Hamilton City Magazine Skip to main content
Celebrating all things Hamilton / Welcome Message
Made in Hamilton

Festival of Friends at 50

The iconic Festival of Friends, a Hamilton summer music tradition, celebrates a half-century of harmonies by looking back at what makes a lasting and much-loved legacy. For the Festival of Friends, the magic is the moments. From unforgettable musical acts to iconic artists returning year after year,…
Arts + Culture

Festival season: Summer on parade

Here is your hot 2026 summer festivals guide for Hamilton and Burlington. You’ll find everything from inaugural events to two local traditions that are turning 50 years old this year! Our summers may be short but fortunately for us, the list of local festivals is long. Spend warm-weather…
Arts + Culture

Supercrawl reveals stellar 2026 lineup

Headliners Aysanabee, Protest the Hero, Mariel Buckley, The Grapes of Wrath, Murda Beatz, and William Prince join local performers Superstar Crush, Emma Whale, Golden Feather, Chore, Capitol, and Steve Strongman. For one weekend every September, James Street North in Hamilton transforms into the epicentre of Canadian music. Since…
Food + Drink

ON THE MENU: WHAT’S OPENED AND CLOSED ON THE LOCAL RESTAURANT SCENE

Here's a list of what has come, gone and changed in Hamilton and Burlington in June. Launched & opening soon Burgers n’ Fries Forever (738 Burloak Dr., Burlington) This Ontario franchise has recently expanded to Burlington with its Halal Triple A Canadian beef smash…
City Life

PRIDE Q&A: Sarah Barnhart, primary dreamer at FruitSalad

The events series for ‘lesbians, 2SLGBTQIA+ women, femmes, gender non-conforming folks, and their friends’ turns five in August. Sarah Barnhart (she/they) describes herself as the primary dreamer of FruitSalad. Originally from Burlington, Barnhart created the Hamilton-based FruitSalad after a visit to Montreal in 2021. FruitSalad is a…
Arts + Culture

THE PLAYLIST

Born Ruffians – Beauty’s Pride For a band that once felt like it might combust from sheer nervous energy and mileage logged, Born Ruffians have aged in a surprisingly graceful, and still charmingly unpredictable way. Beauty’s Pride finds the long-running Toronto/Hamilton group loosening their grip on that early, jittery urgency…
City Life

PRIDE: Kenadie, how do you shake off judgment?

Welcome to the first monthly column from Hamilton drag queen Kenadie St. James! Read on for the best bad advice you’ve ever had! Hamilton, your problems are officially about to get WORSE. 💋 Local drag legend Kenadie St. James is serving up catastrophically bad life advice in her…
Made in Hamilton

OPINION: Election 2026 is the time to build

The last municipal election saw just over 35 per cent of eligible Hamiltonians vote. We must do better this time because this city needs to deliver on its potential.  October 2026 will define Hamilton’s next chapter. We are entering a municipal election that will shape how our…
Arts + Culture

Hamilton’s music scene: What is and what could be

Music writer Dylan Hudecki asked Hamilton’s music insiders for their opinions about how to keep the local music scene thriving and reinventing itself. Think of it as a suggestion box to turn up the volume on Hamilton. Hamilton’s music scene continues to thrive as one of Canada’s most…

you are HAMILTON

HAMILTON CITY Magazine’s mission is to tell the stories that celebrate the city’s past, present and future by featuring stunning photography, illustrations and world-class writing. It’s your city. It’s your magazine.


Happening Now

THINGS TO DO IN HAMILTON, BURLINGTON

We are spoiled for things to see and do in #HamOnt and #BurlOn. HAMILTON CITY Magazine helps you keep up with it all. Think of us as your plugged-in friend who knows all the cool stuff happening around town! Get out and enjoy – and tell them HCM sent you!
City Life

Hounds of Hamilton

We need a big dose of dogs these days so HAMILTON CITY Magazine's new feature celebrates the city's canines. Send in your dogs (and cats)! Escape the relentless news cycle, doom scrolling and polarizing politics, and find joy and laughter in pets. Hounds of Hamilton…
HCC
Made in Hamilton

Festival of Friends at 50

The iconic Festival of Friends, a Hamilton summer music tradition, celebrates a half-century of harmonies by looking back at what makes a lasting and much-loved legacy. For the Festival of Friends, the magic is the moments. From unforgettable musical acts to iconic artists returning year after year,…
Made in Hamilton

IN PHOTOS: Festival of Friends at 50

Check out these galleries featuring 50 years of images from the iconic Festival of Friends, a Hamilton summer music tradition. Click on any image for a full-size slideshow and be sure to read a deep-dive into the festival's history…
Made in Hamilton

Full Noon Fest back this summer

Free outdoor indie rock matinees will happen on Saturdays in August at Ferguson Station. Full Noon Fest, a made-in-Hamilton music series in an underused downtown space, is back featuring local and regional independent musicians.  Its founder is Hamilton musician and composer Neil Haverty, who kicked the series…
Made in Hamilton

Saving the strays at Ladybird

After rescuing nearly 1,900 animals over 16 years, Hamilton-based Ladybird Animal Sanctuary is close to creating a farm that will be a refuge for animals in desperate need. It all started with three friends working together for one unforgettable cat. Sweet Oliver the cat was the first…
Arts + Culture

PRIDE: A look at three queer-owned Hamilton tattoo shops

Lowk’Ai, Inkcantations, and Sleepy Bones Studios create safe spaces for the city’s 2SLGBTQIA+ communities to express themselves with ink as artists and clients. Hamilton is a home to many queer communities. Though not as crisply defined as neighbourhoods, the city is still a pull for queer populations who…
Arts + Culture

Q&A with singer-songwriter Melissa Dutch

The Hamilton-based queer artist is founder and curator of the Femme Rising & Them Rising showcase series at Mills Hardware and has a new song ‘Skinny’ that explores the wrestling and the healing from an eating disorder. Hot on the heels of the fourth iteration of the Femme…
Food + Drink

Easy Kitchen with Marisa Mariella

The Stoney Creek resident, food blogger and Cable 14 host shares her favourite recipes with HAMILTON CITY Magazine. Once a month, we'll add a video here with mouth-watering recipes that will dazzle your family and friends! Baked Lemon and Herbed…