Open Streets Hamilton

Get Involved in Open Streets Hamilton

Be part of the movement that transforms our streets into vibrant, car-free community spaces!

Open Streets invites community organizations and local businesses to set up on the street. There is no vendor fee for Open Streets and booth sizes are flexible based on your needs.

Community organizations

Set up interactive booths that bring the streets to life with engaging activities, pop-up experiences, and interactive fun. Register as a Community Partner.

Businesses

Businesses located on King St E. (within the closure) or within the Downtown BIA and International Village BIA boundaries can extend their storefront onto the streets. Register a Business.

Registration deadline

Friday, August 28, 2026 at 5 pm

Hundreds of vendors set-up across 5 main areas along King to create “hubs” of activity between the areas of open street. There are 3 additional “mini hubs” set up by the community, local businesses, and the BIAs.

John Street Hub

At the centre of downtown, the John Street Hub is packed with fun – swing dancing, live music, lawn games, and more – all surrounded by shops, cafés, and local businesses to explore.

• ACTION Employment Service – Empowering every jobseeker, specializing in newcomer journeys
• Chantilly Forever FC – Test your soccer skills on our dribbling course, try the accuracy challenge, and meet members of the club.
• Children's International Learning Centre (CILC) – Unleash your creativity, challenge your mind, and share your rhythm! Create colorful Bubble Art, tackle brain-teasing teamwork challenges, and play music that celebrates your unique background.
• Conor Hart Music - An emerging indie blues artist busking downtown.
• Downtown Hamilton BIA – Visit the Downtown Hamilton BIA at the John Street Hub for Lawn Games Lane and test your luck at the different life-size games, including Checkers, Connect 4, Jenga and Ladder Toss. It's sure to be fun for the whole family!
• Hamilton Hammers – Meet the Hamilton Hammers, Hamilton’s new professional AHL team and proud affiliate of the New York Islanders! Stop by our activation for games, prizes, giveaways, and your chance to learn more about our inaugural season at TD Coliseum. 
• Happy Hikers Hamilton – Explore local trails with Happy Hikers Hamilton. Visit us to find out more about our group and upcoming events. If you're feeling creative, add to our urban trail chalk art design!
• Kazoku Martial Arts Hamilton – Try your hand at traditional goju ryu karate and break some boards!
• Metrolinx Community Engagement LRT Information Booth – Modern light rail service will connect key areas, destinations and institutions along Main Street, King Street and Queenston Road creating 14-kilometres of multi-modal corridor and enhanced streetscapes across 17 stops along the Hamilton LRT route.
• pflag Hamilton – Connect with pflag Hamilton – make a bracelet, have a conversation, ask questions, and find support for yourself or the 2SLGBTQIA+ folks in your life.
• Sean Bienhaus – An independent singer/songwriter busking in front of Café Oranje.
• Sonic Unyon Records & Mills Hardware – Music on the Street presented by the City of Hamilton
• Steel City Swing – Join Steel City Swing for vintage vibes, swinging tunes, and dancing in the streets. No experience or partner needed, just bring your good vibes and comfy shoes!
• Sunshine Dance Group – Performing Chinese folk dancing. Catch the local dance group promoting a healthy lifestyle and physical activity through their Chinese culture and heritage.
• The Moccasin Identifier Initiative – Moccasin Identifier™ is a First Nations-led initiative that promotes Treaty education through community engagement and installations. Using moccasins as a symbol of connection to land, it invites people of all ages to learn, reflect, and take action—reinforcing that “We are all Treaty people” and share responsibility for reconciliation.
• The Westdale - Take a Spin at The Westdale’s Prize Wheel and WIN Movie Prizes!
• Trash Bots - A 15-minute puppetry performance held on the street at King and Walnut St. at 1pm, 2pm and 3pm. About the show: In the not-at-all-distant future, two robots find themselves discarded on the streets of Hamilton. Having been cast aside by humanity, one of the robots has come to the only logical conclusion: humanity must be destroyed! Who will prevail? You can help us decide the fate of humanity and robots alike!
• Urban Minds/1UP Youth City Builders – How well do you know the Steel City? Test your Hamilton knowledge through interactive city-building trivia! Discover the stories and decisions behind Hamilton’s built environment, consider whose voices helped shape it.

Ferguson Station

Village Pride: Halloween Kick-Off by the International Village BIA The International Village BIA is joining forces with House of Adam and Steve in partnership with the City of Hamilton for Halloween Kick-Off at Open Streets from 11 am to 4 pm.

Ferguson Station will be bustling with a Queer Maker’s Market and a spooktacular drag show throughout the entire day. Our diverse cast of drag artists include some of Hamilton’s most iconic entertainers, as well star of season 14 of Rupaul’s Drag Race and season 10 of All Stars, Daya Betty! 

We are also excited to announce the return of the Village Pride Passport Contest for your chance to win loads of prizes from businesses in the International Village BIA!

Wellington Hub

With the wide-open road, the park, and plenty of nearby businesses, sit back in the shade and enjoy a full day of independent folk music from Long Gone Songs . Then head over to the booths to visit environment-focused partners who have come together to make Wellington the “Eco Hub”.

• 3 Seas Osteopathy - Gentle, whole-body osteopathic care for dogs and horses. Take our FREE 2-Minute Dog Mobility Check, and discover simple ways to support your animal’s comfort.
• Aashish Singh, Licensed Life Insurance Advisor – Protect Your Family: Financial Literacy Challenge. Spin the wheel, test your knowledge, and take on our financial literacy challenge! Learn practical money and family protection concepts through fun, interactive activities designed for all ages.
• City of Hamilton Roadway Safety Vision Zero – Help make streets safer for everyone. Stop by and be part of the movement to eliminate traffic injuries.
• F45 Training Hamilton Downtown – 60-Second Power Gauntlet ~ Ski, Row, Ride
• Hamilton Public Health – Visit The VAN for free naloxone kits, overdose response training, harm reduction education, and mental wellbeing activities. Spin our wellness wheel, test your knowledge, win a free hot/cold pack, and discover local resources that support healthier, safer.
• Long Gone Songs – A special pop-up concert featuring independent folk music from 11am-4pm. Performances by a host of Hamilton-area artists, culminating in a performance by acclaimed vocalist, songwriter and two-time Polaris Music Prize-longlist nominee Dorothea Paas.
• Rosie Makes – Try beginner embroidery! Learn simple stitches, and create your own mini design to take home.

Eco Hub

The Eco Hub is a mini hub at Wellington bringing together organizations who are collectively stewarding biodiversity, conservation and a greener Hamilton.

• City of Hamilton Environmental Services – Team Up to Clean Up: Litter basketball. Become a Clean and Green Champion by participating in the Team Up to Clean up litter program
• Bay Area Restoration Council – Save the Bay. Come learn about what lives in the Hamilton Harbour watershed and what you can do to protect these critters!
• City of Hamilton’s Climate Change Initiatives - Climate Change – it impacts on you but there are things you can do! Learn more about Hamilton's Climate Action Strategy.
• City of Hamilton’s Biodiversity Action Plan – Bringing together organizations from across the City to protect, explore, connect, and restore local biodiversity. Find out more, and how you can get involved!
• Green Venture – Make your own seed balls
• Hamilton Conservation Authority – Hamilton’s Natural Areas Inventory. Come learn about the plants and wildlife that call Hamilton home, and how you can get involved with better understanding and protecting them!
• Hamilton Naturalists Club

Wentworth Street Hub

Between Wellington and Wentworth find the Subculture Openstreets mini market featuring vintage vendors, art, and more surprises.

Central to the event, you’ll find all kinds of action at Wentworth – from Main Stage’s live music jam, to Hamilton Pro Wrestling’s lively shows – the energy makes it worth the trip from either direction along King Street.

• 541 Eatery & Exchange - Discover our pay-it-forward café in Barton Village, donate by tap or cash, and put a meal in a neighbour’s hands. Good food, good neighbours, no barriers.
• Advance Combative Theories – Karate: a great way to work towards self improvement in a community setting. Physical, mental, and emotional health is improved. 
• Bird Canada – Join Bird and take a step toward cleaner, smarter transportation. Spin the prize wheel and try a scooter!
• Catholic CAS Hamilton – Learn about the fostering program.
• CUPE local 7800 – Healthcare workers caring for our communities
• Hamilton Community Land Trust – Paint Together – Add your voice to a living community canvas. Stop by, pick up a brush, and contribute a small piece to a growing artwork shaped by many hands. Open to everyone! Come create, connect, and leave your mark.
• Hamilton Immigration Partnership Council – Work Map Activity: every family has a story and those stories connect us to places all around the world. Add a dot to the map showing where you, your parents, or your grandparents were born. 
• Hamilton Pro Wrestling – Watch out, Hamilton - we're coming to Open Streets! Our shows feature an action-packed yet family-friendly live experience like no other: a unique and exciting form of entertainment that combines athleticism, colourful characters, and fun crowd interaction that's sure to be a hit with fans of any age. Come see your favourite HPW performers wrestle live.
• Hamilton Street Rail – Visit the HSR stop at Open Streets to spin the wheel or play Plinko, explore a bus up close, ask questions, and win fun giveaways – all while learning how easy it is to ride transit in Hamilton.
• Iroquoia Bruce Trail Club – Come navigate the blazes, and learn more about how to enjoy your visit to Canada's oldest and longest continuous marked footpath - accessible right here in Hamilton!
• Main Stage Rehearsal Studios – Hamilton's Biggest Outdoor Jam Returns with Main Stage
• Niwasa Kendaaswin Teg – Ring Toss Game – Test your skills and learn about this traditional Indigenous activity by playing the Bone and Toggle game.
• People Make Hamilton – Come take a photo Infront of the world-famous People Make Hamilton sign! This year, Trees for Hamilton and the Hamilton Sustainability Action Project will be making it extra special. Don't miss the FUN! Because, if it's not fun, is it even sustainable?!
• STAC Hamilton – Family Fun Zone – STAC Hamilton is bringing the excitement of sport and play to Open Streets Hamilton with an interactive Soccer Obstacle Course Activation! Participants of all ages can test their skills and speed.
• Subculture Openstreets – Subculture is an immersive experience coming to Open Streets this September! The Hamilton born event takes on multiple avenues through art, live activations, live music, retail + food. For this special collaboration subculture will be presenting a flower, skate, vintage market among other surprises.

Food Court by The Kitchen Collective

• The Kitchen Collective, Hamilton’s non-profit culinary incubator, brings its members outside for a pop-up food court featuring pizza, sausages, pastries, ube desserts, and more. Taste the best of Hamilton’s emerging food entrepreneurs all in one place!
• While you eat, enjoy music from local musicians playing on their porch on King St!
• Alvarez's Bakery – Experience the authentic flavors of Colombia right here in Hamilton! Fresh, homemade, and full of tradition.
• Caribbean Gluten-Free – Hamilton's only spot for premium gluten and dairy free authentic Jamaican patties
• Cinny's Sweet Treats – Appeals to the average cookie lover and modern day dessert enthusiasts, bringing you a soft and gooey cookie you'll love.
• HotBox pizza – A family-owned mobile pizza catering business.
• Mi Tierrita – Bringing the bold and authentic flavors of Colombian street food to your plate. Don’t miss this delicious experience!
• Pan de Ordi Ube Desserts – Specialized in Ube deserts and filipino flavoured cakes.
• SharpeCravings - Small batch bakery that specializes in sweet and savory baked goods!
• Smithers Sausages – Locally sourced, and handmade sausages and condiments

Sherman Hub

• Enjoy a rest along the route with benches and shade features or enjoy some sports and inflatable games at Sherman’s pop-up park. 
• Catch a Wave – Installation by DPAI – What if the street invited you to lie down? Catch a Wave brings four bold colourful plywood loungers to the pavement, rearrangeable, reclinable, and made for lingering. Catch a wave, stretch out, and stay a while.
• Bird Friendly Hamilton Burlington - Learn about Hamilton’s birds and how to help them thrive. Photo ops, games, free materials, and a prize draw. Family friendly.
• CUPE 932 Hamilton Public Library Workers – Help CUPE 932 Fix this City
• Hamilton Public Library – HPL Bookmobile: Sign up for a card, browse the city’s only mobile library collection and enjoy some fun surprises for kids of all ages.
• Hiking Through Your Mind - Come find us at Open Streets. At our hub you can win prizes and come see how to hike with us!

Barnesdale Mini Hub

What started as a few businesses spilling onto the street has grown into a lively mini hub of its own! With family bike rides, creative art activities, coffee, and music, this stop is full of grassroots energy and neighbourhood charm.

• Drop Spot Vintage – Soul Street Run – 7km social run with Drop Spot Vintage from Barnesdale to John St. and back, ending with live music. Meet at 10am!
• Hamilton Bike Share – Visit the Hamilton Bike Share tent to learn more about Hamilton's public bike share system, spin the prize wheel, pick up a bike bingo card, and try riding an adaptive bike, like a recumbent trike, handcycle, or cargo trike!
• Stardust Co-op – A queer neurodivergent community centre, looking to connect with mental health services, peer support and groups.
• The Capitol Bar – Live music, and brunch on the Street at The Capitol.
• Vintage Coffee Roasters – Stop by Vintage Coffee for a cold drink and sweet treat as you make your way along King Street.

Bernie Morelli Recreation Centre Hub

At Bernie Morelli, the rec staff transform the parking lot into bustling centre of activity that spills onto the street and is joined by a dozen community groups. From activities to crafts, and family-friendly games, this hub is all about fun, inclusivity, and community connection.

• BGC Hamilton-Halton (Boys and Girls Clubs) – Come try minute to win it games, where members of the community can have fun, get active and learn more BGC while doing it. 
• Centre for Diverse Learners – Join us in Hamilton for free after-school programs that build skills and confidence in literacy, math, social connection, and executive functioning.
• City of Hamilton’s Bernie Morelli Recreation Centre – Drop by BMRC to play yard games, mingle with recreation staff - let us tell you about our upcoming programs and services, spin for a chance to win amazing prizes, see our EarlyON friends in the playground and enjoy a yummy treat, compliments of L'Arche!
• City of Hamilton Community Engagement Hub - Conversations with Community @ Open Streets: Join City staff at informal, pop-up engagement spaces to share your voice on City-led projects.
• Hammer City Roller Derby – Come visit Hammer City Roller Derby! Ask our skaters about the league, the game of roller derby, and how you can get involved
• HamOnt Yoga – Yoga on the Street. Beginner friendly Yoga on King Street Yoga mats provided, no experience necessary!  Enter to win a free Season’s Pass for Yoga in the Park
• Help A Girl Out – Her Health, Her Period. An interactive, stigma-free space with games, activities, and real conversations about menstrual health. Learn, play, and help normalize periods for all.
• PATH Employment Services – Employment Service information booth with a Selfie Booth! Your PATH Starts Here!
• Skateboarding is Positive – Visit the Skateboard Colouring Station for free skateboarding-themed colouring sheets. Kids and families can create, play, and learn about skateboarding in a fun and welcoming environment.
• The Friends of the Aviary / The Hamilton Aviary –Get up close and personal with some beautiful (and loud!) parrots. Learn about us, the birds surrendered to our care, and what it really means to share your life with a companion parrot.
• Tune-In Foundation – Bring the energy of summer to Open Streets with DJ Luckystickz! Bending feel-good classics, Afro-Caribbean vibes, soul, R&B, pop, and crowd favourites into an interactive musical experience for all ages. Expect high energy and a vibrant atmosphere that keeps the streets moving, dancing, and connected all afternoon long.
• YWCA Hamilton - Get creative and get moving with the YWCA MakerSpace! Try our beanbag toss, add your creativity to a giant colouring page, and take on fun movement challenges. Explore how making, creativity and activity can come together with a few fun take-home surprise

Businesses Participating in Open Streets

All along King Street, local shops, cafés, and restaurants will be taking part in Open Streets bringing their products, food, and special deals right onto the road. From outdoor BBQs and book sales to art, music, and treats for both people and pets, the businesses on King help make the entire route feel alive and uniquely Hamilton.

• AMZ Tire & Auto – Grand Opening event with promotional tents, special offers, snacks, and an open house to welcome the Hamilton community.
• Cafe Oranje
• Catching Stars Tattoo Studio – Come say hi, collect some stickers and get some cool new ink at this cozy, colourful space!
• David Fillion Productions – iconic photographic prints of Hamilton on display.
• Esty Foodies Inc. – tase Africa with Etsy Foodies
• Gourmet Street Eats / Spicy Palace – Southeast Asian snacks and drinks.
• Ink Therapy – Music, face painting, temporary tattoos, draws, and flash tattoos.
• Inked n Lashed – Flash Tattoos
• J.H. Gordon Books – Book sale and reading by local author Chris Farias.
• Lucid Palette Art - Fine Art by Amanda Le Blanc.
• North Chinese BBQ Cuisine – Chinese style bbq
• Obskurah Occult Shop - For the magically curious.
• R. Denninger Limited – Stop by Denninger's for our famous Ticats Stadium sausage, hot dog or snack!
• Rock 'N' Tees – Since 1984. Everything In Rock For You.
• The Dapper Dog Den - Enjoy $10 nail trims, free dog nail polish application, and complimentary dog treats. New clients save 15% off their next appointment.
• The King Sandwich
• The Salvation Army Lawson Ministries – Displaying our social service programs for adults with developmental disabilities.
• Una Bella Vita Boutique – Antiques, vintage and new...furniture, home decor, fashion, self-care, gourmet, local artisans and more.
• Vagabond Saints Tattoo Lounge – Tattoo Sale and Artist Collective.
• Yo Noodle - Serving up bold, traditional Sichuan flavors that will transport your taste buds straight to Chengdu. 

Route: King Street East from John Street to Gage Avenue

Map caption: Open Streets Route Map 2026, showing the various activation hubs at various cross streets along King Street E between John St to the west, and Gage Ave to the east.

Road Closures: King Street East will be closed: 7 am to 6 pm
Event activities: 10 am to 4 pm.