Hamilton City Magazine - Page 34 Skip to main content
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…

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

REVIEW: Dundas Little Theatre stages fresh take on Shakespeare

Eighties-inspired Much Ado About Nothing shifts comedy to a corporate setting, led by a talented and diverse cast and imaginative set and costumes. For another two weekends, Dundas Little Theatre is presenting one of William Shakespeare’s comedies, Much Ado About Nothing, in a truly inclusive production with a…
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 January. Launched  Afro Fusion Resto (337 James St. N., Hamilton)Dine in or take out from the newly opened Afro Fusion Resto, which showcases rich natural flavours of West Africa.
Arts + Culture

Hamilton-produced music featured in Indigenous land fight documentary

YINTAH, now on Netflix throughout Turtle Island (US and Canada), the UK and Ireland, chronicles a decade-long battle by the Wet’suwet’en people over 22,000 square kilometres in northern British Columbia. The documentary YINTAH, added to Netflix in the fall, follows the Wet’suwet’en people’s ongoing fight for their rights…
Food + Drink

Savour a Taste of Burlington

Thirty-eight restaurants are offering special prix-fixe menus for the next two weeks. Taste of Burlington, the city’s premier culinary event, is officially underway. From now until Feb. 9, 38 restaurants will offer specially curated prix-fixe menus for the program, showcasing the flavours and dishes that are contributing to…
Arts + Culture

REVIEW: The Catering Queen provides a reprieve from what ails us

The Players’ Guild of Hamilton delivers with a play that provides laughs, a villain to hate and a dive into the stories beyond the aprons serving at a fancy law firm Christmas party. If January has felt like an interminable month of Mondays, and psychic weariness has set…
City Life

Art, sex, and artificial intelligence

AI is a powerful tool shaping intimacy and creativity in Hamilton but we must ensure we are careful about the intentions behind its use. Editor's note: This is the first of regular contributions from Maria Orrego, a Hamilton-based registered psychotherapist & sex therapist. Hamilton is a city…
Arts + Culture

David Robertson says sharing mental health struggles was first step to healing

Hamilton gritLIT event is among first stops for the author after release of All the Little Monsters: How I Learned to Live with Anxiety. Prolific author David Robertson says he was skilled at hiding his bouts of depression and his battles with anxiety. He had a breakdown…
City Life

Gardeners rejoice! Seedy Saturday is around the corner

14th annual event on Feb. 1 will bring together vendors, speakers, seminar leaders, and plant, insect and wildlife-lovers of all ages and skill levels for Hamilton’s go-to gardening event. Years ago, my family bundled up in the February cold to head to a community centre near the old…