Things to Do in Dartmouth

Reopened in 2011 after a two-year hiatus, Briarwood Golf Club’s 18-hole executive course invites clubbers to an abridged layout stationed in the heart of a vibrant ecosystem. Briarwood’s shorter links make an ideal training ground for casual golfers; aces can loop the verdant grounds to shore up their short game or fulfill their mission to graze on the grasses of all the world’s courses. Each fairway plays into immaculate, revitalized greens, which were reseeded before 2011 and should be growing out of their brambly adolescence and into smooth, pimple-free adulthood in their second consecutive season of usage. A burbling river runs throughout the course, and cool breezes gain momentum on a course-side lake before swooping through the towering tree lines and tickling the collared necks of Briarwood’s birdie-hunting guests.

Since its first year more than 25 years ago, Greek Fest has immersed attendees in Greek culture and culinary tradition with a four-day indoor and outdoor festival. Each day, visitors can explore a cultural exhibition spanning traditional crafts, art replicas, and religious artefacts; guided tours roam within the local Byzantine Greek Orthodox church to highlight colourful iconography and ornate interior architecture. A massive white-tented dome hosts live music played on painted mandolins while dance troupes perform regional dances. Children can work out extra adrenalin in a kids' area, where coaches supervise soccer-training zones to keep them away from wild vuvuzelas. A contest running throughout the festival can award two participants with a trip to Greece, allowing them to further explore Greek culture.

Foodies can placate their palates with a range of authentic Greek dishes, assembled from the grill and formed into plates of souvlaki, chicken-filled pitas, and beef donair kebabs. Mythologists can also explore the obsessions of Dionysus at a Greek wine tasting led by local sommeliers Costa Elles.

The course at Harbour Ridge Golf Club blazes a winding path among numerous water hazards, opening out onto greens with sweeping views of the harbour below. As the slate-blue water ruffles in the wind, players work their ways across two par 3 holes, six par 4 holes, and a hole that can be played as a par 5 or a par 4 depending on the chosen set of tees. A clubhouse perches on a small hillock, overlooking the evergreen trees that line the fairways and distract lumberjacks from continually asking about the rules of golf.

Course at a Glance:

• 9-hole, par-34 course

• Total length of 2,301 yards from the back tees

• Course rating of 31.6 from the back tees

• Course slope of 101 from the back tees

• Three sets of tees per hole

Glowing monkeys scamper toward a neon waterfall, and a knight bearing a radiant yellow lance rides past a bright orange octopus emerging from the ocean. What appears to be a time-traveling session gone awry is really the evolving environment within Putting Edge’s indoor black-lit mini-golf course, which whisks players to deep seas, Aztec jungles, and medieval times. Since opening its original location in Canada, Putting Edge has now expanded to 18 North American locations, all of which invite guests onto its challenging 18-hole courses to seek victory over opponents and the forces that keep their teeth from not glowing as brightly as they could. Elsewhere, the facility houses private party rooms, concessions, and an arcade filled with gamer favorites such as air hockey.

During an interview with Halifax magazine, Kristin Johnston stressed the value of her yoga studio's lounge as a discussion space. "It's so important that people talk about their experiences in the hot room,” she said, adding that, “We all struggle with something in that room and it is essential to have a space where people feel comfortable in sharing their experiences.” The lounge helps people do just that. It’s a place where beginners and returning yogis alike gather around a two-sided fireplace to mingle after stress-relieving 90-minute classes.

Kristin wasn't devoted to Bikram yoga and the spirit of community it engenders when she first began attending classes—it was only after completing a 30-day challenge that she decided to centre her career on the intensive art. Now, she happily leads others through the 26 postures and two breathing exercises that were selected by Bikram Choudhury to gradually stretch each body part. According to Bikram's philosophy, the sequence should be conducted in a room heated between 32 and 45 degrees Celsius, the ideal temperature for loosening and detoxifying muscles and cooking an egg on your abs. As guests segue from one pose to the next, they test their stamina in pursuit of benefits such as improved balance and flexibility.

Gentle light filters through sheer drapes, casting a warm glow on the blond wood floors of the empty yoga studio. It's dawn in Dartmouth and, for the moment, the halls of All Yoga stand in contemplative silence. Soon, the first classes of the day will arrive, breaking the stillness that now pervades the studio's every corner. But the quiet always leaves something behind. As students flex and stretch their way through the day's yoga sessions, they will each unconsciously internalize the same kind of balancing energy that powered that morning's peaceful scene. Whether they quiet aching muscles with back care sessions, build strength and balance with slow flow yoga's vinyasa poses, or dissolve stress in the flickering glow of candlelight yoga, students bring their bodies and minds into harmony with the world around them. Like the quiet that fills countless unseen rooms in the moments before the world wakes up, they reach deep within themselves, finding strength and clarity along the way.