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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

PRIDE: Trans artist Ardyn Gibbs is living in the light

Their work explores the pleasures, resilience and secrets of the queer experience through holograms, lenticular prints, digital renderings, and the reflective distortions of chrome. I can’t help but think of holograms as the neon-retro dreams of a future that never came, which made my first encounter with Ardyn…
Arts + Culture

Piindigen: Amplifying once-excluded theatre voices

For two years, Theatre Aquarius’s Indigenous Piindigen program has actively sought out traditionally unheard storytellers to teach and showcase their work. The culmination of this year's program is being presented Saturday as part of the Brave New Works Festival. The Brave New Works Festival, Theatre Aquarius’ annual…
Arts + Culture

City reflected in Hamilton Arts Week

Hamilton Arts Council’s annual cultural celebration returns for 2025 with 12 signature events from June 3-12 that showcase the diversity, creativity, and stories of our city. Hamilton is an arts town and that is never more true than during Hamilton Arts Week, taking place across the city…
Arts + Culture

Festitalia: ‘We will cover Hamilton with Italy’

City’s Italian celebration is marking its 50-year anniversary this year with a cultural expo and a street festival in June and its traditional events in September. For 50 years in September, Festitalia has brought Italy to Hamilton with dinners, dances, art shows, and grape stomps. This year,…
Arts + Culture

Saddle up, country’s best is coming to Hamilton

The CMAOntario Awards and Festival will hit the Textile Building and The Music Hall this weekend, marking the third time in five years the city has played host to the event. Hamilton’s The Redhill Valleys, Mackenzie Leigh Meyer and KX94.7, along with Josh Ross from Burlington, are all…
City Life

McMaster University will un-pave a parking lot and return it to paradise

Campus will undergo a profound transformation over the next decade as it renaturalizes west side, adds more housing and creates entry gateways. A vision to transform the McMaster University campus over the next decade includes the renaturalization of what are large parking lots on the west side of…
Arts + Culture

Big Fish is a head-turning kaleidoscope of action

Hamilton Theatre Inc.’s final production of the season is a rollicking, high energy, never-say-die good time meant for a wide audience. Hamilton Theatre Inc. is known for its enthusiastic and lively musicals backed by the orchestrations of its own talented band. This time the company is performing Big…
Arts + Culture

INCITE FOUNDATION: Music Makers

The incite Foundation for the Arts supports the work of the Great Lakes Music Makers and the Ancaster Music Society. The incite Foundation for the Arts has contributed more than $9 million to 50 Hamilton-area organizations, through grants from $2,500 to $300,000, since it was founded in 2011. It…