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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

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

This West Side Story soars

Theatre Ancaster’s production of classic, and still timely, musical is full of stellar performances, spectacle and energy. Heading home from Theatre Ancaster’s mainstage production of West Side Story, I reflected on the wealth of talent we have in the Hamilton area from actors and musicians to singers and…
Arts + Culture

Decades of Steel City sound

Hamilton has long punched above its weight as a musical powerhouse. Here, we trace 55 years of the city’s breakout bands. And check out great live music venues, too. It is no secret that Hamilton is one of Canada’s biggest and best music cities. With its…
City Life

Summer staycations: Sunflower fields and farms

The bright yellow flowers are beacons for people seeking spectacular photos but crowds are damaging to crops growing on private property. These farms offer sunflower field experiences that are safe and responsible. Sunflower season is short but spectacular – and best enjoyed at farms that welcome visitors responsibly.
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…