New Home for Canada’s Walk of Fame
Celebration Park in Toronto’s Metro Square

Toronto, September 12, 2006

After receiving 14 entries from across Canada and the US in its Streetscape Design Competition, Canada’s Walk of Fame has selected the submission from Toronto’s pgm Design Associates. Dubbed Celebration Park, the “new look” streetscape for the Walk of Fame will establish a new home in Metro Square between Roy Thomson Hall and Metro Hall. The competition was a joint project of Canada’s Walk of Fame and the City of Toronto.

The winning design will attract and inform the public both day and night through a combination of light, trees and video walls to create an interactive and animated year–round venue. “Our design takes its inspiration from that most beautiful and ephemeral of natural phenomena—the northern lights,” says Patrick Morello of pgm Design Associates. “We applaud the achievements of the inductees, and we will enable their accomplishments to shine on in the glow of our own Northern Lights.”

According to Peter Soumalias, President and CEO of Canada’s Walk of Fame, this is a major watershed point. “It’s the beginning of a new era in which we elevate and separate Canada’s Walk of Fame from other similar tributes around the world,” said Soumalias.

As a partner, the City of Toronto will share the cost of re-designing Canada's Walk of Fame. "We would like to see Canada's Walk of Fame become a significant tourist attraction for the city," said Mayor David Miller. "It's already an innovative project that honours the best and brightest talent Canada and Toronto offers the world and the potential for it to be even better is tremendous."

Now that a winning design has been chosen, a more detailed project plan will be created and the scope of the project will be refined by the end of 2006. It’s estimated that construction could begin as soon as the fall of 2007, possibly extending through the spring of 2008.

A jury of local professionals selected the finalists and will review second stage submissions. The jury includes:

Jim De Gasperis – Chair of the Jury Panel Jack Tomik - CWOF Board
Duncan Ross - City representative Sol Wassermuhl - Architect
Randy Lennox - CWOF Board Bill Ballard - CWOF Board
Shirley Blumberg - Architect Peter Soumalias – CWOF Board

“With so many excellent submissions, including one from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, choosing the appropriate design was a difficult task,” said Jim De Gasperis, Chair of the Jury Panel. “Ultimately, we chose the pgm design because of its originality, interactivity and its creative use of public space.”

About Canada’s Walk of Fame:
Established in 1998, Canada’s Walk of Fame aims to educate, inform, and inspire through the permanent celebration of the achievements of Canadian music, arts and entertainment luminaries. The annual celebration culminates in a televised tribute special that honours Canada’s finest stars from the worlds of arts, entertainment, and sports. Each inductee is immortalized, their names forever cemented into the sidewalks of Toronto’s entertainment district. To date, 101 Canadians have been honoured. A complete list of inductees and more details on Canada’s Walk of Fame can be found at www.canadaswalkoffame.com. Canada’s Walk of Fame is presented by Master Card in partnership with Volkswagen.

About PGM Design Associates (Team Northern Lights)
pgm Design Associates is a Toronto-based consulting firm committed to the pursuit of innovative approaches in urban design, landscape architecture and environmental planning. The firm integrates contemporary theory-based urban design and planning services with a process-driven approach to the complex ecological, social and economic systems that shape the environment. pgm applies its collective expertise to a wide range of private and public sector projects throughout Canada and internationally. Its portfolio of completed work bridges both conceptual master planning and built projects with a diverse range of scales and complexity.

Team Members:
Patrick Morello & Andrew Anderson (pgm Design Associates)
Mansoor Ma (Illustration Magic Inc.) • Derek Weckers (individual)
Dr. Nancy Pollock-Ellwand (University of Guelph)
Lori Ellis (pgm Design Associates) • Yulia Tsareva (pgm Design Associates)
Bill Gurney (pgm Design Associates)

Media Contact:
Chris McDowall
Holmes Creative Communications
(416) 628-5648/(416) 648-5651/cell
cmcdowall@hccink.com