2025 Stratford events

In 2025, the Provocation Ideas Festival once again brings together a remarkable constellation of voices—community members, artists, performers, musicians, journalists, storytellers, scholars, urban planners, and culinary innovators—to explore urgent questions of our time under the unifying theme: City of Dreamers. 

Maker Multiverse: Constructing Futures 

October 16- 25, 2025 

Copperlight/Knox Presbyterian Church, 

142 Ontario Street, Stratford, ON. 

This fall, Constructing Futures continues, inviting community members of all ages to shape bold new visions for Stratford. In October 2025, join urban planners, sustainability experts, and design thinkers for a panel discussion where your imagination takes the lead. After engaging with inspiring ideas, you’ll have the chance to craft your own vision for Stratford’s future using the creative materials we provide. 

Creating your vision for Stratford:

October 17, 2025  3:00p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

October 18, 2025 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

October 20, 2025 3:00p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

October 21, 2025  11:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Copperlight/Knox Presbyterian Church, basement 

142 Ontario Street, Stratford, ON. 

This Event Is Free



🗓️  Creations will be publicly exhibited October 23, 24, 25 2025  6:30 - 8:00 p.m.

📍 Exhibition Location: Copperlight / Knox Presbyterian Church, basement 

       142 Ontario Street, Stratford, ON. 

Flavours of Home: Stories and Meal that Connect Us 

An intimate series celebrating Stratford’s newest voices 

Events will take place this fall and winter

Locations - TBC 

Food tells a story—and at Flavours of Home, every bite invites you into one. This unique series of culinary storytelling events honours the experiences of Stratford’s newcomers through the universal language of food. Each gathering features a local individual or family who prepares a meal inspired by their region of origin, sharing not only recipes, but the deeply personal journey that brought them here. 

As guests savour the dishes, they hear moving stories of migration, resilience, and belonging—from the first steps into a new country to the dreams that take root in a new community. Held in welcoming venues across Stratford—from restaurants, bars, schools and pop-up kitchens—Flavours of Home offers a space to gather, listen, and connect across cultures through the power of shared meals and shared humanity. 

Northern Wit: Comedy as the Canadian Shield

A live comedy event followed by CBC IDEAS · Hosted by Nahlah Ayed 
 
November 28, 2025

7:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.

Stratford City Hall Auditorium

1 Wellington St. Stratford, ON

What happens when some of Canada’s sharpest comedic minds take on the myths, contradictions, and quirks of Canadian life—live? 

The gloves come off and the laughs roll as a celebrated and award winning comedian Martha Chaves hits the stage for a no-holds-barred performance of comedy, satire, and gut-busting honesty. From clichés to the complexities of cultural identity, she’ll riff, react, and reinvent what it means to be Canadian.   

Expect razor-sharp wit, fearless storytelling, and wildly unexpected turns in this one-night-only performance. This is Canada as you’ve never laughed at it before.  Hosted by Stratford's own satirist Brittlestar.

Following the performance, join CBC IDEAS host Nahlah Ayed, and comedians Martha Chaves and Deb McGrath for a sharp, hilarious, and thought-provoking evening exploring the role of comedy in shaping Canada’s national identity. From political satire to everyday absurdities, comedy has long served as a kind of Canadian shield—deflecting, reflecting, and revealing who we are. 

In this live panel event, some of the country’s funniest minds delve into how humour and satire can expose national truths, challenge cultural myths, and unite us through laughter. Together, they’ll explore questions at the heart of our comedic culture: 

• What can satire reveal about who we are as a nation? 
• How do comedians complicate the stories we tell about ourselves? 
• And why is laughing at ourselves such a quintessentially Canadian act? 

Presented in partnership with CBC IDEAS and Destination Stratford as part of the Provocation Ideas Festival, this is an evening of insight, irreverence, and maybe even identity redefinition—served with a punchline. .

Click Here to reserve your tickets - Seating is limited!

Illuminating Passion

A Provocation Ideas Festival Benefit 

Details coming soon!

Join us for an unforgettable, high octane evening to raise awareness and financial support for the Provocation Ideas Festival in a celebration of creativity and community.

Illuminating Passion is a unique benefit gala where celebrated Canadians unveil their hidden and surprising talents beyond their public personas. This is guaranteed to be an engaging event about the challenges and joys of pursuing creative passions alongside more traditional careers.

Renowned performers, actors, musicians, artists, and creatives step out of the shadows and beyond their usual roles to share remarkable unknown talents in a collaborative and spectacular fashion.

Illuminating Passion promises to be an engaging evening of unique artistic reinvention and discovery, showcasing creative expression in an intimate, vibrant and supportive environment. Guests will enjoy live performances that defy expectations.

In addition to the performances, there will be a curated silent auction featuring original works by multi-talented creators– each piece a one-of-a-kind treasure.

Come for the talent you know. Stay for the talent you’ve never seen.

Reserve your seat, place your bids, and help keep Provocation bold, curious, and creative.

Ticket Link Coming Soon!

All proceeds support the Provocation Ideas Festival, helping us bring bold, accessible programming to the public.

Hosts for the evening are Sheila McCarthy and Chris Blake..

PAST EVENTS

Maker Multiverse: Constructing Futures 

We Build What We Imagine: Constructing Stratford's Future Panel Discussion

October 16, 2025 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

Copperlight/Knox Presbyterian Church, 

142 Ontario Street, Stratford, ON. 

Join us for We Build What We Imagine: Constructing Stratford’s Future, a lively panel that asks what a truly future-ready Stratford requires—health, affordability, culture, sustainability, and economic dynamism—and how small cities like ours can lead. Panelists will explore how we imagine and plan cities, Stratford’s links to Europe and elsewhere, the role of tourism, social infrastructure and resilience, youth attraction and retention, and which technologies we should embrace or avoid. You’ll hear practical perspectives from Helen Kerr (KerrSmith Design; Practitioner-in-Residence, University of Waterloo's Future Cities Institute), Devon Fernandes (Sustainable Community Builder), Hanna Domagala  (Director of Land Development and Design, BMI Group), Rory Auster (secondary student voice on everyday challenges for youth), and Eric Ball (MakerSpace Coordinator, Stratford Public Library), guided by moderator Kendra Fry (investStratford housing specialist). After the conversation, the floor is yours—post questions, share ideas, and help shape the vision that participants will turn into hands-on city models in the days that follow. 

August 18 – 28, 2025 

Stratford Public Library 

19 St. Andrew St, Stratford, ON 

Join us for this exciting Provocation Ideas Festival/ Stratford Public Library/BMI Group event!!  Drop in to help build an interactive, large-scale model of our local landscape. Collaborate with others to blend real landmarks with imaginative visions of what our community could become. 

 Using recycled materials, LEGO, robotics, and digital tools, this hands-on experience encourages creativity, sustainability, and STEAM learning while inspiring participants to envision and shape our community's future together.  

 Each session includes dreaming, designing, and creating using prompts and vision boards, plus brief show-and-tell segments where participants and community partners share progress and ideas. Show-and-tell sessions are recorded on green screen, virtually transporting presenters into the city model. Highlights will be published on SPL's YouTube channel to celebrate community creativity and collaboration. 

 Ages 6+. Makers under age 10 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.  

Questions? Email Eric at makerspace@splibrary.ca  or call 519-271-0220 x164 

For more details, please visit: Maker Multiverse: Constructing Futures | Stratford Public Library 

Trophy X Dream Weavers

Storytelling that transforms us

Saturday, October 4, 2025  3:00 - 4:30 P.M. and 7:30 - 9:00 P.M.

Sunday, October 5, 2025 1- 2:30 P.M.

290 Downie St, Stratford 

Grand Trunk site — green space across from the bus station 

Step into a circle of light and story. 

Trophy X Dream Weavers transforms Stratford’s historic Grand Trunk site into a glowing village of ten intimate tents, each one home to a powerful tale of transformation, hope, and the dreams that shape who we are. Inside each softly lit space, local storytellers share personal stories that reflect the heart of our region—its turning points, quiet awakenings, and bold aspirations. Audiences of 3-4 are invited into each tent for a close, immersive experience unlike any other. 

After each story, participants are invited to respond—through words or drawings—on colourful acetate sheets that become part of a growing installation inside each tent, weaving together the dreams of many into one luminous community tapestry. Guiding questions like “What moment changed everything for you?” spark both introspection and connection. With storytellers of all ages, including dedicated tents for young voices, Trophy X Dream Weavers is a celebration of imagination, resilience, and shared futures. 

Also on site:

SpringWorks ~ PuppetWorks! joins Trophy X Dream Weavers with playful, drop-in activities that invite kids (and grown-ups) to create and play:

• Sock puppet-making 
• DIY puppet theatre for kid creativity
• Chalk art—decorate to your heart’s content
• Classic games (yes, hopscotch!)

Hours:

• Saturday, October 4, 2025 — 11:00 A.M.–6:00 P.M.
• Sunday, October 5, 2025 — 11:00 A.M.–3:00 P.M.

Good to know

• Story length & flow: Stories run about 4–5 minutes per tent; timing is flexible so you can rotate through the ten tents at your own pace.
• Rain or shine: All activities proceed rain or shine.
• Getting there: Free parking at the Cooper and Downie lots nearby. Public transit encouraged—the bus station is right next to the site.

This is a free, all-ages event. 

Co-presented by the  Trophy, Provocation Ideas Festival, City of Stratford, investStratford and SpringWorks in collaboration with Pathways To Poetry Festival and Stratford Writers Festival. 

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May 31, 2025

No Other Land

No Other Land , the 2025 Academy Award-winning Best Documentary Feature, offers a powerful, firsthand account of the Israeli military's efforts to forcibly displace Palestinian communities in Masafer Yatta, a region in the occupied West Bank. Co-written and co-directed by Palestinian filmmaker, lawyer and journalist Basel Adra, Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham, Palestinian photographer Hamdan Ballal, and Israeli cinematographer Rachel Szor, the film documents the demolition of homes, destruction of schools, and the filling of water wells with cement to prevent Palestinians from rebuilding on their native land. Through intimate footage and personal narratives, No Other Land captures the resilience of the Palestinian people and the complexities of Israeli-Palestinian relations, offering a poignant exploration of resistance, identity, and the human cost of occupation.

Following the screening of No Other Land , there will be a discussion and Q&A session with seasoned Canadian journalist Jesse Rosenfeld, who has extensively covered wars, occupations, revolts, and resistance in the Middle East, including Israel and Palestine, for outlets such as Rolling Stone Magazine,The Daily Beast, The Nation, The Intercept, and Al Jazeera English. His journalism is the basis of the National Film Board of Canada documentary, Freelancer on the Front Lines. The discussion will be moderated by Deanna Horton, Distinguished Fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy and former Canadian diplomat. 

Saturday, May 31, 2025  4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. - SOLD OUT

Saturday, May 31, 2025  7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. - SOLD OUT

Stratford City Hall Auditorium Theatre

1 Wellington St, Stratford, ON N5A 2L3

Presented in partnership with the Stratford Film Festival.