NEWS RELEASE

90th Anniversary of Halifax Explosion

(Wednesday, December 5/07)-- A large turnout is expected tomorrow morning in the north end to mark the 90th anniversary of the Halifax Explosion.

District 11 Councillor Patrick Murphy says a number of events are planned to commemorate the 1917 Explosion, which was the world's largest man-made explosion prior to Hiroshima.

Over 1,900 people were killed immediately as a result of the explosion; within a year, the figure had climbed to well over 2,000 deaths. Approximately 9,000 more were injured, many permanently; 325 acres of land, almost all of north-end Halifax, were destroyed.

The first event tomorrow is the annual commemoration ceremony at the bell Tower, on Fort Needham Hill, tomorrow ( Thursday, December 6, 2007), from 8:50 a.m. to 9:25 a.m. at Fort Needham Hill, Bell Tower

-   Immediately following the ceremony, there will be a reception for the public at the United Memorial Church, 5375 Kaye Street, Halifax.

-   At 10 a.m., a ceremony to commemorate firefighters who lost their lives in the Explosion will take place at 10 a.m. at the Lady Hammond Road Fire Station.

-   At 11 a.m., there will be a memorial service in Dartmouth at Albro Lake and Pinecrest Drive.

-   In the evening, there will be a public concert, entitled "Halifax Explosion: a tribute in song and word", beginning at 7 p.m. at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, Lower Water Street.

-   At 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, December 9, there will be a service at United Memorial Church, 5375 Kaye Street.

-   The Halifax Explosion pictorial display in honour of the 90th anniversary of the explosion will be on display at Scotia Square until Dec.9; Park Lane, Dec.10-17; Halifax Shopping Centre, Dec.18-30; and MicMac Mall, Dec 31-Jan.5

For more information, please visit www.halifax.ca/community/explode.html

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Councillor Patrick Murphy
476-2238