Gage Park, Hamilton

Gage Park, Hamilton
The George R. Robinson bandshell
Nearest city	Hamilton, Ontario, canada

Gage Park is a large community park and civic gardens in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It is located at the intersection of Main Street and Gage Avenue in East Hamilton.

The park is most famous for hosting the annual Festival of Friends event in the first week of August. The park is also the site of the Hamilton Children's Museum. ^[1]

History

The Roselawn Bowling Club is located within the park. Built in 1925 it hosted the inaugural British Empire Games event (now called the Commonwealth Games) at the 1930 British Empire Games. ^[2]

The park includes a bandshell, a fountain and a greenhouse constructed in late 2020. ^[3] It is among the top three parks in Hamilton in terms of urban parkland.^{[ citation needed ]}

Festivals

Starting in 1976, Gage Park has been home to the Festival of Friends, one of Canada's largest free annual events. From 1976-2010, and then again from 2017–present, the event has seen over 250,000 attendees visit every August long weekend. Previous artists to have played Gage Park as part of the event include:

• Gord Downie, the lead singer of The Tragically Hip, is one of Canada's most successful bands. ^[4]
• Tanya Tucker, country music star and multiple Grammy winner, is most famous for their recording of the song "Delta Dawn."
• Tom Cochrane, Canadian rock icon, is famous for their song "Life Is A Highway".
• The Village People, disco legends famous for their massive hits "Y.M.C.A" and "In The Navy." ^[5]
• Fozzy, the Chris Jericho-fronted touring Rock and Roll act. ^[6]
• Spoons, a highly popular band from Burlington, Ontario, Canada. ^[7]

Gage Park hosts FrancoFest, It's Your Festival, Pagan Pride Day, and a small food truck event. Past events held at the park include It's Your Bag, Hamilton Gay Pride, and Movie Nights in the Park. ^{[8] [9]}

References

1. "Hamilton Children's Museum". City of Hamilton. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
2. "History". Roselawn Bowling Club. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
3. "Gage Park Greenhouse". City of Hamilton. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
4. "A Festival with Something for Everybody". The Hamilton Spectator. May 14, 2010.
5. "This year's Festival of Friends was 'best year so far'". CBC. August 6, 2024.
6. "Jericho's all show business". The Hamilton Spectator. August 6, 2010.
7. "The Spoons play Festival of Friends with new album "New Day New World"". View Mag . August 8, 2019.
8. "FrancoFest returns to Gage Park". The Bay Observer. June 1, 2023.
9. "Its Your Festival Tops List of Things to Do This Weekend". The Hamilton Spectator. June 26, 2025.

43°14′32″N79°49′43″W / 43.2422°N 79.8287°W / 43.2422; -79.8287