Around the Bay, two elections, and big-ticket outdoor sports highlight 2022 in Hamilton

In the final scene of the movie musical La La Land," Ryan Gosling's Seb and Emma Stone's Mia lock eyes across the room of a club, the first time they've met in years since breaking up, and the film cuts to a happily-ever-after vision of their life together.

Then it fades back to reality: that life never happened. All the bliss, grainy home movies of their children, laughter and love was a might-have-been in an alternate universe.

Maybe we're all like Seb and Mia, eyeing 2022 and wondering if the past has determined what's to come - or if the future remains wide open, depending on the doors we step, or dance, through.

The future is inevitable and precise," wrote poet Jorge Luis Borges. But it may not occur. God lurks in the gaps."

Whether you believe the die is cast for 2022, looking forward to moments in the new year is good for your mental health.

Indeed, anticipatory joy" boosts levels of dopamine and may enhance your state of mind more than the things you actually experience.

Anticipation of positive activities is associated with actual changes in brain activity," said Randi McCabe, a clinical psychologist and director in the Mental Health and Addictions Program at St. Joseph's Healthcare.

These activities can range from the small and private - perhaps all too frequent during the pandemic - to big public events that a year ago were not even possible.

Here is a look ahead to moments worthy of anticipation in 2022 in Hamilton; not mere dubious predictions of the horoscope variety that are common at this time of year.

(But for the record, fellow Virgos, the astrologically-inclined say this will be one of our best years ever," in part because 2022 is the year of letting go.")

Letting go: not a bad mantra for most anyone in the year to come.

Keeping score

• On Jan. 30, Team Canada plays a likely frigid FIFA World Cup qualifier soccer game against Team U.S.A. at Tim Hortons Field. The World Cup itself will be held in sweltering Qatar, from Nov. 21 to Dec. 18.

• The NHL's outdoor Heritage Classic comes to Hamilton March 13, featuring a regional rivalry game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres on an ice sheet built atop Tim Hortons Field. (The Hamilton Bulldogs may play a game as part of the festivities as well.)

• The Beijing Winter Olympics run from Feb. 4 to 20.

• The ISU World Synchronized Skating Championships come to FirstOntario Centre in Hamilton, April 7 to 9.

On stage

• On June 25, Arkells prove they are not just a CFL halftime act, playing Tim Hortons Field, site of the Hamilton band's legendary 2018 Rally show that drew 24,000 fans.

• After last fall's minimalist version, Supercrawl - arguably Ontario's finest music and arts festival - is slated to return to Hamilton's downtown Sept. 9 to 11 in its full glory and capacity," said festival director Tim Potocic.

• Rockers scheduled to blast audiences at FirstOntario Centre include Rage Against the Machine (July 19) and Iron Maiden (Oct. 12); Canadian singer Jann Arden turns the amps lower than 11 when she plays May 30. Other acts of note: Blue Rodeo (Feb. 4) and Just For Laughs Comedy Night (April 28).

• Theatre Aquarius live shows return, with three scheduled so far: Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story" (Jan. 12 to 29); Made in Italy" (Feb. 23 to March 12); The Hours that Remain" (April 20 to May 7).

Born to run

• The venerable Around the Bay road race, the oldest in North America, marks its 128th anniversary returning March 27. That means the return of traditions such as Burlington's West Plains United Church choir serenading runners, and the Grim Reaper encouraging gassed participants. Participation is capped at 6,000 in-person runners (there were 10,000 in 2019.) The clickety-clack" footbridge used by runners to cross Grindstone Creek en route to Heartbreak Hill will be fixed and ready to go for the race.

Public works

• A new affordable and supportive housing project from the Hamilton charity Indwell opens in the spring, on East Avenue North, on the former site of the historic Royal Oak Dairy. The first phase will open 108 units, and 31 more will open in 2023.

• The first visible work along the route of the future light rail transit line (LRT) begins early in the spring, mostly utility relocation.

• A project to clean up sewage polluting Chedoke Creek is expected to be completed by fall.

• It may not sound like huge news, but it wasn't all that long ago when the notion of building a new hotel in downtown Hamilton seemed beyond the pale: another new one is scheduled to open in 2022, a 144-room Hampton Inn by Hilton at the corner of Queen Street and King Street.

On screen

• Among the Rotten Tomatoes most eagerly anticipated 2022 movies: The Batman" (starring former Twilight" vampire Robert Pattinson, March 4); Legally Blonde 3" (with Reese Witherspoon, May 20); Elvis" (June 24, biopic with Tom Hanks playing Colonel Parker); Deep Water" (Jan. 14 with Ben Affleck and Bond girl Ana de Armas); Jackass Forever" (comedy offering cringe-inducing stunts and outrageous pranks"); Creed III" (the continuing adventures of the son of Rocky's former foe, not to be confused with Creeds I-II, or Rocky's 1-XI).

• The Gray Man," reportedly the most expensive film made so far by Netflix (at $200 million), will be released in the spring or summer, billed as a spy thriller with Burlington's Ryan Gosling playing a CIA operative gone rogue, and former Captain America Chris Evans sent to hunt him down.

Up in the sky

• The Sunwing airline is returning to Hamilton's airport, and starting in April 2022 will be offering flights to sunny locales such as Mexico, Jamaica, and the Dominican.

Democracy is us

• Hamilton's municipal election will be held Oct. 22.

• Ontario's provincial election goes sometime before June 2.

Home selling insanity

• If you're in the market to cashout by selling your house, the average cost of a Hamilton home is expected to reach $909,000 in 2022.

Art talk

• The biggest addition to the Hamilton arts scene in 2022, according to Hamilton Arts Council director Sheila Whaley, is The Arty Crowd," or Groupe Arti," a centralized digital hub to enhance local artists and events, that she bills as the first of its kind.

• Building Cultural Legacies" will be on display at the Art Gallery of Hamilton in the fall; it's a digital platform that shares stories about the history of visual arts in Hamilton between 1950-2000."

• Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience" shows at Hamilton Convention Centre by Carmen's, Jan. 20 to March 6.

On the waterfront

Copps Pier at the blossoming west harbour will be unveiled with a grand opening in the spring, offering a new waterfront promenade and public park where you can enjoy a 15,000-square-metre park along the water's edge.

Small is beautiful

• Short of travel or major events, Randi McCabe says it's important whenever possible to look forward to and plan daily activities that are enjoyable and mood boosting," from a walk to sitting in a cosy chair reading a good book, and exercise.

Some suggest that simply looking forward to the smell of coffee brewing, or light coming through the window, helps your mental health.

McCabe said the ability to experience pleasure and joy from small things depends upon your general mindset and is easier for some more than others.

The more you are able to feel joy, and experience moments of pleasure or peace from even routine things, the more sense of well-being you will have."

Jon Wells is a feature writer at The Spectator. jwells@thespec.com