October 13th, 2025

Update from PHAB NS

Update from PHAB NS

For those curious about our project, The Society for Preserving the History & Art of Burlesque in Nova Scotia, we took a brief hiatus over the summer while our directors managed various life happenings. Things are now slowly getting back on track, with several long-term projects quietly taking shape in the background.

This initiative has been more than a decade in the making and will continue evolving for many years to come. Our current phase of research is still in its early stages, but the groundwork is well underway.

I (Cadence) will be heading into Halifax this month to arrange a secure storage space for our growing collection of materials. Ensuring the long-term safety and preservation of our burlesque history for both today’s community and future researchers is a top priority.

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How You Can Get Involved

⭐️ Material Donations
We’re seeking items such as posters, flyers, merch, stickers, photos, promotional materials, newspaper clippings, and costumes. As long as it’s relevant to Nova Scotia burlesque, we welcome material from past, present, or even upcoming events.

⭐️ Books, CDs & DVDs
We’re building a public reference collection dedicated to the history and art of burlesque. If you have books, CDs, or DVDs you’d like to donate, we’d be deeply grateful. We also maintain a wishlist of educational titles in case you’d prefer to purchase a book in support of this project.

⭐️ Digital Donations
Digital copies of flyers, posters, images, videos, and news articles are all appreciated. Every bit helps fill in the gaps of Nova Scotia’s burlesque story.

⭐️ Volunteers
We’re looking for both in-person and research volunteers. In 2026, we plan to attend events across the province to promote the project and raise awareness, and we’d love help from community members who are passionate about preserving burlesque history.

Research volunteers are especially needed for work at the Halifax Archives and Halifax Central Library. Unfortunately, Nova Scotia’s newspapers from the 1930s through the 2000s are not digitized, meaning much of our research must be done by hand through microfilm organized by date rather than subject. It’s incredibly time-consuming but also deeply rewarding work, and we’d love to hear from anyone interested in contributing.

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We’ll be keeping a list of everyone who donates or contributes to this project and posting it on our website with our gratitude. This is truly a community effort, and we couldn’t do it without your support.

If you’re producing an event and would like us to set up a table or give a talk, please reach out.

If you know of other groups or organizations we should connect with, we’d love to hear from you.

And lastly, if there’s something you as a community member would like to know about our rich 150 years of burlesque history in Nova Scotia, let us know. We’ve created a working timeline from the 1870s to the present, but we’d love to hear what parts of that history people are most curious about.

Thanks everyone!