A who’s who of Canuck prodcos, broadcasting execs, and enthusiastic child stars gathered last night in downtown Toronto to celebrate the best of Canadian kids TV at the Alliance for Children and Television (ACT) Awards of Excellence and recognize the organization’s 35 anniversary.

Stacie Mistysyn, an original cast member from the classic Degrassi series hosted the event along with Daniel Cook from This is Daniel Cook and Rachel Marcus, the star of Booky and the Secret Santa. But the crew at Sinking Ship stepped the comic relief up a notch with its video tribute to in-house writer and creative producer, Christin Simms, who took home the emerging talent award. Capping off the ceremony was a heart-felt speech from Patricia Ellington, creative head of children’s media at pubcaster TVOntario, who was given the outstanding achievement award and stressed the benefits of funding quality children’s programming.

The winning shows included:

In the age 3 to 5 category in all genres, Are We There Yet? World Adventure, produced by Sinking Ship, airing on Treehouse;

for age 6 to 8, Mark’s Moments, an in-house TVOntario production;

for age 9 to 12, Booky and the Secret Santa, by Shaftesbury Films and Platt Productions, airing on CBC;

for teens, Degrassi: The Next Generation, by Epitome Pictures, on CTV.

And in the animation category: for ages 3 to 5, My Friend Rabbit, by Nelvana, airing on Treehouse;

for age 6 to 8, Wapos Bay (Raiders of the Lost Arc) by Wapos Bay Productions, on APTN and SCN;

for 9 to 14, Storm Hawks, from Nerd Corps, on YTV;

The best interstitials went to Roll Play produced by Sinking Ship Entertainment, broadcast by Treehouse;

And named the best original cross-platform content tied into a children’s program was www.anashinteractive.com, for Anash and the Legacy of the Sun-Rock, produced by Reel Girls Media.

Taking home the grand prize for the best program across all categories was Cookie Jar’s Johnny Test.