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Celebrating all things Hamilton / Welcome Message
Arts + Culture

Hamilton stars at the Hamilton Film Festival

The 21-year-old film event features 100 shorts, documentaries and features, from established and new filmmakers, shown over 10 days. Here we talk with festival director Nathan Fleet and Hamilton filmmakers Rita Chiarelli, Liv Ellis, Maddy Foley, and Jeff Robinson. The Hamilton Film Festival works every year to…
City Life

State of the City: Hamilton needs 50 ideas to turn around the downtown

Business leaders, urban planners, and police officials call for well-executed small wins, stronger partnerships with other levels of government, and coordinated community action to restore confidence in the city’s core. Hamilton’s downtown revival will depend as much on fixing everyday problems as it does on major infrastructure…
Arts + Culture

Solo show shares stories from frontline shelters during the pandemic

Hamilton playwright Tommy Taylor will debut You Should Have Stayed Home Too at Theatre Aquarius. The show drawn from his decade working in emergency shelters and overdose prevention sites features lost music from his late aunt, who was best friend, roommate and collaborator of Joni Mitchell. A…
Arts + Culture

Learning to Breathe: Clara Hughes discovers life beyond the finish line

After a lifetime of pushing her body to extraordinary limits, the six-time Olympic medallist found herself facing an unfamiliar opponent: stillness. In her new memoir, the cyclist and speed skater explores a devastating injury, menopausal upheaval, and buried trauma that forced her to rethink everything she thought she…
Arts + Culture

Staats shines at folk awards in Hamilton

The Ontario Folk Music Awards kicked off the five-day Folk Canada conference taking place in downtown Hamilton. Six Nations of the Grand River singer-songwriter Logan Staats won big, along with Tanika Charles and Aysanabee at the awards show hosted by Terra Lightfoot. Six Nations of the Grand River…
City Life

CANDIDATE SURVEY: HAMILTON MUNICIPAL ELECTION 2026

The Hamilton Arts Council, Hamilton Phil, and HAMILTON CITY Magazine have teamed up to produce a four-question survey of mayoral and ward candidates vying for seats at City council in the Oct. 26 municipal election. Read on to for the candidates' thoughts about arts and culture in Hamilton.
Food + Drink

Your ultimate Hamilton fun & food guide

Are you looking to play with your food? From bowling, escape rooms, and axe throwing to open mics, batting cages, karaoke bars, and board game cafés, you'll never have to choose between a great meal and a great time. We’ve all been there. You and your besties are…
Arts + Culture

A winding musical road

James Bryan has had a long and varied career as a singer, songwriter, guitarist, producer, mentor, and concert producer who has worked with huge names in music in a variety of genres, and fronted two successful Canadian bands. His animated pop duo Prozzak will play FirstOntario Concert…
Arts + Culture

PREVIEW: Crown Point Players presenting unique companion plays

Lone Star and Laundry and Bourbon features two one-act plays set in 1970s Texas, one with an all-female cast and the other with an all male cast. It will run at Crown & Press from Oct. 16 to 24. New theatre company Crown Point Players is presenting…
Food + Drink

Buzz worthy: 5 restaurants in Hamilton, Burlington generating social media love

When you can’t make a decision about what restaurant to go to or order from, you simply can’t go wrong with any of these choices. These are eateries that consistently generate glowing reviews from patrons. Visit while they’re hot! Cowabunga 4.5-star average on Google Reviews Cowabunga…
Food + Drink

Jerk, done right

We are spoiled for local restaurants bringing big, bold Caribbean flavour to the table – just in time for the arrival of cooler weather. There is something heart-warming about the bold delicious flavours of a jerk chicken dish – some spice, some sweetness, and a…

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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

HAMILTON IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Memories of The JUNOS

Celebrity spotting, after parties, pop-up concerts and at least two winners who missed their moments on the stage … what Hamilton musicians and musical insiders remember about the city’s previous turns hosting The JUNOS. There have been so many musical memories born in Hamilton during the six previous…
Arts + Culture

Lots of Canada, Hamilton, even a Heated Rivalry actor, in Aquarius’ next season

The 2026-2027 lineup will feature Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Roald Dahl’s Matilda, The Musical, and three new Canadian plays, two featuring Hamilton playwrights. Four female directors. Three new Canadian plays. Two Hamilton playwrights. Two blockbuster British musicals. One national bestselling novel. One actor from smash hit…
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…