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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…

you are HAMILTON

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

Thrills and chills: Joe Hill and Linwood Barclay coming to Hamilton

Two bestselling authors make gritLIT appearance as part of Tour De Fear mini-tour. See them Nov. 10, 7 p.m. at the Playhouse Cinema. Prolific horror author Joe Hill wants his readers to lose sleep over his work. “I want to make it hard for you to go to…
City Life

Haunted Halloween in Hamilton

Hamilton Prop House was back to haunt Barton Street for its second Halloween party featuring film sets and scenery inspired by Silent Hill 2. Check out the photos below. Photos by Janice Thiessen/@automaticjane…
Arts + Culture

Using art to escape cancer, even for a few hours

A collaboration between the Art Gallery of Hamilton and the Cancer Assistance Program brings patients and families together to talk about art, forge social connections, and leave their diagnosis behind. Accessible, experiential, and enjoyable – that’s how the Art Gallery of Hamilton describes the innovative…
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 October. Launched Kufiya Restaurant (3241 Appleby Line, Burlington) Authentic Palestinian restaurant offering grilled shawarma, tender kebabs, and a wide variety of BBQ specialties made with traditional recipes. Leave room…
Arts + Culture

HPO travels to worlds of famous composers

Light Emerges on Nov. 8 features great melodies of Verdi, Elgar, Kilar, and Mendelssohn with guest conductor Nil Venditti. Editor’s note: HAMILTON CITY Magazine is thrilled to embark on a partnership with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra that will feature each show of the concert season.  Take an orchestral…
Arts + Culture

Big Hearts tackles big ideas onstage

The Man From Earth, a sci-fi play with a twist on stage at The Staircase, is a ‘quiet, cerebral piece that invites audiences to wrestle with big ideas about time, faith, and what it means to be human,’ says director Erin Newton. Science fiction isn’t the usual genre…
Happening Now

23 Hamilton craft markets for the holidays

We are heading into the shopping season and here are all the places you can cross names off your list and support local artists, artisans, and crafter at the same time. Looking for a craft show near you? Specifically, here’s a list of art, craft, and vendor markets…
Arts + Culture

LitLive: 30 years of Hamilton stories

The LitLive Reading Series began in 1995 and continues to be a showcase for new, emerging and established writers, while shining a light on the Hamilton literary community.  Reading is an activity of intimacy. The eye is directed to words on the page and a story unfolds from…