The Gemini Awards are going on the road, and will hand out the country's top TV honors later this year in British Columbia - leaving Toronto for the first time in favor of a combination casino, theater and resort near Vancouver.

The move comes after lobbying by local industry leaders, who have long sought to put the Gemini spotlight on the region's thriving production industry, says Terry McEvoy, western vice chair of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television.

"There's a tremendous amount of stuff going on out here... and some people felt we should invite the rest of the country," he says, recalling talks with Michael Francis of B.C. Film, Arthur Evrensel of the Heenan Blaikie law firm and the Director Guild of Canada's Crawford Hawkins, among others.

However, the Academy is only moving the glitziest of its three Gemini nights. The usual two nights of craft awards are staying put and, according to McEvoy, will run "within a week to 10 days" ahead of the more performance-focused gala, set for Nov. 4 at the River Rock Resort Theatre in Richmond, BC.

It is hoped that, by breaking up the 21st annual Geminis, nominees will have time to travel and attend the events in both cities, says McEvoy.

Global Television will air the third night for the second consecutive year. Rogers Television is expected to sign on again for the craft awards, according to ACCT president and CEO Maria Topalovich.

She is also optimistic that the TV awards will draw an audience despite the unfavorable Saturday night timeslot, saying that the Academy has "total confidence in Global's assessment of that night." Last year, Global's Saturday night broadcast drew slightly more than 200,000 viewers, historically low for the Geminis.

In a bid to boost the appeal of the Genie Awards, the film awards were cut down to an hour of highlights and interviews when they aired on CHUM Television last month. Topalovich says no changes of that sort are planned for the Geminis.

She says the Academy is toying with the idea of continuing to move the Geminis from city to city, in the spirit of being "truly national awards."

"It's really a new era," says Topalovich.

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