Despite the thunderstorm, several hundred residents and out-of-town visitors still showed up at Mohawk Park to celebrate the eighth annual UnBirthday Party on Saturday, July 18, 2026.
The party, hosted by Friends 4 Kindness, celebrated kids and adults of all ages that have been missing connection.
Organizer Nicole Callander, first started the event back in 2018 when her daughter Kaitlin Coghlin was about to turn 18. Living with Williams Syndrome, Callander said Coghlin wasn’t celebrating the same milestones as other kids her age, like graduation and prom.
Wanting to make sure her daughter felt special and loved, the mother took to social media, asking friends and family to send cards to her daughter between January and Coghlin’s birthday in July, and ended up going viral. The pair ended up receiving around 6,000 cards from 34 countries, every province and every state.
With that came hundreds of messages from parents sharing stories about their kids being excluded from birthday celebrations.
Relating to the challenges faced by other parents and their children, Callander decided to host her daughter’s 18th birthday party at Mohawk Park and make it an event where everybody could be celebrated.
Since then, the event has grown into a beloved community tradition, often drawing more than 700 people of all ages and abilities each year to celebrate kindness, friendship, inclusion and community.
“What started off as a birthday party for Kaitlin and for friends that wanted to be part of a birthday celebration, has now turned into more of a sense of belonging for a lot of community members,” said Callander. “Honestly, nothing fills my bucket as much as this event does. There are so many people that struggle with social connection, and so getting to see everyone belong in the community at this event overwhelms me with such gratitude. Creating that sense of belonging in our community, where they’re often forgotten or unseen, is what this is all about.”
While the party may have been moved indoors for the first time because of the weather, the change did little to dampen spirits.
Parents and their children spent their time visiting each of the stations set up in and around the Mohawk Park pavilion.
With superheroes and princesses, games, rock painting, a glitter bar, temporary tattoos, bucket drumming, a photo booth, live reptiles, a LEGO station and nail art, there was no shortage of fun activities happening throughout the event.
While some spent their time making kindness clips and friendship bracelets, others took advantage of the outdoor petting zoo between bursts of rain or explored a St. John Ambulance vehicle and Brantford Fire aerial truck.
“A lot of organizations have come together today to make this happen, and I’m just thrilled with their support,” said Callander. “Seeing the community get involved is so special and worth so much because it shows that our community really cares about our friends and that they want to be involved.”
The mother went on to say, “Considering the weather and the really bad air quality all week, I really thought that the turnout wouldn’t be that great because a lot of our friends have complex issues, but it was just fantastic.”
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.
