Mainstreet Halifax

Outfest, a queer theatre festival, kicks off in Halifax on Wednesday and runs until April 28. The six-day festival is in its third year and will feature the best local, regional and national queer artists and many performances at the Bus Stop Theatre. Mainstreet's Alex Guye went down there to find out what's in store.

As he embarks on his latest Canadian tour, which has several stops in Nova Scotia, Ian Thomas joins host Jeff Douglas to look back at more than half a century as a singer-songwriter and what it was about the Thomas household that spawned two pop culture icons.

While a ministerial order has officially closed Atlantic Canada's elver fishery this spring, how much that's impacted illegal fishing is unclear. But one group undoubtedly affected is commercial license holders. Zachary Townsend, the plant manager for Shelburne Elver, joins host Jeff Douglas to talk about his efforts to get the fishery reopened.

Julie Aitken Schermer, a professor of psychology at Western University, joins host Jeff Douglas to talk about a study that tries to determine what kind of drivers like having noisy tailpipes — and why you might want to avoid them, on the road and otherwise.

Award-winning Cape Breton singer Elyse Aeryn joins host Jeff Douglas in Studio A to talk about her debut album, Joy State of Mind, her recent wins and nominations and her experience being one of five JUNO Wavemakers last month. Plus, she gives Mainstreet an exclusive listen to her new single, Cowboy.

On April 21, Fang Recording in Dartmouth, N.S., will be hosting its first ALL EYEZ ON YOU: Hip-Hop Artist Development & Education program. It's a workshop and networking event for up-and-coming MCs and producers in the Halifax area. Rapper, producer and program organizer Camden Bonvi spoke with Mainstreet's Alex Guye.

It's been more than a year since the Mass Casualty Commission made 17 recommendations to address gender-based violence. To get a sense of what progress has been made, host Jeff Douglas is joined by Kristina Fifield, a registered social worker and trauma therapist who is also a member of the MCC's progress committee.

A new CBC podcast is exploring a scandal-ridden reality TV show from 2007 called Kid Nation, that dropped 40 kids into an abandoned mining town and asked them to start a new society. The podcast is called Split Screen: Kid Nation. Host Jeff Douglas is joined by the podcast's creator, Josh Gwynn.

The man accused of assaulting a conservation officer after an elvers bust in downtown Dartmouth is speaking out. James Nevin, who is from Sipekne'katik, describes the circumstances of his arrest — and why he feared his truck might be stolen. Nevin says the failure of enforcement officers to identify themselves resulted in his arrest.

It's time for a road safety refresher. Norm Collins, the president of the Crosswalk Safety Society of Nova Scotia, joins host Jeff Douglas after a father and his daughter had a close call with a driver at an unmarked crosswalk in Kingston, N.S. To read more about crosswalk education for drivers and pedestrians, click here.