Old Fashioned Christmas Receives National Recognition
N.S. MUSEUM--Old Fashioned Christmas Receives National Recognition
The Christmas display at Sherbrooke Village received national recognition recently at the Canadian Tourism Commission's Winter Tourism Contest.
The display, titled Old-Fashioned Christmas in Sherbrooke, finished as first runner-up in the Christmas in Canada category. The winner was Peak of Christmas, by Grouse Mountain Resort Ltd. in British Columbia.
The Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) will feature the national winners in the January/February issue of its magazine, Communiqué, and in CTX, its in-house electronic promotions magazine. It also will develop brief descriptions of each winner for future publicity use, will publish an article about them and will undertake other promotional/publicity initiatives.
The CTC also will feature the winners and runners-up in a tourism brochure targeted for the Rendezvous Canada Trade Show in May.
"This event is a great community initiative and I extend congratulations to the organizers," said Rodney MacDonald, Minister of Tourism and Culture. "Old-Fashioned Christmas is an excellent example of how we can work in partnership to develop a four-season tourism destination."
Brenda Alexander, chair of the St. Mary's Tourism Association and the Old-Fashioned Christmas Committee, said it was a great honour to even be considered for such a prestigious award, let alone to be named first runner-up for all of Canada.
"The judges looked closely at the marketing and packaging components of each submission, and obviously felt we are on the right track," she said.
Craig MacDonald, director of Sherbrooke Village, the major producing partner with the St. Mary's Tourism Association, credited the many community partnerships for the success of the event and the recognition it is gaining throughout Atlantic Canada and beyond.
"First and foremost, the partnership between the tourism association and Sherbrooke Village is one which could serve as a model for many community partnerships," he said. "Each party brings its own skill sets and abilities to the arrangement. New community partnerships are being forged each year, and I think the CTC gave us full marks for that approach. To see such a small area being singled out for this type of accolade is a credit to the great volunteer support we enjoy."