IVORY Properties Group Bhd has chipped in to become the venue sponsor for the Penang Starwalk which will have a new route this year.

The walk will be flagged off from Birch House which is the company?s office located next to the Penang Times Square which is developed by Ivory.

Ivory?s chief operating officer Datuk Ooi Chin Loo said he hoped the participants would be impressed by the 103-year-old colonial building.

?Birch House was built in 1908 as an office of a tin smelting plant and it eventually became Ivory?s office in 2005,? he said.

Ooi said the building was named after Sir Ernest Woodford Birch, a popular Briton who was a moving force in the development of the tin smelting works in Penang.

?The plant was formerly called Eastern Smelting in 1908, became Datuk Keramat Smelting in 1975 and finally Escoy Smelting in 1993.

?There is a corner on the ground floor of the building to showcase the history of Birch House and the tin-mining industry to let those who visit our office know more about the building,? he said,.

Ooi said the company was also sponsoring 2,000 T-shirts for the walk.

Penang Starwalk 2011 will be held on Sept 18. The new route passes heritage sites such as Fort Cornwallis, City Hall, St George?s Church, Goddess of Mercy Temple, Kapitan Keling Mosque and the Sri Mariamman Temple.

Star Publications (M) Bhd regional operations manager (north) Chung Chok Yin thanked Ivory for the support, saying that setting Birch House as the flag-off point was in-line with the aim to create an awareness to the rich historical and cultural aspects of George Town.

Chung urged those interested in participating in the walk to register early as registration for the non-competition category will close when the 20,000 participation mark is reached.

The route for non-competition walkers is 6km long while it is 10km for competition walkers.

The other sponsors of the walk are Magnum 4D Sdn Bhd, 100Plus, Ambank, BP Clinical Lab, Golden Screen Cinema, Malta, Maxis, Milo, Modenas, Nikon, One Community Worldwide, Pallas and Sunshine Wholesale Mart Sdn Bhd.

Penang Starwalk 2011 is 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.

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 at http://sites.thestar.com.my/starwalk/.

A Facebook page has also been created for the event at http://www.facebook.com/StarWalk.my.

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: The Star