Hamilton Festival Theatre Company is pleased to announce the programming and schedule for Frost Bites, Hamilton’s biggest winter theatre festival, taking place February 27-March 8, 2026, in partnership with Theatre Aquarius and The Staircase Theatre + Lounge. Frost Bites has six packed days of indoor and outdoor programming over two weekends at Theatre Aquarius, Bernie Morelli Recreation Centre, and The Staircase Theatre + Lounge. Tickets will go on sale Monday, February 2.
FROST BITES WEEK ONE – February 27-March 1
Theatre Aquarius, and Bernie Morelli Recreation Centre
Frost Bites will open the festival on February 27 at Theatre Aquarius Studio with the previously announced Land, Place, Home, co-produced by Open Heart Arts Theatre, ABRAR Trauma & Mental Health Services, and HFTco. Land, Place, Home is a community-created piece shaped by the lived experiences of newcomers, immigrants, and refugees with three performances February 27-March 1.
Frost Bites will also include two performances of The Three Little Pigs: A Musical for the Whole Family! by Enchantment Theatre on February 28 and March 1 at Theatre Aquarius Studio. The Three Little Pigs: A Musical for the Whole Family! is a farmstead adventure where young sow sisters navigate their unique strengths and problem solving styles to build a house together. Suitable for kids ages 2-8 but fun for all ages, the show features original and classic folk songs, puppets, dances, and audience participation. This family friendly musical stars Darcy Welch, Kathleen Welch, Emily Johnston, Nicholas Blanchard, and Benjamin Welch.
Theatre Aquarius is also home to several professional development initiatives and exciting works-in-progress, including their own Brave New Works Festival– happening in parallel with Frost Bites. “It’s a true pleasure to welcome the opening weekend of Frost Bites to Theatre Aquarius alongside our annual Brave New Works Festival,” said Mary Francis Moore, Artistic Director of Theatre Aquarius. “Bringing these festivals together lets the whole building come alive as audiences move through it and discover new work, while celebrating bold new voices and the artists creating in every corner of the theatre.”
Back by popular demand, Frost Bites will be bumping inside and out at Bernie Morelli Recreation Centre February 28-March 1 with FREE workshops, art, gathering spaces, the Procession of Light, and the wildly popular activities on the Serafini Family Ice Pad. This year’s ice skating presentations on February 28 include: Learn To Skate with “Coach Aleef” Mehdi, with engaging, instructional games for beginner skaters looking to sharpen their skills; Matrix Synchronized Skaters with teams from West Lincoln Skating Club in three short presentations to inspire skaters of all ages to find their own moves on and off the ice; and the DJ Family Skate Party hosted by local queer social organizers Fruit Salad, an on-ice dance party with fierce and frosty hits from DJ Savage Good.
The interactive art workshops will include: two days of Lantern-Making workshops by Shadowland Theatre, with participants creating oiled paper lanterns, with an invitation to join the illuminated Procession of Light through the community on March 1 at 6pm; Interactive Drum Circle by Tammy Lacas and Mika Woolley, with singing and drumming traditional songs and Medicine Wheel teachings; and Take A Poem Leave A Poem by gritLIT Next Chapter Committee, where participants can take a poem, leave a poem, or learn how to bind poems into a signature mini-booklet.
Also at Bernie Morelli Recreation Centre during Frost Bites is the Community Commons Ideas & Resource Marketplace on February 28, and the Indigenous Marketplace on March 1 at L’Arche Hamilton’s Inclusion Coffeehouse. Community Commons offers a chance to learn about the services and activities of local businesses, creatives, and community organizations. The Indigenous Marketplace will feature traditional craft and beadwork to contemporary jewellery and functional gift items made by local Indigenous makers, artists, and entrepreneurs.
FROST BITES WEEK TWO – March 6-8
The Staircase Theatre
Frost Bites will put live indie theatre back in the site-specific spotlight March 6-8 with form-busting immersive performances in the weird nooks and crannies of The Staircase Theatre + Lounge with plays, film, and live interludes including:
A Series Of Forms You Are Required To Fill Out by Devin Bateson
Due to budget cuts, the last and only city employee is tasked with keeping this city running.
Wherefore (Diana?) by TransgendantCo
Princess Diana leads a participatory balcony performance with the audience as the royal family—queering spectacle, power, and “home” through looking, being seen, and refusal.
How to Cook like a Starving Artist by SPICEBOX
A kitchen sink production of a new play dealing with food, poverty, and the aestheticification of cooking.
Benchmarks by Fareh Malik
A spoken word poetry performance that explores intergenerational dialogue, cultural navigation, and immigrant identities.
Asinabka by Bawaadan Collective
A series of Indigenous short films curated and presented by Bawaadan Collective.
Mahi on the Mountain by Triple Futures
Mahi on the Mountain is an interactive play inviting audiences into a young Hamiltonian’s bedroom, where a detective-led investigation is unsettled by a haunting presence.
Romeo & Juliet: Not ‘Gnomeo & Juliet’ by Eric Cinnsealach
A solo physical clown show about a desperate gnome attempting to perform Romeo and Juliet entirely by himself.
The Paranormal Parlour LIVE by Ghosts Are Everywhere
Join your fave unserious ghost gals LIVE for one night only in their Victorian parlour as they share some local stories of spirits and spectres.
A Ton of Chatter by Anna Chatterton
Anna Chatterton speaks words along with a familiar face or two (familiar to Anna, not you, probably).
The Job Interview by Chidera Ikewibe (CHI*IKE)
She is perhaps the worst woman for the job … but she will apply anyway!
Hamilton Festival Theatre Company (HFTco) is a not-for-profit charitable organization that presents the Hamilton Fringe and Frost Bites festivals. We are committed to training, platforming, and amplifying Hamilton’s theatre artists and storytellers. Since 2003, we have been building a community for artists and arts lovers, and cultivating work that is accessible, innovative, and artistically adventurous.
Frost Bites Festival
February 27 – March 1 & March 6 – March 8, 2026
Hamilton, Ontario
Theatre Aquarius, 190 King William Street
Bernie Morelli Recreation Centre, 876 Cannon Street East
The Staircase Theatre + Lounge, 27 Dundurn Street North
Schedule and Tickets available February 2 at
https://hftco.ca/frost-bites/
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