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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…

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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

Focusing on humanity

Human Beings of Hamilton shines a powerful spotlight on those living on the streets of the city. The man behind the Facebook page has walked that road himself. Human Beings of Hamilton started as a Facebook page, sharing photography taken over…
City Life

For the Love of Hamilton

This regular feature will highlight people from all walks of life who have embraced Hamilton as their new home. Kayla Whitney is from Chatham, Ont. She attended OCAD University in Toronto and opened Koe Design, a commercial arts studio offering illustration, design and mural services, in 2017.
City Life

Paddling in Hamilton: Late summer and fall are great times to get out on the water

The city has some amazing canoeing, kayaking and stand-up paddleboarding opportunities that are accessible for beginners and give a view of the city you might not have seen before. This fall, if you find yourself driving from Dundas to Hamilton along Cootes Drive, keep your eyes open. You…
Arts + Culture

B.A. Johnston: ‘Failed showman on the skids’

Hamilton's dive-bar hero has made a career out of not taking himself too seriously. Dive-bar hero. Comic-genius with no formal training. From a high-school slacker to a persona perfected over 20 years, B.A. Johnston epitomizes the DIY spirit and the art of not taking yourself too seriously. Case…
Arts + Culture

Crafting a creative hub

Hamilton Craft Studios offers an affordable and fun space to artists, along with woodworking, textiles and ceramics classes, in a sprawling former 1920s-era wire factory. Dayna Gedney and Joseph Bauman tripped over the former wire factory at 121 Princess St. during an online property search.
Arts + Culture

HAMILTON READS

Hamilton is the ‘beating heart’ of Pebble & Dove, the moving new novel by Amy Jones. There’s an inside joke in Amy Jones’s family that she’s jinxed when it comes to spotting wildlife.  “My parents will go out in the boat and see dolphins and whales and sea…
City Life

Grey Cup Festival: ‘Excitement runs deep’

Six days of events include a James Street North festival, kids road race, the Hamilton Santa Claus Parade, YWCA luncheon, neighbourhood block party and a day off from school. A street festival on James Street North, a kids-only road race, a mini Tim Hortons Field inside the downtown…
City Life

Embracing our own natural wonder

The Niagara Escarpment is a World Biosphere running right through the centre of our city. It’s a critical part of the civic identity and recreational and cultural life of Hamilton. We should be protecting and celebrating it much better than we have. It is probably our…