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Celebrating all things Hamilton / Welcome Message
Arts + Culture

Readers and writers: Your guide to gritLIT 2026

The literary festival offers five days of readings, panels, workshops, and social events that celebrate writers of all kinds and the readers who read them. For 22 years, the Hamilton-born gritLIT has celebrated established writers, helped new ones develop, and given readers a front-row seat to well over…
Arts + Culture

World premiere shines a light on Canada, The Hip, and what home really means

It’s A Good Life If You Don’t Weaken, opening April 22 at Theatre Aquarius, is about connection, love, and saying something that needs to be said. That spirit, and the spirit of Gord Downie, are in the rehearsal room as this show comes to life, say its stars.
Arts + Culture

REVIEW: Calendar Girls is balm for weary souls

Story of group of English women posing nude to raise money for their church is a nuanced exploration of aging, expectation, disappointment, and refusing to accept limitations. Binbrook Little Theatre’s production features brave performances and a solid focus on the story. Uplifting stories seem hard to find these…
Arts + Culture

New music venues: This booker is back

Brodie Schwendiman, operator of the late and beloved Casbah, is back booking music in a new downtown venue called Ridiculous, and other live-music locations in the region. 2025 was a rollercoaster ride of a year for Brodie Schwendiman. The music club operator and booker has played a crucial…
Food + Drink

Chef Matty Matheson: By the books

The celebrity chef has now made his mark in Hamilton, with elevated pub Iron Cow Public House at TD Coliseum. So what can we glean about him from the recipes and stories in his three cookbooks?  For months, his name was on the lips of Hamilton food…
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. TV FREAKS  – Blue Genie (garage, punk rock) Devotion, distortion, and the…
Food + Drink

Getting out: Music & menus

If live tunes help your food taste better, here’s a list of places where the grub is as good as the setlist! With this issue being HAMILTON CITY Magazine’s music issue, it seemed fitting to round-up a bundle of local restaurants where you can see and enjoy some…
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)! Escape the relentless news cycle, doom scrolling and polarizing politics, and find joy and laughter in pets. Hounds of Hamilton…

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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

Ariana Fig: Fruitful fusion

The Hamilton singer-songwriter has taken her classical violin training and applied it to creating eclectic original songs that blend pop, folk, alternative and jazz.  By Stephen Metelsky and Jenna Yeomans “The world is so big, you’re just one person telling your story. Everybody has a…
Arts + Culture

The Workers Arts & Heritage Centre : A force of labour

The WAHC was founded by working people for working people – a rare entity in the world of museums. In the 30 years since its founding by a dynamic group of labour historians, artists, and union activists, the Workers Arts & Heritage Centre (WAHC) has transcended its first…
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 July. Launched Bonito’s Pizzeria & Gelato (219 James St. N., Hamilton) In the former Lighthouse Fish Market location, Bonito’s opened this past month with rave reviews for its Roman-style…
Arts + Culture

HAMILTON READS

From humorous horror and fairytale to a walking exploration of Westdale, a historical baseball tale, and short stories from Caribbean perspectives, here are five books from local writers that should be on your summer reading list. This summer, put your feet up and relax with a good book…
Arts + Culture

The Mule Spinner: Music’s tiny temple

A multi-purpose creative space founded by Hamilton music veterans Glen Marshall and the late Bob Lanois, the former stable at the Cotton Factory hosts intimate live performances and recording sessions. It looks like a film set. A set for something set in the early 1900s, perhaps. Industrial turn-of-the-century…
Food + Drink

Southern comfort

Summer is the time for bibs, BBQ and lip-smacking chicken and ribs. So get out to visit these great spots while the sun is warm and patios and picnic tables beckon. The smell of smokers wafts throughout the air and summer is in full-swing! Is there anything that…
Arts + Culture

INCITE FOUNDATION: Sinfonia Ancaster

The incite Foundation for the Arts supports the work of Sinfonia Ancaster. 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 is the legacy of the late Carl…
Arts + Culture

HAMILTON FRINGE FESTIVAL MINI-REVIEWS

HAMILTON CITY Magazine is taking in Hamilton Fringe Festival shows all across our city and delivering fast and fun reviews. Check them all out here! Fringe 2025 is 55 plays and 350 performances and runs until July 27. * HAMILTON CITY Magazine's CRITIC'S PICK: A…