Travel Releases

2008 VANCOUVER ISLAND PUMPKIN ART TOUR

For immediate release: Pumpkin Art, a popular Halloween display on Vancouver Island, returns to Nanaimo this year, and adds additional communities this October as part of a wider tour across Vancouver Island.

Pumpkin Art is an exhibit of over 600 pumpkin carvings presented in more than 40 lit, themed displays featuring the likes of celebrities, cartoon characters, TV shows and the royal family. Event organizer and Victoria businessman John Vickers says he got the idea of a multi-city tour following the presentation of the pumpkins in Nanaimo in 2007, following cancellation of the event at Government House in Victoria. “The response we received from the Nanaimo community last fall was phenomenal”, says Vickers. “It was a last minute event and six thousand people showed up.”

In addition to being presented in Beban Park’s Centennial Building from October 23-26, the display will appear at venues in Duncan, Langford, Courtenay and Victoria throughout October. Vickers and two management consultant friends will be leaving their professional careers for the month of October to present the pumpkins on the tour over five weekends. The exhibit now involves the use of over 1,000 milk cases along with hundreds of yards of lighting strands. “It’s a bit like being the road crew for a rock band,” says Vickers, adding “the difference being instead of the band taking the stage at show time, we flip a switch and the pumpkins are front and centre”.

Admission is $5.00 for adults, $2.00 for children 12 and under, and a family rate of $10.00. Vickers plans to donate a portion of proceeds to UNICEF’s Unite for Children, Unite Against Aids campaign. The event began as a front yard UNICEF fundraiser at Vickers Victoria residence in 1998. In 2002, the display was presented at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto on behalf of UNICEF Canada. More information on the event including specific dates and locations can be found at www.pumpkinart.ca.

Vancouver Island continues to be recognized as a premier vacation destination. For the eighth year in a row Vancouver Island has been rated as the Best Island, North America by the readers of Conde Nast Traveler. This prestigious travel magazine with a per issue readership of 2 million has been conducting a Readers' Choice award program for 18 years.

Tourism Vancouver Island is one of six regional destination marketing organizations in British Columbia that administers co-operative marketing and advertising projects for its stakeholders throughout the region. To access information about Tourism Vancouver Island and marketing initiatives, please visit www.tourismvi.ca. For general travel information on Vancouver Island, Victoria and the Gulf Islands, please visit www.vancouverisland.travel.

Tourism accounts for more than 117,900 direct jobs in British Columbia, representing approximately one in every 20 jobs in the province. BC's tourism industry generated approximately $9.8 billion in revenues in 2005 and over $5.8 billion in GDP in 2004, making tourism one of the largest resource industries in the province. (source: cotabc.com)

Media Contacts:

John Vickers

Artist/Event organizer

Phone: 250-661-5350

info@pumpkinart.ca

Lana Kingston

Media Relations Manager

Direct: 250-740-1213

lana@tourismvi.ca

WOODGROVE CENTRE IS BC'S FIRST SUPERHOST® DESIGNATED SHOPPING CENTRE

Woodgrove Centre, Vancouver Island's largest shopping has recently been awarded the Recognized SuperHost® Business designation by Tourism BC and is the first shopping centre in British Columbia to receive this honour. In order to achieve designated site status Woodgrove Centre successfully certified 60% of the retail, contract and administration staff in less than one year.

Woodgrove Centre's General Manager Peggy White accepted the award from SuperHost® Programs Manager Yavhel Velazquez at a celebration held on Thursday March 6th at Woodgrove Centre. Festivities included musical entertainment, giveaways, speeches and cake cutting.

"We want to be ready for the influx of visitors and new customers that will come with the 2010 Olympics," shared Peggy White, General Manager of Woodgrove Centre. "We are very proud to have achieved the SuperHost designation and our team is passionate about making the shopping experience positive for all of our visitors and customers."

SuperHost training was developed by Tourism British Columbia in 1985 to improve the quality of service in tourism businesses throughout the province, in preparation for EXPO ’86 in Vancouver. The workshops were so successful that SuperHost training was later offered throughout the province and has now achieved international recognition. Today there are eight focused workshops to choose from and more are being developed. These workshops are interactive, offer practical tips, and are led by certified trainers. Implemented in the 1990’s, the Recognized SuperHost Business program provides businesses with window decals and certificates to proudly display their commitment to excellent service practices.

“We congratulate everyone at Woodgrove Centre who has made this investment in their people and their customers,“ said Rod Harris, President and CEO, Tourism BC. “You are setting a standard for service in your business community as a model for other communities across our province. It’s this collective, service orientated approach that can create positive experiences for our visitors leading up to 2010 and beyond.”

Tourism British Columbia is a Crown corporation that operates under an industry-led board of directors and is responsible for marketing the Super, Natural British Columbia® brand to the world. To access comprehensive information about the business of tourism in British Columbia and Tourism British Columbia’s programs, visit www.tourismbc.com.

Woodgrove Centre is located on Vancouver Island in the harbour city of Nanaimo, British Columbia. Woodgrove Centre is a market dominant retail destination and focal point of the community. The centre features 724,713 square feet of retail space and is Vancouver Island's largest shopping centre attracting 6 million visitors per year.

Woodgrove is home to over 150 stores and services including Wal-Mart, The Bay, Pier 1 Imports, Chapters, Sport Chek and Save On Foods. Woodgrove is owned and managed by Ivanhoe Cambridge, a pre-eminent Canadian-based global property owner, manager, developer and investor. For more information visit: www.woodgrovecentre.com.

For more information contact:

Peggy White, General Manager

Woodgrove Centre, Nanaimo

Phone: (250) 740-3550

Holly Frederickson, SuperHost Programs Training Advisor

Tourism British Columbia, Victoria

Phone: (250) 356-8108