Centennial Web site is party central.

Saskatchewan's big birthday bash is steering plenty of traffic to the province's roads, river systems and retail stores. It's also generating high traffic counts for the official Web site of Saskatchewan Centennial 2005.

Designed and continually updated by the 'small but mighty group' known as the marketing and communication team of Saskatchewan Centennial 2005, www.sask2005.ca is at the heart of everything centennial. Not only the celebration's main bulletin board, the Web site is also its photo album, catalogue, chronometer and historical record.

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"We're very proud of the Web site," says Cathy-Ann Molnar, executive director of marketing and communication. "It's living and dynamic and highly usable. It takes a lot of diligence and attention to keep it fresh, but it's one of our key communication deliveries and the time and effort spent on development is producing great results."

The Web site has grown in significance, she says, in some regards mirroring the swell of community support for the centennial celebration. Every day Molnar sees more people who are ready to stand up and state their love for Saskatchewan.

With more than 3,000 homecomings, festivals, celebrations and other centennial events listed at sask2005.ca it's clear people are in the mood to party. It's also evident the Web site has accomplished its primary goal of reaching a great percentage of the population and motivating participation.

Saskatchewan Centennial 2005 is particularly keen on getting started the chain of events that includes registering, sending out centennial material and inviting the public to commemorate and celebrate the centennial. Molnar says group and individual organizers around the province are embracing the medium and actively participating in huge numbers. Molnar notes this is the first time a provincial centennial can be celebrated using new technology offered through the Web, giving audiences around the world a means of expression and a method of celebration.

"There are so many people hosting events, starting with the 339 villages, towns and cities that are registered right now," Molnar says. "If you want to attend a centennial event in Saskatchewan the Web site is the place to start. It's the central listing for all things centennial."

The Web site also has useful details about key projects connected with Saskatchewan Centennial 2005. More than 1,800 businesses have registered to be a part of the centennial business program, as the celebration continues expanding to all sectors.

"We've really worked at making the Web site as interactive as possible," Molnar says. Cool and fun contests, multi-media presentations in the form of vignettes filmed by students and a sign-up spot for the centennial newsletter give everyone a chance to learn new things about the province in general and the centennial in particular."

"We have a collection of more than 350 photos in different categories along with a poetry section that in a very big way serves as a voice for people to reflect on their experiences growing up in Saskatchewan," Molnar says, adding the Centennial Song, "Saskatchewan--We Love this Place!" is another fun and popular download from the Web site.

Saskatchewan Centennial 2005 will be keeping sask2005.ca up and running for at least the rest of the year and is looking into how they can create a legacy site using all the terrific information and material they've collected. It's a little capture of history and a resource people should have long after the centennial year, Molnar says.

"The Web site is a great place to find out what's happening around the province and an area we can share our provincial pride with the world," she says. "Visitors will see that the welcome mat is out and the celebrations are on."