Two featured poets will read their poetry before an open mic segment  for anyone that would like to share their work.

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.

Allison Bothley is a writer and recovering MFA (The New School) who lives in Orangeville, Ontario. Her work has appeared in The Globe and Mail, White Wall Review, Sad Girl Diaries, The Literary Review of Canada, and elsewhere. She has two short stories forthcoming this spring in Pinch and Red Rock Review. Allison is the creator and publisher of Bangs Zine, an independent space hot for big feelings, emerging writers, and lazy Sunday readers.