Nominations opened today (Friday) for the 2004 Heart of the District Awards.

Being held for the third year, the Heart of the District Awards were now an established community celebration, Queenstown Lakes District Council communications manager Meaghan Miller said.

"This year I have been fielding inquiries throughout the year, which indicates to me that the Heart of the District Awards are gaining a strong community profile," Queenstown Lakes District Council communications manager Meaghan Miller said.

The awards were established in 2002 in order to give the community an opportunity to celebrate the outstanding contribution of some individuals.

"We realised that the community was teeming with unsung heroes, quietly getting on with enhancing the environment we live in, for the enjoyment of all. The awards allow us to celebrate and encourage those individuals," Ms Miller said.

The awards were broken into six categories:

• Arts
• Landscape and urban design
• Youth
• Business
• Environmental and heritage
• Social and cultural

"We also use the award evening to recognise those members of the community who have contributed a lifetime of dedication. We mark that special level of contribution through the presentation of Civic Awards," Ms Miller said.

Civic Awards were made at the discretion of the Mayor, although all recommendations from the community would be considered.

The Heart of the District Award evening, scheduled to take place on November 19, would take place at Wanaka this year for the first time.

"I'm delighted that the Wanaka comedy quartet, Four Play with Friends, has agreed to MC the award evening, which we traditionally run as a cabaret-style celebration," Ms Miller said.

Each nominee received a complimentary ticket although supporters needed to purchase $15 tickets in order to help cover the cost of refreshments and entertainment.

"The last two years have been sell-out events, I'm sure this year will be no exception," Ms Miller said.

Nomination forms were available at Wanaka and Queenstown Council offices and could be downloaded from the Council website www.qldc.govt.nz.

ENDS

For further information please contact Meaghan Miller 03 441 0499.

By: Kiri