History
The Walk of Fame was first conceived in 1996 when founder and current president Peter Soumalias suggested the idea of a Walk of Fame for famous Torontonians to the board of the Toronto Entertainment District Association. They rejected his idea, but he went on to establish a Walk of Fame for Canadians in partnership with Bill Ballard, Dusty Cohl and Gary Slaight. In spite of a lack of funds, research and no media plan, they managed to succeed and the first class of inductees was inducted in 1998. The Walk of Fame has since become a popular tourist attraction in Toronto and has been named the number one Canadian recognition event.
In 2005, the board of directors held a contest to design a new location for the Walk of Fame. The winner was announced in September 2006 and that it would move to Pecaut Square, next to Roy Thomson Hall. However, in 2008, negotiations with the city of Toronto fell apart and the Walk of Fame would not be moving, although organizers will continue to look at three locations on private land in downtown Toronto.
The Walk of Fame has since partnered with several different organizations, such as the Mary Pickford Institute to produce a young filmmakers competition. There is also a music competition that was launched in 2007, and a book is planned, which at the moment is titled "108 Great Canadians". There are also plans to manage a festival of Canadian films and plans for a permanent "Museum of Canadian Achievement".
Read more about this topic: Canada's Walk Of Fame
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