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Arts + Culture

REVIEW: Theatre Ancaster’s A Chorus Line kicks up its heels

The entertaining and enduring Broadway classic is the first production on Theatre Ancaster’s 30th anniversary playbill for 2026-2027. Entering its final weekend of shows, Theatre Ancaster’s mainstage production of A Chorus Line provides a great opportunity to see a Broadway classic and be very well entertained by a…
Arts + Culture

It’s 10 years of the Bard under the stars for Tottering Biped Theatre

Hamilton’s Tottering Biped Theatre celebrates a decade of staging summer Shakespeare with its most ambitious season yet – three 2026 productions and many returning artists. Ten years is a milestone few indie theatre companies can boast. Amid economic challenges, competing entertainments, and changing audiences, making theatre as an…
Made in Hamilton

Saving the strays at Ladybird Animal Sanctuary

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…
Made in Hamilton

Made in Hamilton: The Mabel’s Labels Story

A frustrating parenting problem, a vision to solve it, and some tenacity helped a quartet of moms create an enduring brand. Read on for co-founder Julie Cole's six business lessons learned. Over 23 years ago, my sister and two friends, all of us former students…
City Life

Wesley: Never standing still

The made-in-Hamilton non-profit began its work in a church basement 71 years ago. Focused on poverty, homelessness, and the complex social challenges at the root of those issues, Wesley’s more than 300 staff lead critical social programs in 17 locations in Hamilton and beyond. Ryan S. was…
City Life

Kenadie, how do I talk to pretty girls?

Welcome to the 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 new HAMILTON…
Arts + Culture

Now THAT was a Festival of Friends!

A huge summer storm threatened to derail an all-star 50th anniversary concert on Sunday. But resilient Canadian musicians, led by Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, refused to give in, and delivered an epic, memory-making show. That capped off three great days of music, markets, midway and food at Gage…
Arts + Culture

IN PHOTOS: Festival of Friends 2026

The Festival of Friends – its 50th year! – is in full swing at Gage Park. Featuring dozens of musical acts, market vendors, and lots of delicious food options, the festival wraps up with an all-star concert of local and Canadian acts on Sunday night! PHOTOS BY BOB…
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…

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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

REVIEW: Late Company is a masterfully haunting night of mourning and torment

Dundas Little Theatre production tackles grief, homophobia, bullying, and parental mistakes through a relentless script, compelling acting, deft direction, and strongly atmospheric technical design. In some plays, the most dramatic moments are those that press within the silences, hiding in-between dialogue when characters struggle to meet one…
Arts + Culture

REVIEW: Hurry Hard is easy to enjoy

Theatre Burlington’s production of the play by Hamilton resident Kristen Da Silva, centring around the nationally beloved sport of curling, brings plenty of laughs, along with small-town charm. The Canadian-penned comedy Hurry Hard is enjoying a very successful run at Theatre Burlington, one that was nearly sold-out on…
City Life

Horwath: Hamilton has moved beyond potential and into momentum

Mayor tells business leaders at annual breakfast that city is “in its moment” as she touts housing, downtown revival, infrastructure spending, and a renewed confidence in Hamilton’s future. Hamilton is no longer a city of potential, but rather a city reaching it, Mayor Andrea Horwath told more than…
Arts + Culture

REVIEW: Oldies Jukebox delights with talent and nostalgia

This is the 25th annual instalment of Theatre Ancaster’s concert series, featuring hits from the 1940s, 50s, and 60s. Theatre Ancaster is in the mid-run of its latest show, Oldies Jukebox, which runs until May 3 and promises “a trip back to the early days of rock ‘n’…
Arts + Culture

REVIEW: Gripping portrayals drive Village Theatre Waterdown’s dramedy

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike by prolific playwright Christopher Durang is an outrageous and enjoyable play about sibling conflict. Running until May 3, the zany and character-driven Christopher Durang play, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike is being staged by Village Theatre Waterdown. The…
Arts + Culture

REVIEW: Extraordinary new show does poetic justice to The Tragically Hip

World premiere of It’s a Good Life If You Don’t Weaken at Theatre Aquarius celebrates the music of Canada’s band, woven into a new and original story. It’s everything musical theatre should be and should not to be missed. It’s A Good Life If You Don’t Weaken…
Arts + Culture

PREVIEW: New theatre company presents ‘unsettling and humorous’ The Lover

Hamilton-based independent theatre company The Kitchen Sink Collective is staging its third production in Harold Pinter’s critically acclaimed one-act play. Embarking on a limited run through April 26, Hamilton-based independent theatre company The Kitchen Sink Collective presents Harold Pinter’s The Lover at West Plains United Church in Aldershot.
City Life

New photography book celebrates Niagara Escarpment

Mark Zelinski has been taking iconic images for close to 50 years. He will launch his latest book, Niagara Escarpment, Land Between Waters, on April 29. Sitting down in Mark Zelinski’s dining room in Waterdown for a discussion about his latest collection of photographs, I had to admit…