The Festival endeavours to have entertainment going on the Stage in the Park to ensure that every minute of this event is fun. See who we have booked so far!
*More entertainment to be added in coming months.
CEREMONY HOST
Ainara Alleyne is a 16-year-old high school student from Hamilton, Ontario. Ainara curates the Instagram page @ainarasbookshelf, where she highlights books for young people whose authors and main characters are Black, Indigenous, people of colour, differently abled and other underrepresented communities. She believes that by experiencing other cultures and perspectives through books, we can not only acknowledge our differences but understand and embrace them. Ainara was Hamilton Public Library’s first Junior Librarian in residence and speaks to student teachers at various Universities and pedagogy symposiums, and has been featured in the New York Times, CBC, CTV and numerous podcasts. Her middle book review TV show, also called Ainara’s Bookshelf, which she created, co-wrote and produced, airs on TVOkids and is currently available on YouTube.
CEREMONY WARM-UP ENTERTAINER
Amy Tepperman is a passionate educator, dynamic presenter, curriculum designer, and kinesthetic learning specialist who thrives on creating joyful, captivating learning environments for students and teachers. Her work brings classrooms and community spaces to life by engaging the whole self – Body, Brain, and Being!
She is the founder of Moving EDGEucation, an educational community partner working across a wide range of school boards. Since 2010, Amy has worked with more than 1,750 public schools, with movement-based learning programming and resources that span Dance, Math, Language and Reading, Social-Emotional Learning, and Leadership Skills – all while moving to music. Amy has led thousands of live student workshops, events, and teacher professional development sessions, built a growing library of classroom resources, and shared her teaching approach at leading conferences including SXSW EDU, the Canadian Principals Conference and on the TEDx stage with her talk “How the School Day Got Its Groove Back.”
Amy believes wholeheartedly that learning should move you…literally!
When she’s not immersed in all things education, you’ll likely find her on the dance floor, lost in the woods, or learning to play the piano.
FESTIVAL ENTERTAINER
Isabella Hoops – Bubble & Hula-Hoop Spectacular
This whimsical, family-friendly show blends Isabella’s signature hula-hoop performance with moments of magical bubble artistry. Audiences are drawn into a playful world of giant bubbles, interactive moments, and high-energy hoop choreography—culminating in a jaw-dropping 50-hoop finale that leaves crowds cheering.
Between scheduled performances, guests can also visit the Hula Hoop Fun Zone, where Isabella invites children and families to pick up a hoop, learn simple tricks, and experience the joy of circus skills firsthand. It’s an engaging hands-on activity that keeps festival energy high throughout the day and leaves audiences walking away smiling.
Isabella Hoops delivers a colourful, interactive circus experience that audiences won’t soon forget.
FESTIVAL HOST – MIKE FORD
Mike Ford is a Juno-nominated and Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal-awarded Franco-Ontarian singer songwriter, playwright and educator. has released 5 acclaimed albums of Canadian history -inspired songs, been described as being “rabble-rousing and Pythonesque” and “essential listening” by the Globe & Mail, has toured as a swing member of The Arrogant Worms, sung at The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Ottawa for The Vigil Project, performed in French and English and MC’d at festivals coast-to-coast, created an ever-growing repertoire for his Canada Needs You School tours, and sailed across the Great Lakes on a working Lake Boat with David Francey, from which the two wrote and recorded their album SEAWAY. With Moxy Früvous, Mike sold a quarter of a million albums, headlined festival stages across North America and Europe, performed on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, and once, for theatrical effect, crashed through a stained glass window at a record store in Buffalo. (Ooops.) He has appeared on Dragon’s Den singing lead with his alter-ego band The Cocksure Lads, and over the past 8 years has composed and taken to Europe four original historical folk musicals. Mike has enjoyed The Forest of Reading for decades – and is very happy to be back!
Mike Ford est un auteur-compositeur-interprète passionné, dont les chansons racontent l’histoire du Canada, explorent nos paysages locaux et s’inspirent de l’environnement qui nous entoure. Avec six albums solo à son actif, maintes fois récompensés, Mike tisse des liens profonds entre la musique et la mémoire collective. Son premier album a été nommé aux prix Juno, et un autre, en collaboration avec David Francey, aux Prix de musique folk canadienne.
Il est aussi bien connu pour avoir fait partie du groupe Moxy Früvous, finaliste au prix Juno du Groupe de l’année. Comme artiste solo, Mike a reçu la Médaille du jubilé de diamant de la reine Elizabeth II — une reconnaissance de son apport à la culture du pays. Mike est fière de son disque franco, Le retour d’Étienne Brûlé, qui rend hommage à quatre siècles de langue française en Ontario, tout en renouant avec ses propres racines familiales.
Amoureux de la Forêt de la Lecture depuis longtemps, Mike est profondément heureux d’y revenir — pour chanter, partager, et s’inspirer à nouveau !
