4 Best Performing Arts Venues in South Shore and Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia

A summer theater season, spring and fall music seasons, movie screenings, community theater, and other events keep this venue hopping. Recently reopened after suffering a devastating fire in 2022, this vibrant community arts venue is a fantastic live music venue, too.

Drama, concerts, comedy, and independent films are among the offerings at this intimate but up-to-date venue that opened in 1921 as a movie house.

Puppets and performers retell classic and contemporary children's stories here. The troupe's home base is the 400-seat MIPAC (Mermaid Imperial Performing Arts Centre) adjacent to its Gerrish Street headquarters, but catching a Mermaid show can be tricky because of the hectic worldwide touring schedule. There are, however, visiting musicians, comedians, and performers who use the theater space (check the website for programing).

The neo-Gothic St. Bernard Church, an imposing stone structure famous for its acoustics, hosts classical concerts on some summer Sundays at 4 pm. Acclaimed artists from Canada and beyond perform here under the Musique Saint-Bernard banner. The church, a few miles north of Church Point, seats 1,000. Tickets are available at the door. It's also open to visitors on nonconcert days May through October, with an art exhibition throughout July and August.