Supercrawl

Supercrawl was founded in 2009, out of a desire to showcase Hamilton's cultural vibrancy and eclectic arts landscape. The city's landmark multi-arts festival, the event presents independent music alongside art installations, fashion, performance, literature, theatre, and artisanal craft. A free, weekend-long experience spread across more than two kilometres of downtown streets, its attendance has grown from 3,000 in 2009 to more than 285,000 in 2024.{{Cite web |title=About – Supercrawl |url=https://supercrawl.ca/about/ |access-date=2025-06-26 |website=supercrawl.ca}}

In June 2020, Supercrawl organizers announced that they would be reconfiguring festival programming in response to logistical uncertainties around coronavirus impacts, with smaller-scale events taking place in late 2020 and early 2021.{{Cite web |date=June 18, 2020 |title=Supercrawl Repositions 2020 Fest, Looks to 2021 – Supercrawl |url=https://supercrawl.ca/2020/06/supercrawl-repositions-2020-festival-looks-to-2021/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201001223442/https://supercrawl.ca/2020/06/supercrawl-repositions-2020-festival-looks-to-2021/ |archive-date=October 1, 2020 |access-date=August 16, 2023}} In the place of the annual free street festival, organizers produced the paid, socially distanced Skytop Concert Series in September 2020{{cite news |last=Slingerland |first=Calum |date=September 3, 2020 |title=Hamilton's Supercrawl Announces September Rooftop Concert Series |url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/hamiltons_supercrawl_announces_rooftop_concert_series |work=Exclaim!}} and the free, lakefront On The Bay concert event in September 2021.{{cite news |last=Hudson |first=Alex |date=September 28, 2021 |title=Hamilton, ON's Supercrawl Announces Free 2021 Festival |url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/hamilton_ons_supercrawl_announces_free_2021_festival |newspaper=Exclaim! Magazine}} Because of provincial public health restrictions in effect at the time, the former's six-concert series was limited to 100 attendees per show,{{cite news |last=McCarty |first=Emma |date=September 17, 2020 |title=Supercrawl Skytop Live Concert Series |url=https://cfmu.ca/videos/290-morningfile-supercrawl-skytop-live-concert-series |work=CFMU-FM}} while the latter was capped at 15,000 attendees.{{Cite web |date=September 28, 2021 |title=Supercrawl organizers behind On the Bay festival offer 2 days of free music at Bayfront Park |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/supercrawl-on-the-bay-festival-1.6192228 |work=CBC News}} The free street festival returned in September 2022, covering 20 city blocks and attracting more than 275,000 visitors.{{Cite web |title=Supercrawl |url=https://tourismhamilton.com/event/supercrawl/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220625230845/https://tourismhamilton.com/event/supercrawl/ |archive-date=June 25, 2022 |website=Tourism Hamilton}}

Though much of Supercrawl takes place along James Street North, the festival is not connected with the leaderless smaller-scale monthly event known as James North Art Crawl.

Supercrawl features three days of free music and arts featured on-street and across multiple stages lining the length of James Street North. The festival attracts over 250,000 visitors annually to watch over 50 bands, making it one of the largest free music festivals in Ontario. Supercrawl's stages showcase a spectrum of musical styles, from pop, indie rock, electronic, soul, R&B and hip-hop, to funk, folk, blues, jazz, and orchestral.{{Cite news |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/supercrawl-2016-saturday-recap-1.3756736 |title=Recap: Rock overcomes rain at Supercrawl Saturday |first=Adam |last=Carter |work=CBC News |date=September 10, 2016}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.thespec.com/whatson-story/9589326-music-editor-graham-rockingham-s-5-must-see-acts-at-supercrawl |title=Music Editor Graham Rockingham's 5 must-see acts at Supercrawl |first=Graham |last=Rockingham |work=The Hamilton Spectator |date=September 10, 2019}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.thespec.com/opinion-story/9597362-graham-rockingham-a-supercrawl-wedding-it-s-not-about-the-music-it-s-about-the-street |title=A Supercrawl wedding. It's not about the music, it's about the street |first=Graham |last=Rockingham |work=The Hamilton Spectator |date=September 16, 2019}}{{Cite web|url=https://theheartofontario.com/article/its-time-to-crawl-yall/|title=Supercrawl|website=Hamilton Halton Brant|publisher=Hamilton Halton Brant Regional Tourism Association|date=September 22, 2017}}

Supercrawl also showcases large-scale visual art installations, independent fashion, street theatre, performance art, dance, an authors' tent, an artisan market and food trucks.{{cite news |last=Baulcomb |first=Andrew |title=Exploring the Roots of Supercrawl, Hamilton's Best Music Festival |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/exploring-supercrawl-hamilton-music-festival/ |website=Noisey |publisher=Vice |date=September 16, 2013}}{{cite news |last=Rockingham |first=Graham |title=A supersized James Street North Supercrawl |url=https://www.thespec.com/news/hamilton-region/a-supersized-james-street-north-supercrawl/article_20259092-ab2a-5dfe-bc43-9f104c48f6af.html |newspaper=The Hamilton Spectator |date=September 12, 2013}}{{cite news |last=Carter |first=Adam |title=10 bands to watch for at Supercrawl 2013 |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/headlines/10-bands-to-watch-for-at-supercrawl-2013-1.1331468 |work=CBC News |date=September 6, 2013}}{{cite news |last=Werner |first=Kevin |title=Supercrawl dreams of national exposure |url=http://www.flamboroughreview.com/news/supercrawl-dreams-of-national-exposure/ |newspaper=Flamborough Review |publisher=Metroland Media Group |date=November 16, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202035427/http://www.flamboroughreview.com/news/supercrawl-dreams-of-national-exposure/ |archive-date=December 2, 2013}}

Supercrawl has been cited as part of a larger, arts-based revival in Hamilton as the former industrial city becomes a regional center for the arts.{{cite news |last=Quill |first=George |title=Hamilton in the midst of a grassroots cultural revival |url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/2012/12/07/hamilton_in_the_midst_of_a_grassroots_cultural_revival.html |newspaper=Toronto Star |date=December 7, 2012}}

In 2015, Supercrawl was named Ontario's Tourism Event of the Year as part of the Ontario Tourism Awards of Excellence{{Cite news |url=https://www.thespec.com/opinion-story/8904632-happy-10th-anniversary-supercrawl-and-thanks-for-the-party/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181230113146/https://www.thespec.com/opinion-story/8904632-happy-10th-anniversary-supercrawl-and-thanks-for-the-party/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 30, 2018 |title=Happy 10th anniversary, Supercrawl ... and thanks for the party |work=The Hamilton Spectator |date=September 17, 2018}} and was a finalist for Ontario's Tourism Event of the Year in 2019.{{Cite press release |url=https://www.tiaontario.ca/articles/finalists-announced-for-the-2019-tourism-industry-tourism-marketing-and-travel-media-awards-of-excellence |title=Finalists Announced for the 2019 Tourism Industry & Tourism Marketing and Travel Media Awards of Excellence |publisher=Tourism Industry Association of Ontario |location=Toronto, ON |date=September 18, 2019}} The festival also received a 2017 nomination for the Metro Toronto Convention Centre Event Of The Year from the Canadian Tourism Awards.{{Cite web|url=http://supercrawl.ca/news/70-supercrawl-shortlisted-for-canadian-tourism-award|title=Supercrawl Shortlisted for Canadian Tourism Award|work=Supercrawl|access-date=October 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020032627/http://supercrawl.ca/news/70-supercrawl-shortlisted-for-canadian-tourism-award|archive-date=October 20, 2017}}

In 2015, the organizers of Supercrawl Productions began to expand into one-off events at other times of the year, under the billing Supercrawl Presents.{{Cite web|url=https://amusicblogyea.com/2015/08/12/review-photos-supercrawl-presents-caribou-jamie-xx-and-jessy-lanza-pier-4-park-hamilton/|title=Review + Photos: [Supercrawl Presents] Caribou, Jamie xx, and Jessy Lanza @ Pier 4 Park – Hamilton|website=A Music Blog, Yea?|first=Alicia|last=Atout|date=August 12, 2015|access-date=October 19, 2017}}

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• [https://supercrawl.ca/ Supercrawl]

Category:Festivals in Hamilton, Ontario

Category:Summer festivals

Category:Recurring events established in 1976

Category:Music festivals in Ontario