TEAM LETTER
FALL – Three years in
We are three years old!
It’s hard to believe we’ve come this far. It seems like both yesterday and decades ago that HAMILTON CITY Magazine launched in September 2022. Our founding team of five members has shrunk to two and though we are small, we are mighty and very much committed to producing a high-quality urban magazine that tells stories no one else is telling.
We are grateful to a wonderful team of freelance contributors who share their talents and expertise with us and with you. We are grateful to our fantastic volunteers, who believe in what we are doing and take care of bookkeeping and subscriptions, and proofread our pages.
We are grateful to our subscribers, who support our publication (you can, too, at hamiltoncitymagazine.ca/subscription), and to our advertisers, who value local, independent journalism that shines a spotlight on what makes Hamilton a fabulous, fascinating and – yes – sometimes frustrating place to live, work, play and invest.
We absolutely could not be publishing this, our 16th issue without each and every person who has played a role in our magazine. Thank you.
We are asking that more of you consider investing in the sustainability of HCM through subscribing, advertising, and creating partnerships with us. There is so much we can do together for the love of Hamilton. In times such as these, working as partners is truly the only way forward.
Here’s a glimpse into one of the many challenges we face. We heard recently from the marketing manager of a major institution in our region who said he likes our publication but that his organization is spending less every year on traditional media, and more
with Meta.
This directly translates to spending less on the outlets that employ local people and actually cover our community and more with a U.S.-based social media giant owned by billionaires that has a highly problematic record when it comes to political interference, amplifying misinformation, breaching the privacy of users, and suppressing protest, among many other transgressions.
So much for supporting local and Elbows Up.
If you appreciate the content we are producing, the fact that we pay for the work of local writers and photographers (and only local!), and that we highlight the inspiring contributions of our community’s artists, creators, and entrepreneurs to the vibrancy of our city, please let your voices be heard.
Tell our advertisers that you see them in HCM. If you read about a restaurant or other local business in our pages, let them know. And please urge the businesses and cultural organizations you support to spend with us.
Hamilton is a big city but it’s also a small town. Each of you have the power to ensure that HCM can continue to grow and thrive.
With gratitude,
Meredith MacLeod and Will Vipond Tait, co-publishers
SUMMER – Join us!
Welcome to our third music issue!
Hamilton is a true music town and if you have any doubt about that, read this magazine and know that this represents a fraction of what is happening in the music scene in this city. In fact, we could publish 300 pages and still not cover it all.
Check out Jamie Tennant’s interview with HPO music director James Kahane and his story about music’s tiny temple at The Mule Spinner, along with a fascinating look at 55 years of Steel Town’s breakout bands by Dylan Hudecki, and our Q&A with Nick DeLuco, the general manager of the $300-million transformation of Hamilton Arena.
We’ve also got a deep dive into the 900-kilometre, made-in-Hamilton dream that is the Bruce Trail, a look at local independent bookstores, and a tasty plunge into the food scene of James Street North, along with a roundup of great Southern food offerings.
We are constantly stunned and thrilled by the depth and breadth of arts and culture, food and drink and city life happenings in Hamilton. We are so lucky to live in such a vibrant city and in trying and uncertain times, we know that art and culture is an even more powerful force.
Our mission at HAMILTON CITY Magazine is to shine a spotlight on the artists, creatives, entrepreneurs, non-profits, civic leaders and movers and shakers who make the city a fabulous place to live. Please help us to keep doing that.
We need you to subscribe, share our content on social media, reach out to us with story ideas and feedback, and to support our advertisers. If you are a local business owner and want to see Hamilton explored and celebrated in a high-quality magazine of its own, please consider supporting our mission by advertising with us.
We are local and independent in a time of the consolidation and corporatization of our media voices.
We have said it before and we’ll say it again, it takes a village to support a local urban magazine.
– The HCM team
P.S. Hounds of Hamilton is our celebration of local pets. Send us your best canine (or feline!) candids to hounds@ hamiltoncitymagazine.ca, along with your pet’s name, breed, age, neighbourhood, favourite hiking spots, some information about his/her personality traits, what they love, and any other fun facts we should know. Make your pet a star!
LATE SPRING – Proud to be here
It’s spring, soon-to-be summer and this is our 14th edition.
We are thrilled – and stunned, honestly – to be here.
A bit of history.
We started this venture in late 2019 after Postmedia suddenly pulled the plug on Hamilton Magazine, a fixture on the city’s media scene for more than 40 years. A team of five slowly coalesced around the idea that our city absolutely needed and deserved an urban lifestyle magazine dedicated to arts and culture.
We figured if no one else would do it, we’d do it ourselves. After being slowed down by the pandemic and after a successful crowdfunding campaign, we produced our first issue in September. It feels like both yesterday and a lifetime ago.
That original ownership team is now down to two people, co-publishers Meredith MacLeod and Will Vipond Tait. With lots of help from our spouses, family members, sales representatives and the incredible contributions of our writers, photographers and proofreaders, we are proud to have published 14 issues.
So to recap, we are not affiliated with the former glossy magazine that published in Hamilton. We are locally owned, independent and proudly Hamilton.
And speaking of pride, this issue is dedicated to both Pride and Made in Hamilton.
So inside, you’ll find: an inspiring story of hundreds of LGBTQ+ asylum seekers various African countries who have come to Hamilton in the hopes of finding safer more peaceful lives; the tale of a lesbian couple in Burlington who have knocked down barriers; and find all kinds of community, sports and recreation groups for the queer community.
You’ll also read all about the city’s fascinating breweries, 20 years of the Hammer City Roller Derby league, an innovative made-in-Hamilton food ordering platform, and how our business community is responding to the U.S. tariff war.
Be sure to check out the adorable and gorgeous pups in our new Hounds of Hamilton feature!
And finally, shop Canadian and support Hamilton!
– The HCM team
