Virgin Mobile Festival Creates Wonderland To Go With Amazing Line-Up -- All Day Extra-Sensory Experiences as Important as the Music
From Bindlestiff Family Cirkus and Roller Derby to Major Green Initiatives -- Along with a Chance for First-Time Young Voters to Voice Their Opinions on CNN -- This Weekend's Festivities Will Rock Baltimore
NEW YORK and BALTIMORE, Aug. 5 -- With more than 40 top musical acts slated to perform over two packed days, the Virgin Mobile Festival is certain to again serve up an unforgettable weekend. From circus acts and live concert updates sent to attendees' mobile phones to outrageous performance artists and epic fire sculptures, Virgin Mobile Festival -- being held at Pimlico Race Course(R) in Baltimore, MD August 9 and 10 -- will be non-stop entertainment and surprises.
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The Attractions
Music -- ranging from Foo Fighters and Nine Inch Nails to Lil' Wayne, along with world-class dance music artists such as Underworld -- is the main attraction, but Virgin Mobile Festival is planning a unique slate of other activities to keep attendees intrigued and engaged. Playing off Baltimore's quirky artistic past, the Virgin Mobile Festival will welcome a roster of irreverent characters and performance artists including the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus and their thrilling Motorcycle high-wire show, the Charm City Roller Girls and the Flights of Fire, a mind-blowing fire dance troupe.
Other on-site entertainment includes Trixie Little & The Evil Hate Monkey, Baltimore's award-winning acrobatic burlesque super duo; The Merry Milkmaids, crazy walking plants and the ThermoKraken/Tesla Coil Fire and Light Show! Those who don't want to sit still can take a ride on the mini skate ramp provided by The Skatepark of Baltimore(R) or hop on any of the free pedicabs roaming the grounds.
The Virgin Mobile Festival grounds will also feature a series of "activity domes" which, along with providing some shade and relief from the summer sun, will provide festival-goers with areas to "recharge, renew, and refresh." Kyocera Wireless will be powering the Refresh and Recharge domes with misting zones and chair massages. The Recharge Bar will allow attendees to recharge their mobile phones by pedaling on a bike. Text-to-screen activities powered by Kyocera Wireless will also keep attendees engaged.
Between acts, concert-goers can visit the Dell Summer Rocks Dome that will serve as a self expressive art studio. Dell Studio laptops will be available to help festival attendees explore their individuality through customizing their own digital mixed tape, t-shirt, button or temporary tattoo, or even get a new hairstyle at Dell's professional onsite salon. Fans will also have a chance to meet urban artist, Mike Ming, or even register to win a trip to the Austin City Limits Music Festival.
Those fans looking to get involved and make a difference on the political scene will have the opportunity to appear on CNN's primetime "Election Center." A CNN crew will be filming at the voter registration tent operated by HeadCount (www.Headcount.org), a non-partisan organization registering voters and promoting the importance of participation in democracy to the live music scene. For a chance to appear on the show, festival-goers just have to stop by the HeadCount booth and ask a question about the upcoming election on camera. CNN will select the best questions and have them answered on "Campbell Brown's CNN's Election Center" which airs 8PM ET weeknights, by various newsmakers including CNN's Best Political Team on Television, politicians and even an unexpected celebrity or two, leading up to the election.
Athletic fans can visit the Major League Baseball experience featuring a batting cage, pitching cage and other fun interactive experiences. Those fans looking to work out their thumb muscles can visit the Playstation Experience, play the hottest games featuring "Take the Stage" with Rock Band, and compete for a chance to perform live in front of a audience at a music event this fall. Fans who are rock stars at heart can take a complimentary photo of themselves "on-stage" at the Virgin Mobile Festival, utilizing special green-screen photography, courtesy of Stub Hub.
The Digital Stuff
This year, Virgin Mobile Festival is providing some innovative new ways for attendees to get updates and chat with others onsite via their mobile phones. Users can sign up on http://vm.buzzd.com/ at Virgin Mobile Festival to receive up-to-date lineups and exclusive alerts, and enter for a chance to win an Epiphone guitar, Virgin America vouchers and more fun stuff. Users can network while at the festival with the ability to "buzz" one another on-site.
The Environment
Virgin Mobile USA and its partners are aiming for a "Near Zero Waste" event. To reach this ambitious goal, an alliance with Clean Vibes and other companies will ensure that the Festival is as eco-friendly as possible. More information on the many Green initiatives being implemented can be found at http://virginmobileusa.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=170.
The Causes
In conjunction with The RE*Generation, Virgin Mobile's pro-social initiative to build awareness about the one million youth who don't have a place to call home in the U.S., charitable partners StandUp for Kids, Children's Health Fund, National Alliance to End Homelessness, National Network for Youth, and Virgin Unite will be on-site to show attendees how to get involved and give back. Numerous other non-profit organizations will be present to spotlight other important causes. A portion of the proceeds from each day's Virgin Mobile Festival ticket sales will be donated to these organizations, which include the National Wildlife Federation, Clean Water Action, the Living Classrooms Foundation and the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
The Food
Virgin Mobile Festival will serve up a wide selection of food and drinks including some of the Chesapeake Bay's tastiest bounty -- steamed Maryland Blue Crabs, grilled shrimp, crab cake sandwiches, crab melt pitas and oysters on the half shell. This is in addition to such crowd-pleasers as fresh-grilled burgers, pizza and a tasty vegetarian selection.
Tickets
Tickets are still available, but going quickly. Single day tickets are available for $97.50 for general admission and $250 for single day VIP. Two-day passes are available at $175 for General Admission and $450 for VIP. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster (www.ticketmaster.com or 1-800-551-SEAT). For more, please go to http://www.virginmobilefestival.com/.
About Virgin Mobile USA, Inc.
Virgin Mobile USA (NYSE:VM)
, through its operating company Virgin Mobile USA, L.P., offers millions of customers control, flexibility and choice through monthly Plans Without Annual Contracts, with national coverage powered by the Sprint PCS network. Virgin Mobile USA's full slate of smart, stylish and affordable handsets, including the Wild Card, Slash and Flare, are available at approximately 40,000 top retailers nationwide and online at www.virginmobileusa.com, with Top-Up cards available at more than 140,000 locations. Virgin Mobile USA, known for its award-winning customer service, was recently rated the best prepaid wireless service for the second year in a row in the Annual PC Magazine Readers' Choice Survey, with 90% of its own customers reporting satisfaction with its service.
Virgin Mobile USA allows customers to earn free minutes in exchange for viewing advertising content online through the innovative Sugar Mama program.
About I.M.P.
Formed in 1980, I.M.P. is a Bethesda, Md.-based concert promoter and event production company. In addition to launching the Virgin Festival in the U.S., the principals at I.M.P. own Washington D.C.'s legendary 9:30 Club, renowned as the premier place to see and hear cutting edge live music of all varieties. I.M.P. also programs and operates Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Md. Over the last 28 years, I.M.P. and the 9:30 Club have put on nearly 10,000 events, hosting millions of music fans.
