2015 Winterfest Program: Celebrating the Winter Season in Hamilton Hamilton, ON – January 27, 2015 – The City of Hamilton invites the public to experience the beauty of the winter season and connect with community at this year’s annual Hamilton Winterfest. The city-wide program runs February 7 to 16 and includes winter-inspired art exhibits, heritage and recreation programming and much more. For full program details, visit: www.hamiltonwinterfest.ca. At a time of year when many are tempted to hibernate at home, Hamilton’s Winterfest program encourages Hamiltonians to get out, connect with others and experience the best of the city during the winter. The City-facilitated program is celebrating its 37th year with more participating partners than ever including galleries, museums, neighbourhood associations, recreation centres, and small businesses. The City of Hamilton’s Events Office is proud to produce the Hamilton Winterfest Kick-Off event and assist in the promotion of Winterfest-partnered events across the city. Hamilton’s Events Office produces and facilitates a large number of events across the city that help enhance civic pride, quality of life and provide economic spin off. There will be 50 events taking place in communities across the city for 10 fun-filled days throughout Winterfest. Some highlights include: ART - Home (Hyphenated Home): A group exhibition featuring five first-generation, immigrant artists across Canada who explore the complex notion of home at Centre 3 for Print and Media Art and the Workers Arts & Heritage Centre (Various Dates) Things Made Here: The Collection of Glen Faulman: Selections from this 10th-generation Hamiltonian’s collection of objects made in Hamilton at the AGH Design Annex (Various Dates) Snowy Saturdays: A behind-the-scenes look at select winter landscape artworks by Canadian artists at the McMaster Museum of Art (Feb 7 & 14) MUSIC & PERFORMANCE Zula Presents Scandinavian Jazz with Atomic: Mixing grooves with a distinctive approach to free playing at the Winterfest KickOff and Artword Artbar (Feb 7) Winter Jazz Series with Mike Murley: Presented by Music at Fieldcote and Hamilton All Star Jazz at the Old Firehall Arts Centre (Feb 7) Hamilton Heart and Soul Festival (featuring La Nuit de Coeur Cabaret): A two-day holistic health and wellness event featuring an evening cabaret with the Hamilton Aerial Group and other performers at 270 Sherman (Feb 14) Hamilton Youth Poetry Slam: Featuring free workshop and open mic session at 126 James Street North (Feb 15) HANDS-ON ACTIVITIES Darkroom Workshops: Learn to develop and print your own film at Hamilton Audio Visual Node (Various Dates) Davis Creek Neighborhood Winter Discovery Fun in partnership with Green Venture: Great outdoor winter family programming (Feb 7) Kids Cooking at the Farmers Market: Little chefs will cook up some Whimsical Winterfest Porridge (Feb 7) Learn to Curl: Try your hand at this classic Canadian sport at the Hamilton Victoria Curling Club (Feb 8) PA Days: A dynamic day of local history and art making at the Workers Arts & Heritage Centre (Feb 13) COMMUNITY Knitting & Crocheting for Charity with Handknit Yarn Studio (Various Dates) Winterfest at Neighbourhood Associations: Unique Winterfest programming at various sites including Gage Park (Feb 7); Gourley Park (Feb 8); Beasley Winter Carnival (Feb 8); North Central (Feb 14) First Nations Winter Gathering: Traditional drumming, crafts and more at the Hamilton Regional Indian Centre (Feb 11) Accessible Ramp Build-A-Thon: Community effort to build custom door ramps with the Hamilton Tool Library (register to participate at: http://hamiltontoollibrary.ca/, Feb 14-16) NEW THIS YEAR: Family Day Fun (Monday February 16) Family Day programming at all Hamilton Civic Museums: Enjoy family friendly activities at Hamilton Museum of Steam & Technology; Battlefield House; Dundurn National Historic Site; and Family Day Comedy Classics at Whitehern Winterfest Family Day @ AGH: Family-friendly tours and handson art-making at the Art Gallery of Hamilton Braden’s Hot Chocolate Festival at Dundas Valley Conservation Area Trail Centre Westfield Heritage Village Celebrates Winter: Learn about family life in the wintertime for early Ontarians Winterfest Family Fun Day at the Recreation Centres: See Winterfest website for participating City of Hamilton Recreation Centres offering Free Family Day skating & winter crafts KICK OFF EVENT: A Winterfest Kick-Off event will take over Pier 8 on Hamilton’s beautiful waterfront from Feb. 7 from 12 to 8 pm. The launch will feature live music, DJs and performances, a film festival, outdoor art installations, skating, a fashion show, craft activities, and tasty treats. All activities are free, except skate rental fees and refreshments for sale. For full details of the launch event, visit: www.tourismhamilton.com/winterfestkickoff (separate media release to follow). For more information on the Hamilton Winterfest program and Kick-Off event, please visit www.hamiltonwinterfest.ca, email [email protected], or call 905-546-2424 ext. 7612. French folk dancing at 2014 Winterfest Launch Pier 8 Hamilton Civic Museums Winterfest programming at For High Resolution Images, please contact [email protected] - 30 - Media Contacts: Jen Anisef Cultural Projects Specialist Tourism and Culture Division Planning and Economic Development City of Hamilton 905-546-2424 ext. 7612 [email protected] Dana Borcea Integrated Marketing Coordinator Tourism and Culture Division Planning and Economic Development City of Hamilton 905-546-2424 ext. 5499 [email protected]