August Event Guide: Buskers, comics, rock painting, and more

It is summer in Dartmouth, and this comes with the usual free-for-all of cultural and outdoor events for one and all.

The Busker Festival (July 30 – August 4) brings annual street-performing mayhem, and again this year there will be a stage at Alderney Landing as well as waterfront locations in Halifax. Each stage has hourly, world-class busking performances. Get involved, have fun, laugh, and be amazed.

More local fun can be had a the Dartmouth Comic Arts Festival, a free, all-ages event celebrating comics and cartooning! Dozens of cartoonists, illustrators, animators, writers, and vendors of comics will be present, displaying their wondrous wares at this annual event – its like a farmers’ market but it’s all comics! The 2025 edition of the festival takes place over the weekend of August 9 and 10 on the Dartmouth waterfront. Saturday is programming (panels and workshops) at the Alderney Gate Library, and Sunday is the market day at the Alderney Landing Market.

For those inclined to make their own art, the Dartmouth Heritage Museum (Quaker House) on Ochterloney Street is putting on “Whale of a Time,” an all-ages, whale-themed rock painting activity on August 2. Registration is required, and all supplies and refreshments are provided.

If music rocks your boat, then this summer features something for everybody. Locally, the Woodside Tavern on Pleasant Street has concerts most Fridays and Saturdays featuring the infinite talent of local bands. The bands usually collect an inexpensive cash cover charge at the door. Or, for a family experience, try out the concerts at the Sullivan’s Pond band stand every Sunday in August, put on by the city as the Dartmouth Sunshine Series. The concerts are free – bring your own lawnchair or blanket, let the kids run, and enjoy summer in style.

For outdoor community events, the pizza oven in the Dartmouth Common is fired up and ready every Saturday from noon for anybody to bring their pizza ingredients and bake them on site in the wood-fired oven. It’s a unique experience, super relaxed, and always fun, and with this special Dartmouth vibe.

And not to forget: for a kid-friendly afternoon, there are lawn games and family fun at Ferry Terminal Park every Tuesday from noon to 4 p.m.

If you would like to propose an event for inclusion in this column, please email details to southdartmouthpostevents@gmail.com.