Back-to-back wins in Communities In Bloom and WinterLights gives Kamloops bragging rights as one of the best all-around destinations in Canada, the committee’s co-chair said Monday.

“It’s not just a summer destination, it’s a year-round destination,” said Gay Pooler.

Pooler, along with WinterLights committee co-chair Glenn Grant, and city councillor Nancy Bepple, were in Charlottetown, P.E.I. on the weekend for the 2009-2010 WinterLights Celebration awards ceremony.

This is the first time Kamloops participated in the contest, which makes its five-star win in the over 50,000-population category all the sweeter, Pooler said. The city beat out Prince George, Brampton, Barrie and Kingston.

Many of the city’s winter attractions have been in place for a while. All the City had to do when judges visited in December was package everything together, she said.

The judges visited Sun Peaks Resort, were shown light-up ceremonies at the Spirit Square on the North Shore and St. Andrews on the Square downtown, taken on the seniors’ twinkle tour and saw the 2141 steam train in all its seasonal glory.

The 2141 received a special mention at Saturday night’s ceremony.

Stops were also made at Memorial Arena, Christmas Amalgamated, the Kamloops Food Bank, McArthur Island Sports Centre and the Tournament Capital Centre.

Kamloops has competed in Communities In Bloom for years and won the national award last year. Pooler said that gave the committee a leg up on how to organize WinterLights.

“It’s all about how you show your community,” she said. “We were starting from a good place.”

Grant said the unexpected win gives Kamloops another way to market itself to the world.

“It shows we are a four-season playground,” he said.