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Celebrating all things Hamilton / Welcome Message
Arts + Culture

HAMILTON FRINGE FESTIVAL 2026 MINI-REVIEWS

HAMILTON CITY Magazine theatre reviewers are taking in Hamilton Fringe Festival shows all across our city and delivering fast and fun takes on what they see. Check them all out here! Fringe 2026 is 55 plays and 400 performances at 16 indoor and outdoor venues and runs until…
Made in Hamilton

Festival of Friends at 50

The iconic Festival of Friends, a Hamilton summer music tradition, celebrates a half-century of harmonies by looking back at what makes a lasting and much-loved legacy. For the Festival of Friends, the magic is the moments. From unforgettable musical acts to iconic artists returning year after year,…
City Life

Kenadie, how do I talk to pretty girls?

Welcome to the 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 new HAMILTON…
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…
City Life

Wesley: Never standing still

The made-in-Hamilton non-profit began its work in a church basement 71 years ago. Focused on poverty, homelessness, and the complex social challenges at the root of those issues, Wesley’s more than 300 staff lead critical social programs in 17 locations in Hamilton and beyond. Ryan S. was…
Made in Hamilton

Saving the strays at Ladybird Animal Sanctuary

After rescuing nearly 1,900 animals over 16 years, Hamilton-based Ladybird Animal Sanctuary is close to creating a farm that will be a refuge for animals in desperate need. It all started with three friends working together for one unforgettable cat. Sweet Oliver the cat was the first…
City Life

FOR THE LOVE OF HAMILTON

This regular feature highlights people from all walks of life who have embraced Hamilton as their new home. PRIYA MOHAN is the founder of sariKNOTsari, a Canadian fashion brand built around one-of-a-kind upcycled silk clothing, ethical production, and the belief that women deserve to feel both comfortable…

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

Sonic Unyon: Taking on the flip side

Long-time musician Wayne Petti has taken a role with Sonic Unyon that sees him managing artists through the new SUM Artist Management, while growing the label, and pitching in with the evolution of a musical empire. The juggernaut that is multi-faceted Hamilton-based independent music company Sonic Unyon…
Arts + Culture

A Ringside (Hamilton) seat

Large event space at the back of Architect Hair Design on James Street North is proving popular for weddings, parties and dances. If you’ve ventured down the colourful alley beside Architect Hair Design on James Street North, you won’t forget what you found.  It opens to a courtyard…
City Life

Rethinking Chedoke Creek

The future of a critical Hamilton waterway that is partially buried is being imagined in a community design lab. Water is foundational to Hamilton. We are a city on a harbour that has been the focus of inhabitants for generations. Whether it was for trading or industry, or…
Arts + Culture

Lifting women’s voices in music

Hamilton/Halton is the 11th chapter of Women in Music Canada, and will host local networking events, workshops, panels, artist showcases and meet-ups. Male-dominated industries can be isolating, intimidating, and at times hostile to women and genderqueer people navigating careers within them. The arts, often lauded as industries of…
Food + Drink

My heart belongs to Nani’s Gelato

Founded as a food truck in Toronto in 2022, you can now get the internationally inspired frozen flavours in Hamilton and Burlington as part of a franchising expansion across Canada. While hankerings for frozen treats persist all year, we are well into the season when those cravings peak.
Food + Drink

King James Vol. 1

James Street North is, without a doubt, the heart of downtown Hamilton. Its dining scene is constantly evolving but rooted in the success of some mainstays and the neighbourhood’s ethnic diversity. James North runs from King Street East to the bay, bringing you to lovely (and ongoing) upgrades…
Arts + Culture

Musical incubator staging a second season

National Centre for New Musicals at Theatre Aquarius has completed its first year and announced the next cohort of works to be mentored and supported. Hamilton’s incubator for Canadian musicals has one year under its belt and has announced its three new works it will support on their…
City Life

Julia Veenstra: Hitting the beach

The Hamilton painter will host the fifth edition of her Garden Party & Studio Tour on Sept. 6. Now a five-year tradition on Beach Boulevard, local painter and café owner Julia Veenstra will host her Garden Party & Studio Tour on Sept. 6.  The day combines her two…