Oakville Youth Awards
Honouring the vibrant spirit and invaluable contributions of Oakville's youth.
The Town of Oakville, in partnership with the Oakville Youth Action Committee (OYAC) and presenting sponsor Starlane Homes, is proud to announce the recipients of the 2026 Oakville Youth Awards.
Rolling out the red carpet for the community’s rising stars, twelve outstanding youth were recognized for their achievements and leadership at the awards celebration on May 7 at the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts. In total, 154 exceptional young people were nominated for their contributions to Oakville.
This year’s award recipients
- Youth Artist Award – Meicheng Wang (Junior), Carter Whatley (Senior)
- Youth Emerging Leader Award – Hargun Kaur (Junior), Omar Elnably (Senior)
- Youth Environment Award – Caleb Jiwani (Junior), Bonnie Luo (Senior)
- Youth Involvement Award – Charlotte Andaloro (Junior), Jay Xu (Senior)
- Youth Sport Award – Sophie Makrygiannis (Junior), Jessie Xu (Senior)
- Youth STEM Award – Aryan Mohanty (Junior), Imran Allarakhia (Senior)
The red carpet–inspired celebration featured live performances by singers Nikki Damirchi, Varsha Sridhar, and Arnav Naraharisetti, along with the band Friday Project. The event marked the grand finale of National Youth Week, bringing together more than 400 guests to honour these inspiring young changemakers.
2026 Youth Award nominees
- Areej Abubakar
- Lourdes Alomar
- Arya Avinash Mosale
- Jack Galloway
- Ishaan Grotra
- Marya Hawari
- Celine Jung
- Manaah Kalra
- Noah King
- Dia Lalit
- Ocean Lee
- Ariel Liu
- Shixian Liu
- Annie Ma
- Isabella Malak
- Adele Moschella
- Arnav Naraharisetti
- Jiyul Park
- Anusheh Rahman
- Elsa Ren
- Cheng Sun
- Ning Sun
- Meicheng Wang
- Carter Whatley
- Aimee Xu
- Zihuan (Oliver) Xu
- Melody Zhang
- Kelly Zihan Chen
- Mariam Aboutaha
- Bilal Ali Khan
- Haroon Ali Khan
- Ahmed Anjum
- Izma Awan
- Emma Barnfield
- Rayhaan Charniya
- Debadrito Das
- Fares Elhelali
- Omar Elnably
- Mercy Enitilo
- Christine Erasmus
- Rayyan Faisal Lodhi
- Marinella Ganios
- Avaanya Garg
- Emaan Gauhar
- Aidan Girardo
- Haoming (Gavin) Geng
- Lucas Hu
- Faith Joson
- Manaah Kalra
- Rishi Kaul
- Hargun Kaur
- Arnnav Kudale
- Celine Liu
- Betty Luo
- Shrinika Malgan
- Aashi Malik
- Bhanvi Manne
- Sunny Mei
- Arielle Merritt-Murrell
- Aryan Mohanty
- Adele Moschella
- Amelia Moschella
- Marcus Moschella
- Tianne Nan
- Vinisha Nangia
- Krishangi Oberoi
- Dwait Pandhi
- Antonia Romero Ramirez
- Sophie Ryan
- Sarvesh Sathish Kumar
- Diyanka Senavirathne
- Hannan Sohail
- Raya Tailor
- Teresa Tong
- Valentina Urdaneta Garaban
- Ahana Virmani
- Sarina Wu
- Yanina Xie
- Jay Xu
- Qianqian (Rachel) Xue
- Elly Zhang
- Ahmed Anjum
- Leo Yu Cheng
- Caleb Jiwani
- Hargun Kaur
- Steven Li
- Bonnie Luo
- Isabella Malak
- Aryan Mohanty
- Cheng Sun
- Nichole Miriam Vijayan
- Mariam Aboutaha
- Kelly Antonaras
- Charlotte Andaloro
- Aisha Afshar
- Ahmed Anjum
- William Baker
- Colin Chan
- Eason Chen
- Joshan Chopra
- Leah Chow
- Yuqiao (Joyce) Chu
- Ibrahim Darwish
- Debadrito Das
- Fares Elhelali
- Farida Elmansoury
- Emaan Gauhar
- Anjali Grewal
- Ishaan Grotra
- Lucas Hu
- Daniel Jacob
- Daniel Jiang
- Manaah Kalra
- Seamus Kealy
- Arjun Kulkarni
- Annie Li
- Joy Li
- Tony Li
- Cindy Lin
- Rachel Liu
- Mustafa Lodhi
- Daniel Lu
- Joy McConney
- Rehan Mithani
- Amelia Moschella
- Marcus Moschella
- Vinisha Nangia
- Samhita Pallapothu
- Jiayi Peng
- Ariana Russell
- Rida Salimi
- Diyanka Senavirathne
- Hongze (Alvin) Shan
- Japjot Singh
- Dea Skendaj
- Alex Sun
- Kayla Sunderji
- Arina Tao
- Ahana Virmani
- Ansh Virmani
- Nancy Xia
- Annie Xu
- Michael Yan
- Darwin Zhang
- Elly Zhang
- Isabella Aldini
- Noah Guillermo Avecillas
- Zeyuan (Joshua) Chu
- Zili Dang
- Ryan Gantakolla
- Haoming (Gavin) Geng
- Mila Iarossi
- Jeffery Jiang
- Aikam Kainth
- Seamus Kealy
- Katherine Kerwin
- Serenity Le
- Jessica Lee
- Joshua Malak
- Sophie Makrygiannis
- Lily Rochon
- Diyanka Senavirathne
- Hongze (Alvin) Shan
- Beulah Votu-Obada
- Aaron Wang
- Jessie Xu
- Caleb Zhang
- Sophie Zhou
- Imran Allarakhia
- Aarav Bhargava
- Saanvi Ganesh
- Arnnav Kudale
- Aryan Mohanty
- Marcus Moschella
- Dwait Pandhi
- Maria Polyanska
- Arish Shahab
- Hongze (Alvin) Shan
- Darren Su
- Raya Tailor
- Vihaan Vashishtha
- Ansh Virmani
- Eric Wang
- Sophie Zhou
About the Oakville Youth Awards
Youth Artist Award
Recognizes youth who demonstrate a passion for the arts, whether through music, theatre, or other cultural talents, and who positively represent and dedicate their talents to raising awareness of arts and culture among the youth community.
Youth Emerging Leader Award
Recognizes youth who positively influence their peers, demonstrate leadership qualities, and make a positive impact as role models through motivation and mentoring, while showing a true passion for helping others.
Youth Environment Award
Recognizes youth who demonstrate a passion for environmental stewardship and sustainability through active participation in community initiatives that protect, preserve, and support the environment, and contribute to a greener future through innovative solutions, advocacy, and sustainable education.
Youth Involvement Award
Recognizes youth who dedicate their time and efforts to local organizations or events, actively engaging in their community through volunteerism, employment, participation, and demonstrating a passion for helping others.
Youth Sport Award
Recognizes youth who demonstrate a passion for sports and portray a positive image through their participation, volunteerism, or coaching within their chosen sport.
Youth STEM Award
Recognizes youth who demonstrate a passion for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics through innovation, creativity, and critical thinking, inspiring others and advancing STEM in the community through mentorship and knowledge-sharing.
Two nominees are awarded in each category, one for ages 11 to 14 and the other for those between 15 and 19.
Nominees should contribute to the Town of Oakville’s vision of being a vibrant and livable community for all and demonstrate at least one of the values of the town (leadership, inclusivity, fiscal responsibility, sustainability, excellence and quality of life).
A selection committee made up of OYAC members will review each nomination and select the recipients. The selection committee reserves the right to move a nomination to a more appropriate category, if necessary. All decisions made by the selection committee are final.
- Oakville Public Library
- Maps
- Funding and Grants
- Public Engagement Hub
Contact
Youth Services Team
905-845-6601, ext. 3630
Youth Awards Night
The Youth Awards Night takes place on Thursday, May 7 at the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts. Expect a high energy evening with live entertainment, walk up music, and more, hosted by the Oakville Youth Action Committee (OYAC).
- Lobby doors open: 6 p.m. (paid concession available)
VIP reception for nominees
The VIP reception is for nominees only and will take place in the Studio Theatre at the Oakville Centre before the ceremony. A ticket for the reception is required. Tickets can be reserved using the link emailed to nominees.
- Nominees will be directed to the Studio Theatre upon arrival
- Light refreshments will be served
- Guests of nominees are welcome to wait in the main lobby until theatre doors open
Ceremony
Guests are welcome to attend the ceremony in the theatre to celebrate the award nominees. Seating is general admission. Nominees will return to the theatre for the presentation so please save them a seat!
- Theatre doors open: 6:40-6:45 p.m.
- Ceremony begins: 7 p.m. (seating is limited, please arrive early)
- Duration: The awards presentation will run 60 to 90 minutes. Guests are encouraged to stay for the full ceremony to support all nominees.
Outside food and drinks are not permitted in the theatre.
The event will be live streamed beginning at 6:30 p.m. A recording will be posted on the Town’s YouTube channel after the event.
- All nominees receive a certificate
- The top three nominees in each category will be welcomed on stage
- Two winners (one per age group per category) will receive a special award on stage
- A post event news release highlighting award recipients will be shared on the Town’s website and with local media
This year’s event features a red carpet theme. Feel free to dress up, but business casual is perfectly fine. Wear whatever makes you feel confident and comfortable.
- A photographer will be onsite
- Personal photos and videos are welcome from your seat. Please avoid flash photography. Professional photos will be shared after the event..
The Oakville Centre has accessibility limitations due to its age and design and does not have an elevator.
For accessibility needs, please contact the Box Office at 905-815-2021.
The Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts (130 Navy Street) is surrounded by public parking lots and street parking within walking distance.
Parking is free after 6 p.m. Please allow extra time to find parking during busy events. The venue is also accessible by public transit.
Thank you to our sponsors and partner
Presenting sponsor
Decor sponsor
Media sponsor
Partner
