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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

Good advice: Listen to Your Mother

The Players’ Guild of Hamilton is contributing to the storytelling phenomenon that ‘gave motherhood a microphone’ “Listen to Your Mother,” a live storytelling event celebrating every facet of motherhood, was launched in 2010 in Madison, Wisc. Its creator was Ann Imig, a popular “mommy blogger” with a background in…
Arts + Culture

‘Big Launch Concert’ kicks off new music group

The Escarpment Blues Society has a mandate to support and grow the local blues and roots music scene. It officially launches with a star-studded concert May 28. Excitement is building as a new music collective is ready to take the stage.   The Escarpment Blues Society is…
City Life

OBITUARY: The formidable Renee Sagebear Albrecht made a profound impact

The owner of the ground-breaking Women’s Bookstop, a beacon for feminists and queer women, ‘brought the art of the possible to countless women,’ writes friend Cole Gately. “A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle.” As far as we were concerned, a truer slogan…
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 March and April. Launched & opening soon Akus Family Dining (518 Concession St., Hamilton). Taking over the former Stage Diner’s location with an extensive all-day breakfast menu, plus lunch items like lasagna, shrimp…
Arts + Culture

Gallery show is dying wish for artist

The work of Laura Church, who is in hospice care, will be featured in a solo exhibition at Gallery 1051. Laura Church took up art after her life had fallen apart. It has been a source of expression, comfort, challenge and purpose in the 11 years since. And…
Arts + Culture

REVIEW: Tom Wilson’s Beautiful Scars is compelling, entertaining

The world premiere musical takes the audience on a rollercoaster ride of mirth, myth and tragedy, culminating in a conclusion that is both defiant and triumphant. Theatre Aquarius artistic director and Beautiful Scars director/dramaturge Mary Francis Moore introduced the first of two preview performances of the world premiere musical by…
Arts + Culture

Dundas Little Theatre’s new play reimagines what hero means

‘Edgy contemporary drama’ Lobby Hero and its flawed characters and difficult themes expected to generate a lot of talk, reflection among attendees. Nicholas Ruddick is the chair of the Dundas Little Theatre’s play reading committee that proposes a playbill to the DLT board each season. The aim is…
Food + Drink

Get in the kitchen

Whatever your culinary experience or comfort level, Hamilton offers plenty of options to up your cooking game. If you find yourself spending more time in the kitchen, you’re not alone. When it comes to preparing meals at home versus dining out, 44 per cent more Canadians were sticking…