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Celebrating all things Hamilton / Welcome Message
Arts + Culture

‘I’m an Anna through and through,’ says Frozen star

It’s a challenging role and a demanding run of 45 shows in 40 days, but Jessica Gallant feels she was born to play the awkward and intrepid younger sister in the musical adaptation of the Disney hit. Editor’s note: Check out our Instagram on Wednesday, Dec. 17…
City Life

Reason for the season: Where you can help those in need during the holidays

There are many worthy local organizations dedicated to ensuring every child, adult and senior can experience some joy and hope this season. Giving Tuesday on Dec. 2 is the perfect opportunity to donate.  It’s that time of year again, when our hearts are full with the magic…
Arts + Culture

Drury Lane’s Cinderella is a holiday treat

There is a lot to like about this Christmas pantomime. From zany slapstick to on-point choreography, this community showcase is fun for the whole family. A holiday tradition across the world, Cinderella pantomime shows have a lengthy tradition going back centuries. Featuring outlandish costumes and slapstick comedy while…
City Life

Deeply affordable 412 Barton opens

The $8.3-million project led by St. Matthew’s House will offer housing to 15 people facing homelessness, with a special focus on Black and Indigenous seniors and women. Two years ago, on another blustery December day, ground was officially broken at the site of a dream to house 15…
Food + Drink

The Iron Cow brings something that’s been missing to downtown

Part elevated British pub, and part sports bar, Matty Matheson-led eatery delivers with a creative and well-executed menu in a welcoming space. Holy Cow!  There is a new restaurant in town, part of the recently renovated and reopened TD Coliseum complex.  My dining experience as a media…
Arts + Culture

THE PLAYLIST

Dylan Hudecki is a Canadian indie-rock vet having played in many different bands, including By Divine Right, Cowlick, Slow Beach and The Dill. He’s a proud Hamiltonian who covers local album releases for HAMILTON CITY Magazine. COTS – Disturbing Body & Moonlit Building Hamilton has long been fertile…
Arts + Culture

Hamilton Reads — KidLit Holiday Edition

From picture books about difficult subjects such as homelessness, and grief, to collections of letters and art by Indigenous voices, laugh-out loud read-alouds, and spine-tingling poems, there are many choices this holiday season for the young reader on your list. As a parent, you think you’re supposed…
Arts + Culture

REVIEW: Frozen is heartwarming and magical

You’ll laugh, you’ll cheer and you’ll be transported as Theatre Aquarius's production brilliantly brings animated Disney classic to the stage. Frozen, The Broadway Musical at Theatre Aquarius is pure magic. That is true in both the literal and the figurative senses. If you’ve ever wanted to escape…
Arts + Culture

INTO THE GROOVE

Take a step inside Hamilton’s vibrant independent record store scene, and be sure to check out these neighbourhood hotspots when buying for the music lover on your list. Hamilton is home to an active network of independent record stores, each offering a mix of…
Arts + Culture

Joni Mitchell, Nelly Furtado to be honoured at 2026 JUNO Awards

Hometown rockers Arkells will perform when Hamilton hosts Canada’s national music awards in March. The stars are beginning to align for Hamilton’s turn to host the 2026 JUNO Awards.  Hamilton legends Arkells will perform, pop superstar Nelly Furtado will be inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame,…
Arts + Culture

A bold new era for Hamilton’s downtown

TD Coliseum offers a world-class experience for artists and fans in a reimagined, music-first venue that no longer feels like an arena. What has changed inside and what will it mean for the city? The media tours are done. The ceremonial ribbon has been cut. And…
Arts + Culture

HAMILTON’S CELEBRATION OF SOUND

2026 will be a history-making year in the city’s music sector and will chart the course for an amplified future. Hamilton is a city of music and 2026 will be a history-making year that will give music lovers plenty of reasons to celebrate.   It all begins with the…
City Life

OPINION: York Boulevard is a grand vision gone wrong

Hamilton’s gateway entrance from the west was once to be modelled after great European streets. But instead of being the ‘Champs Elysee of North America,’ the City caved to private interests and what was built is the architectural horror story it is today. There is a nearly 50-year-old…
Arts + Culture

Hamilton music makers you should know

This city is a musical powerhouse. Here are a few local standouts sharing what they love about the place they call home. Killotine Photo: Rae Chatten Who: Metal band, represented Canada at Wacken Open Air 2025. Members: Matt Fraser (vocals and rhythm guitar), Jesse Luciani (lead guitar), James…
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)! Is there any better escape from the relentless news cycle, doom scrolling and polarizing politics, and any simpler way to…

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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.


Arts + Culture

The Dawning of a New Age

 With Theatre Aquarius set to celebrate 50 years of bringing world-class professional theatre to Hamilton, we look back at how, and where, it all began. Artistic director Mary Francis Moore, left, and executive director Kelly Straughan are shepherding a new chapter for Hamilton's Theatre Aquarius, which celebrates its 50th anniversary…
Made in Hamilton

It Happened First in Hamilton

We look at 10 only-in-Hamilton events that helped put the city on the map for all the right reasons. Everything happens for a first time and Hamilton was the setting for some very interesting occasions never seen before in Ontario, Canada, or the British Empire. These events…
Arts + Culture

Cinema for All

From Benin City to Hamilton, Paize Usiosefe celebrates BIPOC with the launch of the Hamilton Black Film Festival.   HAMILTON CITY Magazine sat down with Paize Usiosefe, founder and chair of the Hamilton Black Film Festival. The inaugural festival in 2021 showcased seven feature films and 17 short narratives, which…
Arts + Culture

Beauty From Pain

Printmaker Eli Nolet’s sensitive, sometimes defiant work has an understated maturity born out of queer trauma. Photos Courtesy of Eli Nolet Among the many works of local art I’ve bought, traded for, and been gifted over the years is a small intaglio print by Eli Nolet.
City Life

What’s In a Name?

When you’re cruising around Hamilton, do you ever wonder about the street names and how they came to be? Many cities have Main, King, and Queen Streets but Hamilton’s unique names are clues to the noteworthy people, events, and circumstances that helped to…
Arts + Culture

Rad Reads – Hamilton Style!

Looking to cozy up with a good book? Hamilton authors have served up a bumper crop of local lit that will keep those pandemic blues at bay. Spring days and nights are arguably the best time of year to curl up with a good book - the…
Arts + Culture

When Life Gives You Lemons

Diana Panton didn’t let the pandemic get in the way of making new music. The result is some pretty sweet sounding lemonade. Diana Panton’s last album was called A Cheerful Little Earful. Her most recent musical gift – almost literally so,…
Arts + Culture

The Doctor Is In

Q+AMark Furukawa’s Dr. Disc has been a downtown mainstay for more than 30 years. Furukawa recently sat down with Marc Skulnick to talk records, rebirths and why he’s a “Hamilton lifer.” You’ve been surviving, and thriving, in the core for 30 years and have witnessed first-hand the rebirth of Hamilton’s…