As the calendar hits the halfway point of August and summer starts to wind down, music and the arts are filling the streets of Hamilton this weekend.
At the time of publishing, the forecast for Hamilton for Aug. 13 to 15 was a mixed bag.
While Environment Canada says there’s a risk of thunderstorms heading into Friday afternoon, the heat is still expected to persist, with a high of 28 degrees Celsius. The weather agency says it will feel like 36 with the humidex.
But Saturday and Sunday are both expected to be sunny, and each cooler with a high of 23 degrees.
Here are some ideas of things you can do on Friday, Saturday and Sunday this weekend.
Art Crawl
Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Art Crawl drew thousands of people to James Street North on the second Friday each month.
After its long-time absence, the event is expected to make a return on Friday, Aug. 13. Street vendors are anticipated to set up once again, with artwork, handmade t-shirts, jewellery, and more on display for purchase.
There is no single organizer; local artisans and artists arrange themselves outside in the evening hours.
Venues, such as Farside bar, have said they’ll be taking part this Friday. It will host its first art gallery at 288 James Street North, curated by artists Kyle Stewart and Paul Robert Allard. The gallery is open from 4 pm to midnight.
Movie night
Cinema buffs who want a different viewing experience this weekend can visit The Playhouse Cinema for its first film screened from 35mm projectors.
There will be five screenings of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, where audiences can dive into Quentin Tarantino’s world at the end of Hollywood’s golden age.
This image released by Sony Pictures shows Leonardo DiCaprio, left, and Brad Pitt in a scene from “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” (Andrew Cooper/Sony Pictures via The Associated Press)
Other showings from Friday to Sunday include Nine Days, Annette, and Good Time. Be sure to check thetheatre’s website for more information on show times and tickets.
If you’re looking a movie under the stars, the Starlite Drive In is open. Among its tips, the drive in recommends arriving early due to long lines and wait times. Here are this weekend’s lineups:
Meanwhile, The Westdale is hosting live concerts — Elliott Brood, Logan Staats, The Redhill Valleys, and others — as part of the returning Arts Fest, which you can read more about below.
ArtsFest
From Friday to Saturday, the Westdale Village will celebrate the arts — with both indoor and outdoor music, as well as local artisans.
Mixed Media Hamilton and Westdale Village have also collected portraits from youth aged four to 16 that depict people in the neighbourhood. Those pieces of art will be on display in the shop windows.
There is a limited number of tickets available for the shows at The Westdale, but there are patio shows going on outside too.
Mohawk musician Logan Staats is performing at The Westdale on the weekend as part of ArtsFest. (Facebook)
Pop-ups
Blk Owned Hamont is helping host a Black-owned Hamilton pop-up market this Saturday.
Around 15 local BIPOC vendors will be setting up shop along the Pier 8 Hamilton Waterfront Trust Patio, located at 47 Discovery Drive.
The market will run from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on August 14, and include local food vendors and music from DJ Fresh Moses.
It’s part of the Pier 8 pop-up series drawing residents to the pier this August.
Farmer’s Market
The Hamilton Farmer’s Market is open Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
It’s declaring this weekend a Peach Festival, with different options like jams, salsas, and soaps available.
Waterdown Market is also running on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Waterdown Memorial Park, 200 Hamilton St. N.
The Hamilton Farmer’s Market says peach products will be available in full force. (Paul Newton/The Southern/Associated Press)
Hamilton, in 3D
Are you curious what a full view of the Crystal Palace looks like as it stood in Victoria Park in 1860, or Ancaster’s Griffin House, the heritage home of early Black settlers Enerals and Priscilla Griffin?
Now’s your chance to tour them through augmented reality. The Hamilton Public Library’s 3D scans of various buildings and artifacts are now online at experiencecommons.ca. Or, you can visit the Locke Branch for a guided tour on Saturday anytime between 11 am-3 pm. It’s all part of the HPL’s invitation to explore new realities through AR, in honour of Hamilton’s 175th birthday.
Youth events
Are you between the ages of 13 and 18 in Ancaster and the surrounding areas? The Net brings teens in the neighbourhood together, hosting events, workshops and more.
This weekend, it’s hosting an online talent show on Saturday at 7 p.m. For more information on their volunteer and leadership opportunities, check out their website.
Other events
Hamilton Honey Badgers will be in town for a playoff game, and limited fans are allowed in the stadium. Hamilton takes on the Ottawa BlackJacks in the quarter-finals on Saturday at the FirstOntario Centre.
Hamilton Honey Badgers will play their quarter-final against Ottawa on Saturday. (@CEBLeague/Twitter)
Down the road, the Burlington Downtown Jazz Festival will have different acts on Saturday and Sunday, with tickets available through the Burlington Performing Arts Centre.
The Bay Area Restoration Council is picking up garbage to avoid it from entering Hamilton’s waterways. You can join on Saturday at Pier 4 Park, located at 64 Leander Dr. The council is asking helpers to bring water and closed-toed shoes. More information is available online.
LONDON (AP) — With a few daubs of a paintbrush, the Brontë sisters have got their dots back.
More than eight decades after it was installed, a memorial to the three 19th-century sibling novelists in London’s Westminster Abbey was amended Thursday to restore the diaereses – the two dots over the e in their surname.
The dots — which indicate that the name is pronounced “brontay” rather than “bront” — were omitted when the stone tablet commemorating Charlotte, Emily and Anne was erected in the abbey’s Poets’ Corner in October 1939, just after the outbreak of World War II.
They were restored after Brontë historian Sharon Wright, editor of the Brontë Society Gazette, raised the issue with Dean of Westminster David Hoyle. The abbey asked its stonemason to tap in the dots and its conservator to paint them.
“There’s no paper record for anyone complaining about this or mentioning this, so I just wanted to put it right, really,” Wright said. “These three Yorkshire women deserve their place here, but they also deserve to have their name spelled correctly.”
It’s believed the writers’ Irish father Patrick changed the spelling of his surname from Brunty or Prunty when he went to university in England.
Raised on the wild Yorkshire moors, all three sisters died before they were 40, leaving enduring novels including Charlotte’s “Jane Eyre,” Emily’s “Wuthering Heights” and Anne’s “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.”
Rebecca Yorke, director of the Brontë Society, welcomed the restoration.
“As the Brontës and their work are loved and respected all over the world, it’s entirely appropriate that their name is spelled correctly on their memorial,” she said.
