In 2002 the Hamilton Festival Theatre Company (HFTco) was formed to produce the annual Hamilton Fringe Festival. The inaugural festival was launched in the summer of 2003. In 2007 the company was registered as a Charitable Organization with the Government of Canada.

HFTco now produces annual activities that include year-round Artist Development programming (ALERT, Spark Teens, Kids Club Camp), a community embedded winter festival (Frost Bites), the 12-day unjuried summer Hamilton Fringe Festival, as well as other community arts services.