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Celebrating all things Hamilton / Welcome Message
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

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,…
Arts + Culture

Big Wreck: Still exploring, still curious

HCM music writer Dylan Hudecki chatted with singer and guitarist Ian Thornley about the making of the band’s eighth studio album The Rest of the Story, and embarking on a tour with LIVE and Econoline Crush. It hits Hamilton’s TD Coliseum on March 5. With The Rest…