City of Brantford and Brantford Youth Council are gearing up to host the fourth annual Youth Excellence Awards on Monday, May 11, 2026.
The event will take place at the Sanderson Centre from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and features a packed agenda meant to celebrate the city’s youth.
While there, attendees can explore a variety of art displays, shop the youth makers market or take advantage of the on-site photoboot, all taking place in the theatre lobby from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
After that, guests will move inside the theatre for the the City of Brantford Youth Leadership Development Program graduation and the Brantford Youth Excellence Awards ceremony, running from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
The evening will end out with a performance from Superstar Crush, a four-piece pop/rock group from Hamilton.
In an email to the Brant Beacon, Chris Henderson, Community Initiatives Coordinator at the City of Brantford, said the event is open to all youth, ages 13 to 18, along with their families.
“The City of Brantford is excited to host the fourth annual Brantford Youth Excellence Awards,” he said. “This year’s event is being hosted at the Sanderson Centre for the Performing Arts and is open to all Brantford youth to come out, support fellow youth makers/vendors/musicians, and celebrate their peers who are making meaningful contributions to the community, while recognizing graduates of the City’s Youth Leadership Development Program.”
While the event is free to attend, registration on EventBrite is encouraged.
The big event follows National Youth Week, running Friday, May 1, to Thursday, May 7, 2026.
Everything kicks off with a flag raising downtown at Harmony Square on Thursday, April 30 at 4 p.m. There will be speeches from local youth and is a chance to celebrate their contributions to the community.
Throughout the week there will be a selection of free youth activities including game nights, drop-in basketball, a paint-your-own pottery workshop, pickleball, drop-in badminton, a Brantford Youth Council intergenerational story exchange event and more.
Formed nearly 20 years ago, the Brantford Youth Council is made up of high school aged (13 to 28) community volunteers who are passionate about making Brantford a community where young people can thrive.
The Brantford Youth Council provides guidance and input on a range of youth-related topics, and works collaboratively with City staff, elected officials and community partners to plan and implement activities, special events and community impact projects throughout the year. The group’s overall mission is to amplify the voices of youth in Brantford and to contribute to positive change.
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
