Matthew-Ray Jones and Maria Giesbrecht will read their poetry before an open mic segment for anyone that would like to share their work.

Matthew-Ray Jones, also known as Testament, is a connoisseur of anything and everything involving words. From poetry, spoken word and emceeing to facilitating, hosting and keynoting, Matthew-Ray has been using his natural speaking abilities to inspire audiences for over 20 years. He has performed and taught nationally from coast to coast. He has performed internationally in Venezuela and Italy and has travelled to six continents. To date, he has recorded three albums and shared the stage with Talib Kweli, Naughty by Nature, Biz Markie, GZA, Kardinal Offishall, Saukrates, DāM-FunK and more. Matthew-Ray has appeared on Breakfast Television, CP24, MuchMusic, MTV and Rogers TV.

Maria Giesbrecht is a Canadian poet whose work explores her Mexican and Mennonite roots. Her writing has appeared or is forthcoming in The Literary Review of Canada, Grain, CV2, Queen's Quarterly, and elsewhere. She is the winner of the 2025 Lesley Strutt Poetry Prize and the 2025 Jack McCarthy Book Prize, a Best of Net nominee, and the founder of Gather, an international writing community that connects poets worldwide. Born in Durango, Mexico, she now lives near Toronto, Canada with her fiancée.