Venues the entertainment company and Destination Winnipeg worked together to produce a stellar event in Ottawa on September 2003 at the National Arts Centre. It was a work of true collaboration! Destination Winnipeg was coming to Ottawa in order to promote their destination to the various Association and Corporate Meeting Planners in Ottawa. Grace Vale, President of Venues, worked closely with Rachelle Normand of Destination Winnipeg in coordinating the sound and lights, musical stingers, stage cueing, and décor. Their idea, a spoof on the Juno Awards. Aptly called the "Who Knows Awards?

The look was pure glamour - black and white. No effort was spared by the 40 partners to this event. The partners were dressed in tuxedos and even the napkins were designed as tuxedoes courtesy of The Hotel Fort Garry.

The National Arts Centre was a perfect venue for such an evening.

Guests were not sure what was happening when they arrived as they were greeted by some paparazzi taking pictures, asking questions and basically giving the guests the star treatment.

The entrance décor featured the famous Winnipeg landmark The Golden Boy. There were also a series of posters with little known facts about Winnipeg.

Fred Penner was the Master of Ceremonies. He kept the pace lively and light. He was great to work with and it is a credit to Destination Winnipeg that they are able to count on his involvement in the promotion of their city.

A local band, The Breakfast Club, played '80's style music and during the Awards, they performed musical stingers based on Winnipeg musicians like the Guess Who and Chantal Kreviazuk. Some planners even took to the dance floor to groove with the best of them.

The tables were named after a Manitoba musician / band and were hosted by one of the Team Winnipeg hosts.

Guests had to complete a Winnipeg Who Knows Trivia contest with 10 questions. The winner got to take home a centrepiece. The centrepieces consisted of gift boxes filled with various Manitoba artists' cd's, a Winnipeg postcard, and a star ornament, Winnie the Pooh bookmark, 1 night's accommodation at a Team Winnipeg member property and a golf shirt.

The Awards were very imaginative. As they were a spoof on the Junos, the audience was treated to record categories such as "Best Soul Recording" for those who believe animals have souls, "Best Country Recording" for beautifying the country, "Best Rap Recording" for their important and creative use of words in their work," Best Gospel Album" for getting closer to heaven.

The evening was to highlight what Winnipeg has to offer planners who might be planning on bringing their conferences to Winnipeg. And it was successful!

The success was a result of the enthusiasm that all the partners showed for Winnipeg and what it has to offer planners, the professionalism of everyone involved, the tight production and flow of the evening, the look and the sheer creativity that was a result of the collaboration of both Destination Winnipeg and Venues the entertainment company.