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Celebrating all things Hamilton / Welcome Message
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…
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

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…
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…
City Life

7 2SLGBTQIA+ leaders you should know

In honour of Pride in June, we asked inspiring local advocates and community leaders about their work, why marking Pride matters, what needs to change at the local level, and their greatest wish for the communities they serve. These are just seven Hamiltonians who champion 2SLGBTIA+ people locally.
Arts + Culture

Silverstein never stands still

Twenty-six years,13 albums, and a million records sold later, and the Burlington-born hardcore/punk band continues to defy the odds. Silverstein began making music during a fertile period in heavy guitar rock. The turn of the millennium saw guitar rock genres splinter into even more subgenres as bands borrowed…
Arts + Culture

PRIDE: Queer and crafting in Hamilton

QUARTZ: Queer Art Hang at the Art Gallery of Hamilton and Queer Craft Club at Hamilton Craft Studios offers an oulet for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community to gather and create. If you are queer and into crafting, you have two options to let your creative flag fly and…
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 May. Launched & opening soon Chubby Tiger (2016 Victoria Ave., Burlington) Early reviewers have described the cuisine at Chubby Tiger as reminiscent of food court Canadian Chinese fare, with…
Arts + Culture

Cadence Weapon wants you to stop scrolling and start listening

Rollie Pemberton, aka Cadence Weapon, is done with treating music as background filler. In his new book Ways of Listening, the Hamilton rapper explores the transition from record bins to algorithms and reimagines how we can reclaim a deep connection with music in the age of streaming. When…
Arts + Culture

For Spoons, ‘Old Emotions’ are new again

Burlington band that had a string of hits in the 1980s, is releasing a new album and taking on a new musical sound. By Jenna Yeomans and Stephen Metelsky  Nov. 1, 2025. The bottom of the 11th inning of the World Series at Toronto’s Rogers Centre. The Jays…
Arts + Culture

incite: Delivering on a mission

Since the incite Foundation for the Arts was formed in 2011, it has donated $11 million to local arts organizations. On its 15th anniversary, the incite Foundation for the Arts is reaffirming its mission to revolutionize support for the arts in the greater Hamilton community.  incite strives to…
Food + Drink

Delicious and Indigenous

There are a growing number of notable food options in Six Nations, along with a beloved Indigenous-owned diner in Hamilton. Six Nations & Beyond  Just south of the city, not far from the edges of Hamilton, is the community of Six Nations. With a whole variety of…
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…
Food + Drink

DINING DISTRICTS: A Locke on food

This interesting west Hamilton street is ever-evolving, with newcomers joining long-time eateries to make for a true foodie destination. On the whole, my visits to Locke Street have all been linked to food. It must be said that I can think of over a dozen eateries that closed…
City Life

CITY VIEW: A Hamilton storyteller

Annette Hamm is about to retire after being part of the CHCH News team since 1986. We talked to her about her career and what Hamilton means to her. ANNETTE HAMM is retiring next month after a 40-year career at CHCH. She's spent the last 21 of those…

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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.


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 February. Launched & opening soon Blondies (4490 Fairview St., Burlington) Replacing the previous pizza shop in the location Pizza Boat, which closed in October last year, Blondies is a…
Arts + Culture

HTI production wins over this Anne of Green Gables fan

Allison M. Jones is devoted to Lucy Maud Montgomery and her iconic characters and was charmed by this well-acted, well-designed, well-directed and sold-out musical. In the lead-up to Hamilton Theatre Inc.’s production of Anne of Green Gables: The Musical, I’ll admit I was worried. It wasn’t anything…
Arts + Culture

Frost Bites: Telling stories that ‘need to be told’

The two weekend festival kicks off with Land, Place, Home, community-based storytelling based on the experiences of newcomers. There will also be family and community events at Bernie Morelli Recreation Centre. Frost Bites continues next weekend with innovative and intimate performances in nooks and crannies of The Staircase.
Arts + Culture

Agatha Christie classic rolling into Theatre Aquarius

Murder on the Orient Express combines mystery, glamour and opulence, along with timely themes of humanity and evil. The play is fun and larger than life, says star Daniel Kash. When Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express rolls into Hamilton, it will bring a classic murder…
Arts + Culture

JUNOS in Hamilton: ‘Lightning in a bottle’

Hamilton will take centre stage when it hosts the JUNO Awards for the seventh time from March 26 to 29. It’s a chance to show off this city of music and momentum, and to build a legacy to carry that forward. When the JUNO Awards arrive in…
Arts + Culture

REVIEW: Mary’s Wedding is transcendent theatre that is not to be missed

This Theatre Burlington production, a love story set in World War I, is beautifully written, acted, and staged, evoking deep emotion and profound hope. A sweet and burgeoning love is placed on a collision course with the events of World War I in Theatre Burlington’s newest production Mary’s…
City Life

The Approximators: Your shot at fronting a band

Hamilton-based live-karaoke band The Approximators will be celebrating their third anniversary on Saturday, Feb. 28 at Ooey Gooey’s in Hamilton’s Hess Village, where they recently kicked off a monthly residency that extends right to the end of 2026 (and maybe beyond). In live-band karaoke, people sign up to…
Arts + Culture

Three JUNO nominations for Hamilton artists

Josh Ross, Counterparts and Daniel Lanois are up for awards at the March 29 awards ceremony in Hamilton. Justin Bieber, Tate McRae lead the pack with six nominations each. Sarah McLachlan and Allison Russell will perform a tribute to Joni Mitchell, who will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award,…