Virgin Festival by Virgin Mobile Creates More Than Just a Music Festival

Virgin Festival by Virgin Mobile Creates More Than Just a Music Festival

From Sounds& Sights, Roller Derby and Wrestling To Green Initiatives and Art Installations, This Two-Day Event Will Be An Experience To Remember

NEW YORK, Aug. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- With more than 40 top musical acts slated to perform over two packed days, the second annual Virgin Festival By Virgin Mobile is certain to serve up an unforgettable weekend. From fire eaters and robots to performance artists and hands-on encounters, Virgin Festival By Virgin Mobile - being held at Pimlico Race Course(R) in Baltimore, MD August 4 and 5 - will be non-stop entertainment and surprises.

   (Logo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070613/VIRGINMOBILE )    The Attractions  

Music -- ranging from The Police and The Smashing Pumpkins to Amy Winehouse and Spoon, along with world-class DJs like Sasha & John Digweed - is the main attraction, but Virgin Festival By Virgin Mobile is planning a unique slate of other activities to keep attendees intrigued and engaged. Playing off Baltimore's quirky artistic past, the Virgin Festival will welcome a roster of irreverent characters and performance artists including stilt walkers, the Charm City Roller Girls and Incredibly Strange Wrestling.

Other on-site entertainment includes the Motormorons - a band that plays car parts as instruments and Trixie Little & The Evil Hate Monkey, Baltimore's award-winning acrobatic burlesque superduo! Those who don't want to sit still can take swings in the batting cages, thanks to sponsor Major League Baseball(R).

The Virgin Festival grounds will also feature a series of "activity domes" which, along with providing some shade from the summer sun, will provide festival goers with areas to "recharge, renew, and refresh." Misting zones and chair massages, do-it-yourself button making and temporary tattoo parlors, text-to-screen activities powered by Kyocera Wireless will all keep attendees engaged.

The Art

Throughout the Virgin Festival by Virgin Mobile grounds, encircled by the Pimlico track, spectators will encounter dazzling art installations - including fire sculptures that light up the night's sky, kinetic robots and a 200-foot black light installation. Virgin Festival will also host talented local graffiti artists to create pieces on the grounds.

The RE*Generation Gallery, a pro-social initiative created by Virgin Mobile USA to focus on the issue of homeless youth, will debut a series of new pieces by noteworthy and emerging artists. These works will then be available for viewing and bidding at an online auction that launches August 6.

The Causes

In conjunction with The RE*Generation, Virgin Mobile's charitable partners StandUp for Kids, Youth Noise, Children's Health Fund and Virgin Unite will be on-site to show attendees how to get involved and give back. In addition, numerous other non-profit organizations will be on site to spotlight their causes. A portion of the proceeds from each day's Virgin Festival ticket sales will be donated to these organizations.

The Environment

Virgin Mobile and its partners are aiming for a "Near Zero Waste" event. To reach this ambitious goal, an alliance with event greening experts at The Spitfire Agency 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://sev.prnewswire.com/environmental-services/20070718/NYW067B18072007- 1.html

The Food

Virgin Festival By Virgin Mobile 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.virginfestival.com/2007.

About Virgin Mobile USA, LLC:

The nation's leading wireless youth network, Virgin Mobile USA provides more than 4.8 million customers with control, flexibility and choice in wireless service, rich data content and innovative products without annual contracts. Voice pricing plans range from monthly options with unlimited nights and weekends to by-the-minute offers, allowing consumers to adjust how and what they pay according to their needs. Virgin Mobile's full slate of smart, stylish and affordable handsets, including the popular Switch_Back and Slice, are available at top retailers in more than 35,000 locations nationwide and online at www.virginmobileusa.com, with Top-Up cards available at more than 130,000 locations.

Virgin Mobile USA's national coverage is powered by the Nationwide Sprint PCS(R) Network and the company, which launched in 2002, is a joint venture between Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group and Sprint Nextel. Virgin Mobile provides some of the highest customer satisfaction levels in the industry with its own customers reporting a 94% satisfaction rate. Virgin Mobile contributes 5% of profits from downloadable content to The RE*Generation, its pro-social initiative to help homeless teens, through donations to charitable partners or funding of programs that support and raise awareness for young people in need; and provides postage-paid return envelopes in every new package for customers to recycle old phones.

About Virgin USA

Virgin, a leading branded venture capital organization, is one of the world's most recognized and respected brands. Virgin USA oversees and is responsible for the expansion of the Virgin brand in North America, blasting into markets where the customer is underserved, offering value for money, good quality, innovation, exceptional customer service, fun and a sense of competitive challenge. Existing businesses like Virgin Atlantic Airways, the award-winning transatlantic airline; Virgin Mobile USA, the leading wireless youth network; Virgin Megastores, the groundbreaking music stores; and Virgin Comics, an entertainment and media company creating original stories and epic myths for worldwide audiences, have already laid a powerful footprint in North America. Building upon the success of these businesses, Virgin USA continues to look for opportunities in North America where it can offer something better, fresher and more valuable to consumers.

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 27 years, I.M.P. and the 9:30 Club have put on nearly 10,000 events, hosting millions of music fans.

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Source: Virgin Mobile USA, LLC

CONTACT: Corinne Nosal of Virgin Mobile USA, +1-908-607-4235,
Corinne.Nosal@virginmobileusa.com, or Alysa McKenna of CooperKatz,
+1-212-455-8023, amckenna@cooperkatz.com, for Virgin Mobile USA, LLC

Web site: http://www.virginmobileusa.com/
http://www.virginfestival.com/2007
http://www.ticketmaster.com/

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Profile: International Entertainment