People of all ages to are welcome at the downtown BIA's annual Halloween Spooktacular, featuring a hay maze, spinning pumpkin ride and photo booth
The Hamilton Business Improvement Area's Halloween Spooktacular will be on Oct. 27 from 5-8 p.m. in Gore Park. This is a free annual event hosted by Hamilton BIA, and this will be their fifth year running the event. There will be a variety of fun activities to get everyone into the Halloween spirit. People of all ages are welcome to attend, and costumes are encouraged.
This year, they are featuring a hay maze for attendees to navigate, a spinning pumpkin ride, face painting, an interactive pirate ship, a photo booth, a prize wheel, pumpkin decorating and a DJ dance party. Aerialists and a magician will also be roaming the park throughout the event.
The BIA started this event in 2019 because they wanted to foster community and create a space for gathering in downtown Hamilton. Every year, they try to add something new and exciting. This year, they added an interactive pirate ship and a spinning pumpkin ride.
Making it a financially accessible event for the community was very important to them, as Halloween can be an expensive event for some. They wanted everyone to be able to attend and have a good time.
“Halloween is very expensive with costumes and candy … You can come down, there's no barriers to entry. You don't have to purchase anything, just come down and have a good time,” said Emily Gilruth, the operations manager at Hamilton BIA.
Halloween is very expensive with costumes and candy. . .You can come down, there's no barriers to entry. You don't have to purchase anything, just come down and have a good time
Emily Gilruth, operations manager, Hamilton BIA
This is also a great opportunity for students to take a break during midterm season, explore downtown and have a fun time.
Overall, the BIA team hopes that every attendee will have a spooktacular time at this event and leave with a good impression of the downtown core, as they want to advocate for more people to visit there.
“I hope that they kind of leave with some fond memories, some candy, which is always nice on Halloween. But I also hope people have a positive experience of the downtown core and a desire to come back,” said Gilruth.
I hope that they kind of leave with some fond memories, some candy, which is always nice on Halloween. But I also hope people have a positive experience of the downtown core and a desire to come back.
Emily Gilruth, operations manager, Hamilton BIA
In the future, the Hamilton BIA aims to continue running this event and gradually ramp it up with more fun activities each year.
In the future, the Hamilton BIA aims to continue running this event and gradually ramp it up with more fun activities each year.
As early as tomorrow, Oct. 25, there is potential for a transit strike as negotiations between the city and local transit union break down
On Oct. 23, 2023, the City of Hamilton released a statement informing residents that transit services may be disrupted in the upcoming week, starting as soon as Oct.25.
This possible strike comes in the middle of ongoing negotiations with the Amalgamated Transit Union Hamilton, also known as ATU Local 107. ATU Local 107 shared with Global News Canada their main focuses in these negotiations has been to ensure that their workers are paid fairly and that the Hamilton light rail transit system is managed as a public resource.
ATU Local 107 have been actively against the privatization of the LTR system, publicly supporting the Keep Transit Public movement and it’s active petition.
These negotiations between ATU Local 107 and the city have been ongoing since Feb. 2023. With no agreement during negotiations, the City of Hamilton shared that they had requested a no-board notice to resolve the issue.
A no-board notice is submitted to Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development who introduce a panel to the negotiations. This move ensures that the discussion has a mediator to help an agreement come into place.
One stipulation in a no-board notice is that after the seventeenth day of the notice being given, strikes and lock-outs can be conducted legally. For the City of Hamilton and ATU Local 107, the seventeenth day since the notice was given will be Oct. 25. which is why the possibility of a transit strike begins then.
Folks who rely on transit to get around the city, including many McMaster University students, are being strongly encouraged to seek alternative methods of transportation to minimize difficulties that could occur during a potential strike period.
This is an ongoing story.
Theatre Aquarius celebrated its fiftieth anniversary as an important theatrical and cultural space in the Hamilton community
On Sept. 27, Theatre Aquarius officially began its fiftieth season, kicking it off with a performance of Norm Foster’s Jonas and Barry in the Home.
Theatre Aquarius was founded in 1973 under the leadership of Peter Mandia, the founding artistic director of the theatre. Until 1991, Theatre Aquarius primarily performed at the Studio Theatre at Hamilton Place, and it did not have a theatre centre of its own. However, in 1991, various donors facilitated the building of the Dofasco Centre for the Arts, Theatre Aquarius’s own theatre centre.
I was lucky enough to catch a performance of Jonas and Barry in the Home during its two-and-a-half week run at Theatre Aquarius, and I could understand why it was chosen to start off such a milestone season for the theatre. A three-actor performance detailing a friendship between two men in a senior’s home, I found Jonas and Barry in the Home to be full of heart, joy and nostalgia.
While Jonas and Barry in the Home is no longer showing at Theatre Aquarius, there will be many more shows to watch throughout the 2023-2024 season. Jake Epstein’s Boy Falls from the Sky is slated to appear next at the theatre, opening on Oct. 25. Detailing Epstein’s journey in theatre, Boy Falls from the Sky is a ninety-minute solo performance by Epstein himself.
“Boy Falls from the Sky is a story for anyone who’s ever tried to go after their dreams,” says the description on Theatre Aquarius' website.
The remainder of Theatre Aquarius’s season will showcase Pollyanna: The Musical, Uncle Vanya, Shirley Valentine and Beautiful Scars.
Along with putting on theatrical productions for the community to enjoy, Theatre Aquarius has made a number of other meaningful artistic contributions over the last fifty years. For example, in 1976, Theatre Aquarius launched their theatre school. Theatre school programs, such as acting classes and musical theatre classes, are still offered by Theatre Aquarius today.
“The program has run continuously, providing thousands of young people throughout the region with a chance to participate in the theatre arts at a high level, launching many to professional careers in the arts and providing many more with new confidence that helped them reach their dreams, and helping to instill a lifelong love of theatre,” reads the Theatre Aquarius website.
Along with longstanding community contributions such as this one, Theatre Aquarius has also made newer contributions to the community, such as their recently launched National Centre for New Musicals. This program is designed to support Canadian writers who are working on new musicals, and it is currently accepting applications until Dec. 15.
At the intersection of art, science and community engagement, the AGH’s Art of Creation strives to inform the public about the health needs of pregnant people in Hamilton
The Art of Creation is a research and community outreach project that strives to communicate early origin science to Hamilton’s community through artistic engagement.
Jordan Chin, project coordinator at the Art of Creation and a student in McMaster University’s master of public health program, defined early origin science as the field of research investigating how a fetus’s environment in the womb impacts their health and their risk factor for diseases later in life.
Chin works along Deb Sloboda, the associate chair research in McMaster’s department of biochemistry and biomedical sciences, who also leads the Art of Creation study.
Sloboda explained that when she first began her PhD early origin science was an incredibly new field. Even though the field is much more established now, the public is still largely unaware of early origin science and its importance in health.
“When we think about interventions or community-based health, we entirely think about [questions like]: How much physical activity are we doing? How can we get populations exercising? How can we make sure that kids understand good eating habits? All [of these are] extremely important, but one thing we don't do is think about how can we support pregnant individuals,” explained Sloboda.
When we think about interventions or community-based health, we entirely think about [questions like]: How much physical activity are we doing? How can we get populations exercising? How can we make sure that kids understand good eating habits? All [of these are] extremely important, but one thing we don't do is think about how can we support pregnant individuals.
Deb Sloboda, associate chair research in McMaster’s department of biochemistry and biomedical sciences and lead on the Art of Creation study
The Art of Creation began as a response to this lack of awareness and attention on early origin science.
“We came up with the idea of using an arts-based approach and going to cultural institutions, like an art gallery, rather than public health or public health administration [and] rather than creating more infographics and flyers that people are going to read at the doctor’s office,” said Sloboda.
Sloboda and Chin both explained that cultural institutions, such as museums, libraries and art galleries, are valuable resources for connecting with the community and are perhaps underutilized avenues for community education. They also emphasized that arts-based community outreach is uniquely engaging and uniquely accessible.
“You don't have to be able to understand, for example, the English language, to look at [a piece of art] and understand it and be emotionally attached to it,” said Sloboda.
You don't have to be able to understand, for example, the English language, to look at [a piece of art] and understand it and be emotionally attached to it.
Deb Sloboda, associate chair research in McMaster’s department of biochemistry and biomedical sciences and lead on the Art of Creation study
Chin explained that the Art of Creation has facilitated multiple arts-based outreach programs, including arts-based support groups for pregnant people and a program in which artists visited an early origin science lab and then created science-informed art.
Currently, the Art of Creation exhibition is being hosted at the Fischer Gallery in the Art Gallery of Hamilton. This is the exhibition’s first stop in Hamilton, but it will not be its last.
“The exhibition starts at the Fischer Gallery, and then we're hoping to move it to community organizations next year so that we can reach populations [who might not] wander into the Art Gallery of Hamilton. It'll end in the McMaster Museum of Art in January 2025,” explained Sloboda.
The Art of Creation Exhibition is completely free to view. The AGH is free to students, Sloboda explained, but the Fischer Gallery in particular is also completely free to the public, allowing anyone to enter it and view the exhibition.
The Art of Creation Exhibition opened at the AGH on Sept. 14 and it will run until Nov. 30. After this, Sloboda and Chin plan for it to move around in the community, reaching as many populations as possible.
Men's soccer and both men and women's cross country land in top ten of recent U Sports power rankings
On Sept. 26, U Sports released their weekly power rankings for Canadian university teams across several sports. The men and women’s cross country team ranked fifth and ninth in their respective standings, while men’s soccer slid into eighth in the national circuit.
Just before the release of the rankings, both cross country teams put on a solid performance at the Vigars and Salter Western Invitational on Sept. 23.
On the women’s team, veterans Hannah Goodjohn and Rosalyn Barrett both placed in the top 10 at the meet, finishing with times of 30:14 and 30:25. Their efforts helped push the team to fourth place overall, just missing the podium by one point. The St. Francis Xavier University X-Women finished with 116 points.
Their efforts helped push the team to fourth place overall, just missing the podium by one point. The St. Francis Xavier University X-Women finished with 116 points.
For the men’s team, rookie Kamran Brar completed the race as the top runner , nabbing the thirty-fourth place out of 147 qualifying runners with the Marauder’s best time of 26:38. Brar led the team to an eighth place finish, along with top-50 finishes from Connor Lashley, Lukas Vadeika, Noah Mulkewich and William Weist.
Prior to the release of the U Sports rankings, the men’s soccer team snagged a tough 1-0 victory over the Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawks on Sept. 22. Sachin Sargeant, a returning member from last year’s Ontario University Athletics championship team, scored a late-game goal in the second half of the match that propelled the team to their fourth win of the regular season.
Following the game, the Marauders played their second match against the Golden Hawks on Sept. 24, winning another tightly contested game 1-0 with a penalty shot by sophomore Damiano Refosco. The win pushed the team to a four-game win streak and an overall record of five wins and two losses for the season.
The win pushed the team to a four-game win streak and an overall record of five wins and two losses for the season.
With these early successesacross both sports, the Marauders have put themselves in a good position for the rest of the season.
With fake homecoming readily approaching, the city needs to consider the consequences of implementing the nuisance party bylaw
Last year, the city of Hamilton implemented the nuisance party bylaw in response to the rather infamous and disastrous fake homecoming party that took place in 2021.
The bylaw, which makes it illegal to promote, host, attend, permit or refuse to leave a nuisance party, leaves students facing penalties upwards of a whopping $25,000 if charged with an offence.
Despite McMaster University’s efforts to dissuade students from attending nuisance parties and the new regulations put in place to deter gatherings, thousands gathered in the streets of Westdale and Ainslie Woods last year for yet another FOCO. Though calmer in comparison to the events of 2021, last year’s unsanctioned homecoming party resulted in nine arrests and 16 bylaw charges issued to people involved in the gathering.
Heavy police presence and enforcement of the bylaw didn’t seem to make a significant difference in the outcome of FOCO. Instead, countless taxpayer dollars were spent policing an event that still resulted in property damage, unhappy Hamilton residents and repercussions for McMaster students.
As potential FOCO parties approach, Hamilton and McMaster should consider the effectiveness and implications of the nuisance party bylaw.
While the city of Hamilton has outlined several key limitations of the bylaw — this includes the hefty costs associated with policing, challenges with determining an individual’s involvement with promoting or causing a nuisance party and identifying property owners who are victims of trespassing — there are other factors that need to be taken to account.
Other cities such as Waterloo, London, Guelph, Brampton and Kingston have also implemented similar bylaws, providing precedence to Hamilton’s circumstances. Members of these communities, however, have indicated that the bylaws are largely ineffective in preventing large gatherings from occurring and tend to compromise student safety in the process of prioritizing the needs of other residents.
But students are also vital members of Hamilton’s diverse community. Their safety and well-being matter, bringing into question the effectiveness and benefits of the bylaw for all stakeholders involved.
With the bylaw in effect, Hamilton’s resources continue to be thrown away for the sake of preventing gatherings that, regardless, continue to happen and wreak havoc. For students, there is fear on the streets during FOCO as incidents of wrongful ticketing and police involvement in breaking up parties put student safety at risk.
Not to mention, a great deal of people who attended and caused property damages during previous FOCO parties weren’t McMaster students. Yet, the university and its students bear the brunt of others’ actions with the bylaw in effect.
For the university, the events of 2021, covered by several media outlets across the country, have already stained the institution’s reputation and the bylaw only continues to stigmatize the McMaster’s community.
It is also worthwhile to mention that because the FOCO events following the years of the pandemic were unsanctioned, they occurred in uncontrolled environments that allowed reckless behaviour and welcomed students from outside of the McMaster community.
Students have voiced the need for sanctioned homecoming parties and events led by the university, like those hosted prior to the pandemic, to ensure McMaster students can attend and enjoy these memorable gatherings in safe and controlled spaces.
While both the city and Hamilton seem to be following the same protocols from last year, it’s time they weighed the pros and cons.
Hamilton’s nuisance party bylaw is simply unhelpful. Hamilton and McMaster need to look to more effective solutions that seek student and wider community input before further community resources – that could be better spent elsewhere – are squandered over their impractical approaches.
Long commute times and the constant back and forth make it difficult for commuter students to have the expected university experience
With the academic year in full swing, students have been able to return to in-person classes and gatherings, socialize with friends and faculty and explore the thriving arts and culture scene in Hamilton.
However, for a significant portion of the student body, this is not their university experience.
The lengthy travel from home to campus, and vice versa, often cuts commuter participation short since students are forced to choose between commuting and enjoying university activities.
Commuters miss out on events, in-person lectures, especially if they occur too early or later, and socializing with peers due to the ridiculous transit wait times. Especially during busier periods of the school year, such as the first week of school and midterm season; commuting students find themselves choosing between three options: travelling hours in advance, waiting in enormous public transit lines or attending classes virtually as opposed to in-person, if they have the option.
This unjustifiable dilemma is one commuters face daily and results in them being left out from the university community.
Unreasonable public transit has been a hindrance in campus life for numerous years. Last year, students voiced concerns over the highly long line-ups and the insufficient amount of GO services available to university students. In fact, due to the complete return of in-person activities on campus, students have noticed worsening wait times and have demanded an increase in public transportation to and from McMaster University.
“I am very aware of the time now in the sense that I always have to keep an eye [on] what time it is. What time am I meant to get on the bus? Okay, if I didn’t get on this bus which bus would I get on then?” explained Zoha Irfan, a third-year commuter student.
Irfan also explained that she’s often forced to arrive at the bus stop a minimum of 30 minutes in advance due to the tremendously long bus lines. She explained that the buses are usually 20 minutes late, resulting in a continuously growing line and two missed buses if you are not patiently waiting.
Commuter students are hyperaware of the scheduling times and feel a constant sense of urgency surrounding public transportation. They prioritize commuting over their classes, campus events, networking and socializing with friends, which are all the pieces that make a student’s university experience whole.
Commuter students are hyperaware of the scheduling times and feel a constant sense of urgency surrounding public transportation. They prioritize commuting over their classes, campus events, networking and socializing with friends, which are all the pieces that make a student’s university experience whole.
Public transit is not the only issue plaguing commuter students; traffic is another massive concern for those students who drive to university. Last year, the Ford government proposed to build Highway 413 to reduce traffic individuals experience throughout the day. Although this seemed like a good idea on paper, research from the University of Bath indicates that building more highways is a short-term fix for commuters due to Canada’s rapidly increasing population.
Some steps have been taken to address the challenges commuter students face in participating in the university community, including the creation of the McMaster's Society of Off-Campus Students.
Some steps have been taken to address the challenges commuter students face in participating in the university community, including the creation of the McMaster's Society of Off-Campus Students.
McMaster SOCS has been around for several decades and aims to bring off-campus students back into the spotlight. The group works to create a supportive community for students sharing similar experiences by hosting events and opportunities that accommodate the average commuter’s schedule.
Although these initiatives within the McMaster community for commuters are a great start, we need to make a greater effort to support these students and create an accommodating, inclusive environment that offers everyone the opportunity to thrive.
Four new restaurants have opened up in Westdale, just walking distance from McMaster campus
Over the past few months, four new restaurants have opened in Westdale, walking distance from McMaster University and just in time for the upcoming school year.
Fuwa Fuwa opened its first location in Hamilton over the summer and is North America’s largest soufflé pancake and dessert cafe. Fuwa Fuwa means “fluffy fluffy” in Japanese. Their pancakes have influences from the East and West and they achieve the delicate balance between a traditional pancake and a soufflé. Other than Hamilton, Fuwa Fuwa has locations in Toronto, Mississauga and Vaughan.
Matamak is a unique restaurant that offers a wide selection of customizable food options, including burgers, pizza and toast, at low prices. They are able to sustain their low prices by using a monthly subscription-based model. Monthly memberships start at $25 per month, with a one-month free trial. Members can eat there as often as they’d like. The idea behind this model was to provide students with a quick and affordable restaurant option with an endless selection of items.
Monga opened its first location in Hamilton on King St W and serves Taiwanese style fried chicken. Monga, also known as Wanhua district, is a region in Taiwan that is known to embody solidarity, spirit and courage and the restaurant hopes their chicken embodies these as well. It currently has other locations open in Richmond Hill, North York and Mississauga in Ontario.
CHASKA opened its first location in Hamilton this month. It focuses on bringing an authentic Indian street food experience to its customers, made with good quality, healthy ingredients bursting with flavour. They serve classics such as kathi rolls, sliders, chaat, samosas and more. “Chaska” means “obsession” in Punjabi. They currently have around a dozen locations open in Ontario, in cities such as Toronto, Waterloo, Mississauga and Peterborough.
If you’re looking for some new restaurant options close to McMaster campus, check out these places!
Despite the pressure to take an "all-in" approach during our university years, minimizing overwork can actually yield maximum rewards in the long run
By Ardena Bašić, Opinion contributor
When you start university, everything seems a lot more challenging. Your high school teachers constantly warned about how strict professors would be, your peers spread the word about how difficult the courses are and the whole transition to this new stage of life feels incredibly intimidating.
With the fear of failure during this rather stressful point in their lives, what many first-year students turn to is an "all-in" approach. This approach could include of studying 24/7, never saying no to a party or social event due to fear of missing out, feeling the need to make friends with everyone and overall pressuring ourselves to put 100 per cent effort into all endeavours, all the time.
While this "all-in" approach seems logical in a world that tells us that hard work pays off, our success is not always guaranteed.
I personally focused all my energy on studying not only in just my first year but also in my second. This decision was motivated by the aforementioned factors of new beginnings and arduous challenges and my personal goals. As someone who desired a job in high finance or law — requiring grad school and the associated stellar achievements — I thought that any distractions or activities taken away from school and work would be impeding.
Very soon, however, the consequences of this approach become clear to me.
For one, you miss out on learning opportunities outside of your books. University is a time when we are exposed to new people, ideas and perspectives that can shape the way we think going forward; when we're trapped in the library all day, we fail to appreciate this and to build integral skills like social and emotional intelligence. As such, this "all-in" approach can limit our personal growth and development.
Secondly, we forget the importance of balance. I do not believe we are ever in a state of perfect equilibrium, but rather in a constant flow with different focuses at different points in our lives. However, making time to go for walks, read books for pleasure and not just to fill our brains, going to events and exploring Hamilton are pivotal to ensuring we are well-rounded individuals, experiencing all colours of the life we are meant to live.
Lastly, burnout, anxiety and stress are real — especially for students; the all-in approach only accelerates this fatigue and distress. Being too focused on achievement, as opposed to living, can cause us to resent the purpose of our hard work in the first place. Once this happens, it is easy to lose motivation and set yourself back, destroying the efforts of your focus and ambition.
With time and experience, I have come to embrace the "less is more" approach. You know yourself best and know how much you need to study for certain subjects and work to maintain a healthy, balanced lifestyle. Taking some time to reflect on your priorities can help you figure out how much time you need to spend in different areas of your life and how to allocate it accordingly.
Once I decided to spend my weekends with friends, breaks between classes at coffee shops and mornings at the gym, I felt clearer, healthier and more motivated to achieve my goals. Of course, there will be times when you must divert your energy elsewhere, like during exam season, but I believe that being flexible in your approach is the key to success in your dynamic university years and well beyond.
The steel city could become one of the hottest in Ontario, but improving our heat response and investing in innovative approaches could change that
With record-high temperatures this year and a stifling four-day extended heat wave during the first week of class, heat in Hamilton is a cause for concern.
While being exhausted and drenched in sweat may seem like the only apparent effects of the abnormally hot weather, repeated prolonged exposure to high heat can cause severe damage to the body.
And the consequences of Hamilton’s searing heat waves are only further magnified for residents downtown. Thanks to a phenomenon known as the urban heat island effect, cities that lack natural landscapes and greenery and are instead replete with pavement, buildings and other surfaces, have the ability to absorb and trap heat. As urban areas become much hotter than surrounding rural areas, energy costs and pollution levels rise and heat-related illnesses take a toll on health and emergency services.
For the city of Hamilton, heat waves are expected to become more frequent and severe in the coming years. In fact, experts predict Hamilton could become one of the hottest cities in Ontario — but it is not too late to change that.
MacChangers program lead, Selena Esteves, explained that this is a critical time for the city and its climate.
“We are currently in a period that matters a lot for what comes next in Hamilton’s climate and how the city experiences [heat],” said Esteves.
Currently, Hamilton’s infrastructure and built environment is not designed to support the diverse needs of community members, especially given the consequences of the UHI effect. Urban areas are not only prone to becoming much warmer on hot days, but also suffer from poorer air and water quality, posing even greater health risks for Hamilton residents. Esteves has been researching these issues with the MacChangers program.
“The way that our city is built becomes very dangerous for people who might experience things like heat exhaustion. There’s a large elderly population in Hamilton, a large homeless population and there are very many people who are at risk of extreme heat illness,” explained Esteves.
So far, Hamilton’s response to the heat waves has involved the implementation of cooling centres across the city. However, these spaces aren't always accessible to everyone who needs them. Transportation, stigma and restrictions on what individuals can bring to these centres pose obstacles for various groups including community members who are unhoused, elderly or have a disability.
With more than one in 10 Hamilton residents living below the poverty line, it’s abundantly clear that there needs to be an equitable approach to the city’s heat response.
Amid worsening heat waves, it is crucial for Hamilton to adopt an adequate temperature bylaw to ensure all tenants are provided with access to air conditioning in their homes.
While a minimum temperature bylaw is in effect throughout Ontario and requires landlords to maintain a temperature of 20 degrees or higher in households, there is no bylaw to prevent dwellings from overheating. Without such a bylaw, Hamilton residents lacking access to cooling units or who are unable to afford energy costs associated with cooling will continue to be threatened by heat waves.
As we continue to provide resources to prevent heat-related illnesses, we also need to look to long-term solutions that reduce the UHI effect. Investing in more land cover and green infrastructure in downtown Hamilton with innovative approaches such as green and cool roofs could help protect the city’s future.
Hamilton’s distressing future may have been forecasted by experts, but it is up to us to rewrite that future and evolve as resilient, sustainable, and inclusive communities.
