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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

REVIEW: The Savannah Sipping Society is comfortingly familiar while telling a new and funny story

The Players’ Guild of Hamilton’s satisfying season-ending comedy brings together four women over 50 who are searching for friendships and new directions. The last production of the season for The Players’ Guild of Hamilton is The Savannah Sipping Society, a funny, well-paced, and satisfying comedy that brings together…
City Life

YHM to Where?

Where you can fly from Hamilton is always changing. Porter is now flying to four Canadian cities and the airport has just unveiled its renovations. Looking to travel more within Canada this year? Who isn’t? That just got a little easier for Hamilton residents, and fans of the…
Food + Drink

Local brewers are tackling tariffs one pint at a time

Hamilton and Burlington are home to thriving craft breweries that are taking on the U.S. trade war by doubling down on local. If there’s one Canadian industry that understands the importance of supporting local, it’s craft brewing.  For more than four decades since the days when Labatt…
City Life

PRIDE: Finding friends over Queer Coffee

The monthly social mixer in a downtown coffee house brews connections in the city’s 2SLGBTQIA+ community. At Queer Coffee Hamilton, the buzz comes from both the coffee and the conversations.   Queer Coffee is a monthly social mixer at Relay Coffee Roasters on King William Street that started in…
City Life

Canada is facing a new economic era

Our country is at a turning point, and Hamilton could be a big winner – if we believe and prepare. Not even the most jaded observer could have predicted just how quickly the political situation would deteriorate in the United States after the election of Donald Trump to…
Food + Drink

East-end staple Rankin’s Bar & Grill has served its last pint

Hamilton landmark served patrons for 45 years, surviving as a three-generation family business that, over 87 years, evolved from a china shop to a snack bar to a classic neighbourhood restaurant. The TV classic Cheers has been in the news recently following the death of George Wendt, who…
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 Bim’s Kusina (184 King St. E., Hamilton)What began as a small birria taco business with a food truck, then a physical location in Burlington last summer, has quickly expanded to a…
City Life

PRIDE: A royal legacy for Rainbow Kings and Queens

More than 350 LGBTQ+ asylum-seekers from eight African countries have settled in Hamilton for a life of safety, acceptance and peace and are building of their own community. Herbert Ddiba can’t quite recall how he came up with the name Rainbow Kings and Queens. He knew he…