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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

Pride: A place where everyone is welcome

John Ribson, owner of Hamilton LGBTQ bar The Well, which sponsored the May/June Pride issue of HCM, talks about the founding of the brand and its ambitious expansion plans, the history of gay bars in Hamilton, and his $1-million donation inspired by his own cancer battle.
Arts + Culture

It’s Your Festival unveils lineups

Three-day event is in its 54th year and celebrates the 156 birthday of Canada with music, food, family fun, a parade of cultures, a citizenship ceremony and much more. Chilliwack, Jully Black and The Box will headline the 54th annual It's Your Festival on the Canada Day long…
City Life

Things to Do: Pride Events

You can get your queer on at a plenty of events in Hamilton and Halton this month! Uncloseted At The StaircaseIn celebration of queer visibility and the power of bonding through laughter, The Staircase presents a weekend-long festival in recognition of Pride 2023. The Uncloseted Comedy…
City Life

2SLGBTQ+ community flags and what they stand for

June is #Pridemonth – and what a colourful month it is! The rainbow flag is the most widely used flag to symbolize pride, but did you know there are over 20 different flags associated with Pride? Below is a breakdown of the most common flags in use…
Arts + Culture

Art Gallery of Burlington fires up new ceramics exhibit

The Weight of Clay features 40 works from 40 artists amassed over the gallery’s 40 years. Forty works by 40 artists will commemorate the 40 years of the Art Gallery of Burlington. A new retrospective exhibit called The Weight of Clay 40 Years of the Collection opens…
Arts + Culture

McMaster Museum of Art unveils bold new look at museums

Chasm demands exploration of the oppressive systems embedded in traditional museum practices. The McMaster Museum of Art is undertaking a bold rethinking of the museum concept. Beginning June 13, curators Pamela Edmonds and Betty Julian are presenting an exploratory collection exhibition that looks inward…
Food + Drink

Hamilton is chickening out on backyard fowl

It may be illegal to keep hens and roosters within the city limits of Hamilton, but backyard chickens are a great addition to urban life. Driving through the tony neighbourhood of Kirkendall South a few years ago, you might have been surprised to see an escape artist chicken…
Arts + Culture

Crown & Press celebrates Ottawa Street opening

Artist Julia Veenstra and her family will celebrate the grand opening of the Art Deco-inspired gallery, cafe and event space on June 16. Things are happening in the 3,500-square-foot old Ottawa Street storefront now known as Crown & Press Gallery. When I sat down with…