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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…

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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.


City Life

Hamilton honours NBA champion Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with key to the city

NBA superstar is only the second recipient of Hamilton’s highest civic honour. The first will likely surprise you. By Stephen Metelsky and Jenna Yeomans NBA superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was awarded the key to the City of Hamilton on Thursday, becoming only the second person in the city’s…
Food + Drink

Nostalgia rules at Nanny & Bull’s

Barton Street East bar pays homage to the homey feeling of visiting beloved grandparents. Just three weeks after opening their bar Nanny & Bull’s on Barton Street East in early March, married couple Jeff Richards and Lexi McKenna learned how Hamiltonians rally to help. After they closed on…
City Life

Football’s Rob Hitchcock: The underdog hero

Hamilton Tiger-Cats linebacker was told he was too small to play football but he refused to accept that. He tirelessly worked his way, not only to a pro career, but to a Grey Cup title and his hometown team’s Wall of Honour. In 1999, Rob Hitchcock, the Ticats…
City Life

Summer staycations: 5 surprising family adventures in Hamilton

Avoid traffic and spending money on gas by staying close to home, all while supporting local. These are tried and trusted destinations, but we’ve scoped out some new offerings at each that you might not know about. Where can you take the family this month in Hamilton? There…
Made in Hamilton

Local bookstores are turning the page

Independent bookstores in Hamilton have shown a once-unexpected resilience to the challenges they face, continuing to be critical to the city’s literary scene, offering slowed-down and personal experiences for shoppers, and serving as anchors of their neighbourhoods. Stepping into Epic Books on Locke Street, one of Hamilton’s more…
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…