#artofcoolproject

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Derek Ross | (919) 225.9362 | [email protected] Casey Adams-Jones | (336) 906-5246 | [email protected]

The Art of Cool Project Celebrates Five Years of Cool

Announcement of Annual Art of Cool Festival, Ticket Promotion, and Expansion

Durham, N.C. (September 16, 2016) -  Congratulations are in order for The Art of Cool Project (AOC) who will celebrate its 5th anniversary on Friday, September 16 as part of Northgate Mall’s “Music on The Plaza” series from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at 1058 W. Club Blvd, Durham, North Carolina.  It will feature live jazz music with Al Strong and Friends, as well as students in AOC’s jazz education program, StArt of Cool; food trucks; vendors; and more. This event is free and open to the public.

Throughout the Durham-based, nonprofit organization’s five years of existence, it has been integral in creating programs and events that expose the region to culturally-relevant, music education experiences year-round.

“Over the years, AOC has worked hard to build and launch music participation and education programs,” said Cicely Mitchell, president and co-founder of Art of Cool. “We are excited to expand our presence in the region. This expansion shows that our mission of reaching new jazz audiences is being fulfilled.”

There are three programs signature to the AOC: The Art of Cool Festival (AOCFest); Innovate Your Cool Conference (IYC); and StArt of Cool Jazz Education (SOC).

The AOCFest, which has been described as the ‘Coachella’ of Jazz by the Huffington Post, is the organization's marquee program, and will return to downtown Durham, N.C. for its 4th year on April 28-30, 2017. Last year’s festival hosted over 8,200 music lovers, and 60 bands and presenters in 10 venues with an economic impact projection of $1.9 million.

As a thank you to AOCFest fans for their support over the past three years, passes to the 2017 AOCFest can be purchased at the special price point offered during the inaugural AOCFest in 2014. A limited number of passes at the throwback promotion price are available at www.AOCFestival.org.

The two packages available for purchase are:

●       The Club Pass: A two-day pass that includes access to venues such as Carolina Theater, The Armory, PSI Theater, Pinhook and Motorco.

●       The VIP Pass: An all-weekend pass includes the two-day access to all Club Pass venues; no waiting in line; reserved seating at the headliner performance on Saturday, April 29; and access to the VIP Sunday Brunch on Sunday, April 30 with a special performance.

The 3rd Annual IYC Conference, which is a part of the AOCFest event line-up, focuses on educating and empowering minds through engaging panel discussions and activities centered around the growing conversation of innovation in music and technology. Last year’s conference attracted over 500 attendees and featured producers, artists, and entrepreneurs from the music and technology industries who engaged in a synthesizer Hackathon and panel discussion. Topics ranged from diversifying the tech scene to working with music innovators like Kendrick Lamar. IYC also partnered with North Carolina Science Fair to bring a mobile planetarium.

StArt of Cool (SOC) is a jazz education program that launched in 2014 to teach students about the performance and fundamentals of jazz. As part of their expansion plans, AOC will launch its SOC program in Raleigh, N.C. in 2017.

“We are excited to bring stArt of Cool to Raleigh in 2017 after receiving numerous requests from past attendees," said Al Strong, vice president of Art of Cool.

To purchase passes for the 2017 AOCFest, and for more information about the AOC Project and its programming and events, visitwww.AOCFestival.org.

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