Date: Sept 18, 2011

Time: 6:30AM

Venue: Penang Times Square

AN exciting new route is in store for Penang Starwalk 2011 participants in conjunction with The Star’s 40th anniversary this year.

This year’s walk incorporates a heritage route that will pass heritage sites such as Fort Cornwallis, City Hall, St George’s Church, Goddess of Mercy Temple, Kapitan Keling Mosque and Sri Mariamman Temple.

The event, to be held on Sept 18, aims to bring an awareness to the rich historical and cultural aspects of George Town.

The starting point will be at Penang Times Square on Jalan Datuk Keramat. The route for non-competition walkers is 6km long while it is 10km for competition walkers.

Competition walkers will be flagged off at 6.30am while non-competition walkers will start at 7.15am.

The Star regional operations manager (north) Chung Chok Yin said the walk would introduce elements of old Penang while helping to promote George Town’s listing as a Unesco World Heritage site.

“With the new route, we also hope to share with The Star’s readers the new look of the newspaper’s town office on Jalan Mesjid Kapitan Keling which is currently under restoration,” he said du-ring the official launching of Penang Starwalk 2011 yesterday at the Star Northern Hub in Bayan Lepas.

Chung said participants would receive a ‘Penang Starwalk 2011 Passport’ that they could present at six de-signated stops to be stamped.

“Those who collect all six stamps will be eligible for a lucky dip. Participants who complete the walk within two hours will be eligible for a lucky draw that offers RM100,000 worth of attractive prizes,” he said, adding that 20,000 participants were expected to take part in the walk.

Chung said the event was endorsed by the Penang Education Department, and school participants, aged 12 and above, would be issued with a certificate each which would carry co-curriculum points.

The event is also endorsed by Penang Global Tourism, Penang Sports Council, the Penang Municipal Council and the Malaysian Association of Hotels Penang Chapter.

Registration fee is RM10 for non-competition walkers and RM15 for competition walkers.

Registration is open from tomorrow. The public can sign up from 9.15am to 5pm on weekdays at the Star Northern Hub in Bayan Lepas or the newspaper’s George Town office at 15, Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling, or at the Penang Times Square’s information counter at its ground floor from 10am to 10pm daily.

Online registration is also available from tomorrow at http://sites.thestar.com.my/starwalk/.

A Facebook page has also been created for the event at http://www.facebook.com/StarWalk.my. There will also be roadshows at selected venues during weekends for registration.

The closing date for registration is Aug 15 for the competition category and Sept 1 for the non-competition category or when the 20,000 mark is reached, whichever is sooner.

For enquiries, call Eric Voon at 04-6473388 ext 3021 during office hours or 012-5851612 (email: ericvoon@thestar.com.my).

Source:
http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2011/6/30/north/8999628&sec=North