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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…

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

The Redhill Valleys: No Speed Limit

The Hamilton-based Americana alt-country band has a unique, genre-bending sound and find its epicentre at Westmoreland Recording studios on Kenilworth Avenue North. Since The Redhill Valleys released their first album in 2016, this four-piece Americana alt-country band hasn’t taken their foot off the gas pedal.  Since the 2022…
Arts + Culture

New Hamilton theatre company presents play in a play

Hilarious one-act family-friendly Play That Goes Wrong is the first production of BIG HEARTS little theatre based on the Mountain. BIG HEARTS little theatre is a new performing arts company based on Hamilton Mountain, fuelled by the passion and artistic direction of long-time local educator Erin Newton. BIG…
City Life

Going out with the gold

The City of Hamilton is wrapping up its gold recycling box program as the province moves to end blue box processing. How the individual producer model will roll out still hasn’t been announced. On a scorching hot Monday in August, my wife came to pick me up from…
Arts + Culture

A new era of joy for Brott Music Festival

As Canada’s largest orchestral festival wraps up its first season under artistic director Tania Miller on Aug. 15 with a concert dedicated to Boris Brott, she shared her reflections with HAMILTON CITY Magazine about the legacy of Brott and her role in taking the festival into…
Food + Drink

Hamilton Farmers’ Market is a dining destination of its own

The downtown market offers a large and delicious array of homemade options inspired by delicacies from all around the world. This is part of an ongoing series looking at the local array of dining districts. So far, our dining districts series has focused on streetscapes and dining-in. Apart…
City Life

Reclaiming LRT

A rapid transit line crossing Hamilton holds tremendous promise and purpose and we can’t forget that as this project drags on. It has been over three years since the announcement that Hamilton light rail transit (LRT) was back on track. The mood on May 13, 2021 was one…
Arts + Culture

Young performers showcased in two very different local productions

Theatre Ancaster’s Spring Awakening is a bold rock musical that may cause some discomfort, while The Lightning Thief: A Percy Jackson Musical from Curtain Call Performing Arts Company is a whimsical, all-ages fantasy. Although many theatre companies will launch their seasons next month, two area organizations…
Arts + Culture

The Shakers are rocking again

Legendary Hamilton rock ’n’ roll quartet have reunited and will soon release their first album of new material in more than 40 years. The Shakers are back, and they’re ready to “Shake Some Action” again, to reference the title of the classic garage rock song by The Flamin’…