November 24, 2010 – The Forks and Festival du Voyageur, partners in Assiniboine Credit Union River Trail, have won a Project Honor Award from the international group dedicated entirely to waterfront developments.

“The Waterfront Center awarded Assiniboine Credit Union River Trail one of its top honours for not giving in to its cold winters, but celebrating them,” says Ann Breen, Executive Director, The Waterfront Center. “The Forks team have shown themselves to be true advocates of urban waterfront transformations through this project.”

Jim August, Chief Executive Officer, The Forks received the award at the recent Waterfront Center conference held in Baltimore, Maryland.

“This is an incredibly prestigious award and one we were honoured to receive,” says August. “It puts our city in an international category along with waterfront projects in New York, Sydney, Blackpool, Quinghuangdao City in China and many others.”

The awards were established to recognize high quality design and development work, with entries coming from around the world each year. August shared the award with Festival du Voyageur Executive Director, Ginette Lavack Walters.

“We all know what a jewel our river trail is so to have others take note and be recognized internationally is just fantastic,” says Lavack Walters. “It’s obvious that the Festival du Voyageur and the Forks have a strong partnership which is what allows us to create this world-class initiative year after year. Through our ongoing collaboration and the help of our important funders, the trail will continue to evolve and we look forward to its future!”

An interdisciplinary jury of professional planners, designers and city officials from across North America determined the award winners based on each project’s sensitivity to water, quality and harmony of design, civic contribution, environmental contribution and educational contribution.

“The judges told us just how delighted they were with the river trail itself. It’s not a typical entry for this type of award as they’re normally more design and bricks and mortar types of project,” says August. “Ours really showcased how you can use the waterfront in such a way that is not only aesthetically pleasing but really, in our case, changes attitudes about a season entirely.”

None of it would be possible without the contributions we have received from the Province of Manitoba, City of Winnipeg and title sponsor Assiniboine Credit Union.

“We are so honoured to be part of this valuable partnership and, of course, this international award,” says Al Morin, CEO of Assiniboine Credit Union. “Our members, employees and other citizens of Winnipeg tell us about the important role the Assiniboine Credit Union River Trail plays in their winter outdoor activity. Some have said the trail takes our Manitoba winter from being merely tolerable, to being exceptionally fun.”

All award winners are posted online, at www.waterfrontcenter.org.

About The Waterfront Center
The Waterfront Center is a non-profit, public interest educational organization working to assist waterfront communities make the wisest long term use of their urban waterfront resources. Based in Washington D.C. and consisting of members throughout the world, the Centre uses workshops, community consultations, conferences, awards, programs and publications to help communities understand how their waterfront resources can contribute to community, economic, social recreational and aesthetic vitality. Since its founding in 1981, the Center has helped hundreds of communities of every size on every continent.