, state-of-the-art building (built in 2019) with 180 solar panels, a commercial kitchen used by vendors and community groups, and serves as a community hub beyond just Saturday markets. The building generates about 1/3 of its power needs through solar ($7,000 of $21,000 annual electricity costs).

* Community Kitchen and Food Access Programs: The building's provincially-inspected commercial kitchen is used by food vendors for market meal preparation, and hosts the Community Fridge program where volunteers make 200 meals every second Sunday. These meals are distributed through community fridges at the market and library, providing free 24/7 food access to anyone in need.

* Parking Lot Challenges and Fundraising: The market faces significant parking issues with a pothole-filled lot shared between the farmers market, arena, and town. They're actively fundraising (estimated $700,000-$1,000,000 needed) through 50/50 draws and donations to pave the parking lot, working with multiple stakeholders including the town, county, and Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture.

* Market Diversity and Growth: The farmers market has become increasingly diverse with vendors from Syria, Ukraine, India, Iran, and South Korea, creating cultural exchanges through food. The market is experiencing significant growth in customer numbers and is actively seeking unique vendors while managing the balance of product types.

Note: it is the Antigonish/Guysborough Federation of Agriculture that owns the land that the farmers market building is on, not the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture.

Here’s a rundown of the podcast episode in the form of a fancy news article:

Small Nova Scotia Farmers Market Becomes Unlikely Community Hub, Tackling Food Security and Cultural Exchange

ANTIGONISH, Nova Scotia — What began as a handful of vendors selling produce at a local park in 1993 has evolved into something far more ambitious: a solar-powered community center that combats food insecurity, nurtures new businesses, and bridges cultural divides in this small university town.

The Antigonish Farmers Market, housed in a gleaming building completed in 2019, represents a new model for rural community development, one that extends far beyond the traditional Saturday morning vegetable sales. With 180 solar panels covering its roof and a commercial kitchen that hums with activity six days a week, the market has become an unlikely nexus for social services, economic development, and cultural integration.

"When they come here, they are a bit isolated, and being able to be a part of the farmers market is just a way to get introduced to the community," said Megan DeCoste, the market's manager, describing how immigrants from Syria, Ukraine, India, Iran, and South Korea have found their footing by sharing their culinary traditions with local customers.

The building's most striking feature may be its commitment to addressing food insecurity. Every second Sunday, volunteers use the commercial kitchen to prepare 200 meals, which are then distributed throughout the week via community fridges that operate 24 hours a day. The program, supported by local chefs, The Antigonish Community Fridge and Pantry (run by the Antigonish Coalition to End Poverty), and the food bank, exemplifies how the market has evolved beyond commerce into community care.

But success has brought challenges. The market's growth—customer counts have surged in recent months—has exposed infrastructure problems, particularly a pothole-riddled parking lot shared with a neighboring hockey arena. The lot, owned by the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture, requires an estimated $700,000 to $1 million to pave, prompting an ambitious fundraising campaign involving multiple municipal stakeholders.

"We do customer counts every hour, and the past month has been just super packed," said Meghan Johnny, a board member and vendor. "This is what we want—people using this space."

The market's economic model reflects its community focus. Vendors pay $40-50 per table to support operations. The building's solar array covers roughly one-third of the $21,000 annual electricity bill, with plans to expand renewable capacity.

The facility also serves as an incubation hub for food entrepreneurs, offering access to the provincially-inspected kitchen that many small businesses require but cannot afford independently. Local organizations use the space free of charge, and there are discussions about establishing it as an emergency shelter, pending installation of backup power systems.

The Nova Scotia Loyal program, which distributed $10 vouchers to school children across the province, brought large numbers of new customers to the Antigonish market last year—many experiencing a farmers market for the first time.

As rural communities across North America grapple with economic decline and social isolation, the Antigonish model suggests that reimagining traditional institutions might offer a path forward. From its origins selling vegetables in Chisholm Park, this farmers market has become proof that community resilience can be built one meal, one solar panel, and one cultural exchange at a time.

We talk with journalist Corey LeBlanc to get the lowdown on Antigonish This Week, a new supplement filled with Antigonish news from the Guysborough Journal. Episode key points:

* Corey LeBlanc, a veteran journalist with 23 years experience (18 with The Casket), is now writing for "Antigonish This Week," a new supplement in the Guysborough Journal newspaper, bringing local print journalism back to Antigonish.

* The new publication features news, sports, and features about Antigonish with contributors including Emilie Chiasson, Katie Edwards, and photographer Brian Kennedy, focusing on celebrating community events and covering local government issues.

* LeBlanc believes local journalism plays a vital role in community building, noting how the absence of a local newspaper during recent political events created an information void that affected public understanding.

* After working for years in Antigonish, LeBlanc views his role as working "for the community" rather than just for a newspaper, emphasizing the importance of documenting both major news, sports, and community events.

You can email Corey directly with news story ideas at: [email protected]

Read and subscribe to the Guysborough Journal at this link: guysboroughjournal.ca

If you’d rather read as opposed to listen, here’s an overview of this week’s episode in the style of a newspaper article:

Local Print Journalism Returns to Antigonish with Veteran Reporter Leading Coverage

ANTIGONISH, Nova Scotia — After a five-year absence of dedicated local print news coverage, journalism is making a comeback in Antigonish with the launch of "Antigonish This Week," a new supplement in the Guysborough Journal newspaper spearheaded by veteran reporter Corey LeBlanc.

LeBlanc, who spent 18 years at The Casket newspaper before becoming a casualty of media consolidation in 2020, views the new publication as filling a critical void in community information.

"There's a thirst for local news that needs to be quenched," LeBlanc said in a recent interview on the "Let's Talk Antigonish" podcast. "We're not trying to be Casket 2.0 or 'Casket Light,' but we're trying to help get the message out about what's happening in Antigonish."

The supplement, now in its second week of publication, features news coverage, sports reporting, and human interest stories focused exclusively on Antigonish. With accomplished journalist Alec Bruce in the editor’s chair, LeBlanc leads the news coverage with support from a team including feature writers Katie Edwards, Emilie Chiasson, who recently ran for mayor, and photographer Brian Kennedy.

The timing may be particularly opportune. LeBlanc pointed to the recent proposed consolidation process of the town and county as an example of how the community suffered without dedicated local reporting during a contentious period.

"I think one of the challenges, even with all the social media, was that it really affected the process not having a community newspaper," LeBlanc said. "I would have been at every open session, every meeting, asking questions about why they're doing this. There was a void."

Helen and Allan Murphy, owners of the Guysborough Journal since 1994, decided to expand their coverage into Antigonish after recognizing this information gap. Allan Murphy has deep roots in the Ohio area of Antigonish County, making the expansion a natural fit for their community-focused publication.

For LeBlanc, the return to covering Antigonish represents more than just a job. "I always said I work for the community," he reflected, describing how he would often drive to far flung parts of the county to cover community events after long workdays. "Once I got there and saw how people appreciated that we were showing interest in their event, it was more than a job to me."

The veteran journalist, who now lives in Cape Breton, sees community newspapers as vital for celebrating local accomplishments, documenting change, and making people feel connected. He recalled how families would cut out photos of their children from the newspaper and display them on refrigerators — a tradition that persisted even in the digital age.

The new publication is available at local newsstands throughout Antigonish and through subscription to the Guysborough Journal. While the venture begins modestly, LeBlanc and the Murphys hope it might spark a renaissance in local journalism in the area.

"This may serve as a springboard for who knows what," LeBlanc suggested. "Maybe it'll further inspire young people that are doing so many great things in the community."

As small newspapers across North America continue to struggle against economic headwinds and digital disruption, "Antigonish This Week" represents a rare counter-narrative — an expansion of print journalism into an underserved community at a time when most news organizations are contracting.

"It's really a credit to them to do their little part," LeBlanc said of the Murphys. "In an industry where you don't hear much about adding on or expanding, they really get it in terms of community newspaper."

We sat down with the farmer/artist/educator Fenn Martin and Dan King of Six Maples Farm to talk about life as small scale farmers here in Antigonish.

Highlights from this episode:

* Small Farm Cooperative Model - Lochaber Growers formed in 2016 when five small farms banded together to create a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program after losing local buyers, growing from 25 to 140 customers over nearly a decade.

* Food Security Initiative - The cooperative runs a subsidized food box program providing fresh produce to one-third of their customers at $10 instead of $32 weekly, raising around $35,000 annually through grants and donations.

* Sustainable Pricing vs. Undercutting - Small farmers must charge sustainable prices that reflect actual production costs rather than competing on price with large grocery chains.

* Lifestyle Motivation - Despite financial challenges, farmers choose this work primarily for the lifestyle benefits: being self-employed, working outdoors, connecting with nature, and building community.

* Changing Demographics Impact - Antigonish's shifting population (25% over 65, 7-8% population growth from immigration) is changing food demand, prompting farmers to consider growing different crops like okra to meet diverse cultural preferences.

* Food Security Vulnerability - Nova Scotia remains vulnerable to food shortages or price hikes thanks to the trouble with our neighbours down south, highlighting the importance of local food systems despite acknowledging that small-scale farming alone cannot feed the entire community.

Let's Talk Antigonish sits down with Stephanie Cooper to unpack the buzz around the proposed Antigonish Rec Center! In this revealing conversation, Stephanie shares:

· How the idea was born from frustration over limited camp registrations

· How the People for an Antigonish Rec Centre was formed and what their goal is. Link to their Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/people/People-for-an-Antigonish-Rec-Centre/61563481593124/

· The vision for a multi-purpose community hub

· Why they are currently seeking $50,000 from town and county for a needs assessment

· What the difference is between a needs assessment and a feasibility study and why it matters

· Dreams of a facility that could include everything from sports facilities to arts spaces, childcare solutions, and even emergency shelter capabilities

· The challenges of moving forward amid tight budgets and competing priorities

· Stephanie's personal dream? A Rainforest Cafe-inspired space with hydroponic walls, rock climbing, and lush tropical plants!

Want to get involved? Visit the "People for an Antigonish Rec Center" Facebook page.

Subscribe at letstalkantgonish.ca or wherever you get your podcasts!

This week we are talking with Marlene Melanson, Recreation Director of the municipality of the county of Antigonish. We wanted to know what the deal was with the active transport corridor. You know, that walking and biking path alongside old highway 104 that connects to that new bike path thing on West street? What’s it for, and whose using it? What’s being built next? What are those weird fenced in areas that seem to look out over nothing? What does active transport even mean? We got all the answer. Well, most of the answers, because it turns out that there’s a difference between the county active transports plans and the town’s active transport plans. There’s a lot to learn, and Marlene is here to shed some light on the issues.

Read the county’s latest informational PDF on the active transportation corridor at the link.

Read the 2014 active transport plan that Marlene mentioned at the link.

This is the first episode of Let’s Talk Antigonish! Don’t hesitate to subscribe, just go to letstalkantigonish.ca – and click, viola! And you will receive new episodes right in your email inbox.

We would like you to consider making a small or large contribution to get Antigonish talking! This podcast is a labor of love, and we know you like it, don’t you? Please consider making a contribution - small or large, maybe a monthly subscription or a “thank you for doing this” tip . We’re hoping to buy some recording equipment to make it possible to record our interviews with a more professional setup, and pay for our audio editing software and web hosting and all that. And make it a truly community driven idea. Depending on the level of public support, we would like to engage local producers and journalists to create more regular deep dive news stories about life here in Antigonish, and compensate them for their time and passion. Right now, it’s just Anuj and I doing this in our free time. You can read all about the podcast and ways to support us at letstalkantigonish.ca. And if you are a local business that wants to sponsor the podcast or even place an audio ad, we are certainly not opposed! And remember to get in touch with us if you have an idea for a future episode, or a burning question about life in Antigonish that you want us to explore and get answers to. We welcome all feedback. Just email us at [email protected]

Let’s Talk Antigonish!

Welcome to Let’s Talk Antigonish, the podcast where we sit down with neighbours, experts, and friends to explore the stories, the questions, and the big little issues that shape life in our town — one conversation at a time. We’re gearing up to launch the podcast in the next week, so this episode will be our pre-launch special where Anuj and Justin sat down with local high school teacher Jenn Priddle to talk about violence in schools - a subject that has been in the news a lot lately. In this episode we hear from Jenn about what has changed when it comes to unacceptable student behavior in schools, and speculate as to the causes and possible solutions. Jenn and her theatre arts students will be putting on a play on May 1st and 2nd that her student wrote specially about violence in schools – we’ll hear more about that at the end of the episode.

This is the pilot episode of Let's Talk Antigonish, a podcast where we sit down with local experts to tackle the questions we're all curious about when it comes to life in our amazing town. For this pilot episode, we sat down with Dr. Amy Hendriks and Paul Davie, the owners of that big piece of land just past Bethany on the 337. We asked them: what's that building you are constructing out there, and what are your plans for developing that land?

Before we move forward with our idea for this podcast, we are looking for your feedback. Would you like a podcast like this? What kinds of questions should we be asking/researching? How long should the episodes be? Please fill out our feedback form with your thoughts at this link: https://tinyurl.com/LetsTalkAntigonishFeedbackl

Thanks!

-Anuj and Justin

Thumbnail Credit: Aaron Beswick