Frost Bites - Hamilton Festival Theatre Company

February 15-20, 2023

The 2023 Frost Bites community-embedded festival centres on nourishment and social justice, using art as an entry point to deepen our understanding on a myriad of urgent topics!

FROST BITES heats up the coldest month of the year with a six-day smorgasbord of events! From hands-on creative workshops for kids and their grownups to welcoming theatrical offerings each evening, festivities take place in the community at the Bernie Morelli Recreation Centre (876 Cannon Street East), Theatre Aquarius Arts Centre (191 King William Street, across from Theatre Aquarius), and on the HSR transit route between them.

Featuring curated shows, live music, community discussions led by local changemakers, participatory storytelling sessions, skating lessons and demonstrations, a DJ dance party on the ice, and a handmade lantern-led procession of light in Ward 3, there is so much to keep the whole family engaged for a week in February. With a focus on low and no-cost activities, Frost Bites was developed in the community and for the community, and we invite you to join your neighbours to participate in the arts this winter!

HFTco is revisioning Frost Bites. The site-specific winter arts festival will move into a 2-year format, with the first year spent in development with artists and community members. The second year will see this work presented in a festival format alongside artists from the national community.

The 7th annual winter performance festival Frost Bites re-launches as a one-week community-embedded biennale in 2023. Frost Bites presents featured and partnered bite’ size and feature length performances and activities in rotation over 6 days at partnered venues in Hamilton, with ancillary community interventions, family activities, meals, and workshops taking place over the week. Join us as we heat up Hamilton during the coldest month of the year!

2023 featured performances respond to themes developed through our 2022 community-based residency. The Frost Bites community-based residency invites local activists and advocates working in social justice, to participate alongside local artists as the subjects of interviews and as creative storytellers.

Meet the Changemakers

The Changemakers storytelling group were the primary inspiration for the content and curation for this year’s festival. In the winter of 2022, HFTco led a series of storytelling workshops and filmed interviews with these local changemakers. Witness their storytelling as interpreted through the lens of local artists at Frost Bites 2023. The event will feature live conversations with powerful local activists at a unique showing each evening, furthering the investigation into community-building.

Jordan Carrier

Jordan Carrier is a nêhiyaw-iskwêw (Plains Cree Woman), who has lived in Hamilton since 2002. Born and raised in Regina, SK and a member of Piapot First Nation. Jordan volunteers and collaborates with grassroots community folks to organize events in Hamilton, such as the vigil by the 215 Indigenous children found in an unmarked mass grave at a residential school in Kamloops, BC in the summer of 2021. She is a sister, friend, daughter, and community Auntie.

Robin Lacambra

Robin Lacambra (she/her) is a thinker, feeler, speaker, creator and the founder of GOODBODYFEEL Movement Studio and Movement Method. Her aim as a movement educator is to help facilitate others to move mindfully and feel good in their bodies as well as recognize the intersection of physical practice and social politics.

Fareh Malik

Fareh Malik has erupted forth into the field of written poetry like fresh-water does an estuary. Originally a spoken word poet, he has been recognized internationally by many literary presses and has won several poetry awards in his emerging career. Recently, he was named the 2022 RBC PEN Canada New Voices Award winner. His debut book Streams That Lead Somewhere released in 2022 with Mawenzi House Publishers.

Ahona Mehdi

Ahona Mehdi (she/they) is a community organizer based in Hamilton, Ontario and an undergraduate student at the University of Ottawa. She is a member of Hamilton Students for Justice (HS4J) and a researcher/Youth Action Council member at the Disability Justice Network of Ontario (DJNO). She works to create networks for other racialized, disabled and queer youth to connect, co-learn, heal, love and reimagine a world where students can learn outside of these carceral systems.⁠

How It Works

Frost Bites offers participatory and interactive experiences that are focused on building a sense of community and connectivity, bringing us together at a time when we must remain physically apart. Five artistic companies present a series of inspirational experiences that include innovative uses of technology and engage audiences in unique ways. Offerings include self-led outdoor recreational experiences across Hamilton and interactive digital performances that you can enjoy from home.

Go on to the Hamilton Fringe website
Download a festival program to review the available shows and experiences
Check if the experience requires the use of a phone, YouTube, or travel to a specific recreational spot
Buy a pass to attend all the shows, or buy an individual ticket
Make a day of it, or enjoy a couple of experiences a day