Youth Day Global brings people together to drive new opportunities forward. 

Celebrate young creativity at a festival to rival all others. 

The annual festival from Youth Day Global will return for year 17 on July 23 at Yonge-Dundas Square.  

Founded in 2007, the organization Youth Day Global has been encouraging young people to showcase their talents in multiple forms, including music, dance, art, photography, fashion, and film. 

The theme for this year’s festival Be Kind on our Planet, is in reference to the importance of good mental health and balanced lifestyle for the future generation, which is a vision of the organization.  

There will be a marketplace featuring artisan vendors, food trucks, a career exhibition and art performances on the day of the event.  

A new section career futures has been added to the event this year.  

The career section is targeted at young people who will join the work force sooner or later. Additionally, caregivers or other individuals accompanying youth at the festival can also find important information on job and career opportunities. 

The two main purposes of this section are to bring awareness to the local labor shortage and the post-pandemic impact on businesses. 

Yonge street will be partially closed on this day between 11 a.m. and 11 p.m. to accommodate the 40,000 expected visitors. 

Tylaine Duggan, founder of Youth Day Global said that the festival has broken records for years.  

“We’ve always broken a Guinness World Book record in that sense, because it’s a space of 12 hours, which is 4400 minutes and 100 changes on stage. With two stages, we can uniquely go back and forth so there’s no downtime.”  

Performances during the festival will include a wide range of genres such as rock music, opera, dance and art. All performances will be by youth between the ages of 14 to 29, selected from online auditions.  

Duggan appreciates the courage and confidence that the young people have shown to perform on stage in front of a large audience. 

Guinness World Records holder Jerry Sokoloski will be at the festival and share his own challenges of being the tallest man in relation to mental health, bullying and self-esteem in a speech. 

The new mayor elect for Toronto is expected at the festival as well. 

Individuals who are interested in going to the event can keep an eye on the detailed schedule which will be announced on July. 12 at a press conference.  

Students, their families and friends may also volunteer on-site during the festival.  

For more information, visit youthdayglobal.com/.