PRESS RELEASE Canada…

                                           PRESS RELEASE
     Canada Stands Proud With Festival Marking UNESCO Honor
Rideau Canal Festival aims to honor and preserve an iconic Canadian site
OTTAWA, Ontario--April 18, 2008--The Rideau Canal Festival Committee today announced Ottawa's first
celebration of Canada's most recent UNESCO World Heritage Site - the Rideau Canal. The inaugural
edition of the festival is slated for the August Civic Holiday long weekend (August 1st ­ 4th, 2008).
"This festival demonstrates that tourism, leisure, and environmentalism, and heritage can indeed converge
very successfully," said Henry Storgaard, the first Volunteer Chairman of the Rideau Canal Festival
Committee, a group of prominent local citizens who pooled their time and resources to make the festival a
reality. "It always impresses me to see how friends and colleagues across Canada speak with such pride
about the canal and the activities that surround it. It's a real Canadian icon and it is wonderful that it will
now become a heritage site for the world to enjoy," he added.
This free festival will have myriad activities for everyone: Colonel By Heritage Fair, the first Rideau Canal
Night Flotilla, World Heritage Flotilla starting from Fort Henry in Kingston, the world's largest parade of
bicylces (aiming for a Guinness World Record), Ecosphere - The Green Rendezvous, and more.
The Ontario Government was instrumental in bringing the festival to fruition. "The McGuinty Government is
proud to be a partner in this exciting festival that celebrates our rich culture and heritage and
commemorates the Rideau Canal as Ontario's only UNESCO world heritage site," said Madeleine Meilleur,
M.P.P. for Ottawa-Vanier.
The festival has partnered with Zerofootprint, a Toronto-based not-for-profit organization that helps
organizations work towards eco-friendly events and activities.
"We are excited to be helping the Rideau Canal Festival reduce its environmental impact," commented
Deborah Kaplan, the Executive Director of Zerofootprint. "As a World Heritage Site, it is important that we
help preserve the Rideau Canal and ensure that those attending this event are aware of how they can act
to help preserve the area for future generations."
To ensure the sustainability of the festival, organizers are encouraging people to participate in the Adopt-A-
Meter campaign. For a price of twenty dollars, participants will be able to offset carbon emissions by
adopting a meter of the Rideau Canal for the duration of the festival. This is part of an effort to minimize the
environmental footprint.
For further information: www.rideaucanalfestival.ca
                                                      - 30 -
For media inquiries contact:
Michel Gauthier                                                              Jackie Bernard
President and CEO                                                            Media Relations
Tel. (613) 301-4554                                                          Tel. (613) 234-8118