SASKATCHEWAN TURNS DOWN DESIGNATION

Today the government announced it has declined the province's designation as the American Capital of Culture for 2005, which was announced yesterday by an international agency.

The designation was made through a global news release issued by the Organization of American Capital of Culture.

This initiative originally presented itself when Organization of American Capital of Culture contacted the Government of Saskatchewan, encouraging the province to apply because the province is about to celebrate its Centennial in 2005.

"At the time of the province's application, the Centennial office was considering numerous opportunities to recognize Saskatchewan's strong and vibrant arts and cultural communities," CEO of Saskatchewan Centennial 2005 Bryon Burnett said.

In preparation of the application, department officials contacted the City of Austin, Texas, who had just received the same designation for 2004 and were extremely pleased with the designation. Austin, Texas representatives provided assistance to Saskatchewan in preparing its application.

"Based on the strong endorsement made by Austin, we felt this was an opportunity worth pursuing, not knowing if we would be successful," Burnett said. The province paid a required $3,000 application fee.

Upon being notified that the province had been designated American Capital of Culture for 2005, new information has come forward that there may be additional fees surrounding this award which had not been made clear up front. Upon further investigation, Austin, Texas, also withdrew from the designation process after learning the deal required a further financial commitment.

Burnett said while the award itself is an honour, if it's going to incur further costs, the Centennial Office has recommended that we not proceed with this designation as there will be many other opportunities to profile Saskatchewan arts and cultural communities throughout our Centennial year 2005.

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For More Information, Contact:

Bryon Burnett Culture, Youth and Recreation Regina Phone: (306) 787-9775 Cell: (306)536-3247