2026 TBF Coco Framboise Trailblazer Award

The TBF Coco Framboise Trailblazer Award celebrates individuals who have made an extraordinary impact on Toronto burlesque through artistic innovation, community leadership, mentorship, advocacy, and legacy-building.

Named in honour of beloved Canadian burlesque icon Coco Framboise, the award recognizes the people who have helped shape, sustain, and transform our community—often through work both on and off the stage.

Members of the Toronto burlesque community submitted nominations for the 2026 award between July 1 and 31, 2026. Every individual nominated during that process is recognized as a 2026 Coco Framboise TBF Trailblazer Award Nominee, reflecting the impact their work has had on the people and community around them.

From this year's nominees, the five individuals with the most community nominations advanced as our 2026 Finalists. We then provided their nomination packages to an independent judging panel of theatre and dance professionals, Carmen Alvis (lemonTree creations), Nova Bhattacharya (Nova Dance), and Laura Paduch (Toronto Fringe Festival, who were tasked with selecting this year's recipient.

For 2026, we're excited to place greater emphasis on celebrating not only our eventual recipient and finalists, but every person whose community put their name forward for this award. Being nominated for the Trailblazer Award is itself an acknowledgement of the meaningful impact an individual has had on our art form and the people within it.

So, without further ado, we are thrilled to introduce the 2026 Coco Framboise TBF Trailblazer Award Nominees!

Congratulations to each of these magnificent artists on this well-deserved recognition—and thank you for everything you have done, and continue to do, to shape Toronto's burlesque community.