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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…

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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

The Flip Side of Urban Sprawl

Preserving Hamilton’s rural character needs to be a high priority for economic and environmental reasons. When we usually talk about city development and sustainability, too often we focus on the urban part of our city. We discuss how neighbourhoods are developing, where housing is being built, opportunities for…
Food + Drink

Famished for the food truck

Ottawa Street’s Sew Hungry began in 2013 as a way to celebrate Hamilton’s burgeoning food truck culture. Both are still going strong. As Ottawa Street gears up for the return of Sew Hungry on May 11, the food truck scene in Hamilton has never been more vibrant. Hamilton…
Arts + Culture

Musical incubator at Theatre Aquarius announces first cohort of productions

The National Centre for New Musicals will provide mentorship and consultation to the Canadian composers, lyricists, book writers and theatre artists behind five new musical works. The National Centre for New Musicals (NCNM) at Theatre Aquarius has announced the first cohort of five productions that have been selected…
Arts + Culture

Grief, gardening and growing up

Village Theatre Waterdown presents Bloom, a play about innocence, hope and friendship, and a production where newer performers are cultivating their craft. It’s fitting that Village Theatre Waterdown’s spring production is titled Bloom, in more ways than one. The play follows a grieving teenager who, after acting out…
Arts + Culture

Peter Mansbridge celebrates the fascinating, critical jobs Canadians do

The former anchor of CBC News’ The National and co-author of How Canada Works was a special guest of Hamilton’s gritLIT festival. The man who once had one of the most visible jobs in the country is fascinated by the invisible and unsung jobs that are the backbone…
Food + Drink

Rebranded Bardō offering ingredients for success

The former Earth to Table Bread Bars on Locke and James streets have a new name and a new look but remain committed to good food. A trivial casualty of the pandemic was that my Bread Bar James brunch review never saw the light of day. Restaurants faced…
Arts + Culture

Shining the stage lights on Tom Wilson’s story

The world premiere of Beautiful Scars, a musical adaptation of the musician and artist's 2017 memoir, is about creating understanding and has required a deep level of trust and creative collaboration, he says. The journey has been a long and winding road, but the world premiere of Beautiful…
Arts + Culture

Taking on the hits of Motown

Theatre Ancaster’s Mainstage tribute concert series will feature local blues icon Harrison Kennedy. Kicking off the 2024 Mainstage tribute concert series for Theatre Ancaster is the Music of Motown, featuring local legend Harrison Kennedy.  According to Colin Lapsley, the executive director of the Ancaster Memorial Arts Centre and…