Press Release Summary: North Estate Florida Jazz Association Tries Innovative Approach to Fund Raising
Press Release Body: The North East Florida Jazz Association (NEFJA) placed the title sponsorship for their Legacy Jazz Festival '08 on the auction block at eBay today. The not-for-profit jazz society hopes to attract the interest and support of a well-heeled jazz lover or business to sponsor their third annual jazz festival. In addition to being named as the official sponsor of the festival, the winning bidder will receive an original sculpture that is being created to commemorate the festival by Uldis Lopez Paredes, an internationally acclaimed Cuban artist who recently fled Cuba to join his family in Palm Coast, FL and to find artistic freedom.
"Two years ago Flagler County was the fastest growing county in the country," says Muriel McCoy, president and co-founder of the grassroots organization, \"but that has totally changed and now our local businesses are suffering. This year because of the economic downturn in the economy, getting sponsorships for the festival in the traditional manner is not working." McCoy attributed the slumping economy and limited business resources as the primary catalyst for NEFJA\'s innovative approach to raising funds for the festival.
"Jazz is an endangered art. From day one, our mission has been to preserve, promote and perpetuate Jazz, America's only unique art form,\" McCoy explained. \"This is the 21st century and we\'ve got to use 21st century tools like eBay if we want to ensure that the legacy of jazz lives on.\" For more than 20 years, NEFJA has been presenting live jazz performances to audiences in northeast Florida and using the proceeds to provide scholarships to talented students enrolled in Jazz studies programs at a Florida college or university.
The Legacy Jazz Festival will be held in Palm Coast, FL. Live jazz performances, art exhibits, and other related activities including nature and birding walks will be held throughout Flagler County beginning on May 3 and culminating with the headlined events on May 10 - 11, featuring jazz greats like Freddy Cole, Eddie Henderson, Javon Jackson, and Doug Carn performing with up-and-comers like former NEFJA scholarship winner Vincent Gardner, who now performs professionally with his own group as well as with Wynton Marsalis' Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, and other previous NEFJA scholarship winners. "We've got a great mix of seasoned jazz legends and exciting prodigies. It's going to be a great festival," says McCoy. "
Lopez Paredes, a Cuban expatriate and one of Palm Coast's newest residents stepped up to the plate and agreed to create a special commemorative piece for the festival as a thank you to his new community and in tribute to the freedom that jazz represents. His work reflects his personal philosophy and struggle for freedom of expression. Until 2007, Lopez Paredes was one of Western Cuba's most renowned ceramic artists. He was President of the Consejo Provincial de las Artes Plásticas (Fine Arts Council) and the Cuban Association of Cuban Artists and Artisans (ACAA) in his native Pinar del Río.
Throughout his career, he received numerous awards and was internationally recognized for his work, his talent and his eagerness to share his innovative methods and techniques with other artists. He gave it all up to be able to join his family who had fled Cuba earlier and now live in Palm Coast. Today, instead of directing the work of hundreds of artists in his native country, he's washing dishes at the Hammock Dunes Club in Palm Coast, struggling to learn the language of his new home and creating his masterpieces in his father's garage.
The Title Sponsorship is listed as eBay Item # 150227639749. The total Festival Sponsorship package includes the sponsor\'s name showcased on festival media releases, collateral materials, and signage; roundtrip transportation for two to the festival; luxury accommodations; a choice of customized Florida recreational packages; and a "Meet the Performers" reception. NEFJA is also including other more lasting incentives including the highly prized Lopez Paredes sculpture; a music scholarship presented in the sponsors' name; and a DVD documentary of The Legacy Jazz Festival \'08 highlighting the sponsor's involvement; and a lifetime honorary NEFJA membership.
The opening bid for the Festival Sponsorship is $25,000. "We're hoping that a large corporation will underwrite this because being recognized for saving the arts is good business and a great marketing opportunity," McCoy comments. NEFJA also thinks that there may be individuals who will see this as a unique gift to honor the \'music lover who has everything\' or as a rare opportunity to create their own legacy while making a tangible contribution to keeping jazz alive.
Other opportunities to support the Festival and NEFJA are also available on the Festival website http://www.legacyjazz.com NEFJA is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization and donations may be tax deductible.
The North East Florida Jazz Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to the perpetuation, performance, preservation, and promotion of jazz. In addition to bringing nationally and internationally known jazz performers to the local area at reasonable prices, NEFJA awards scholarships to talented young students enrolled in a Jazz studies program at a Florida College or University. To date, NEFJA has awarded $27,000 in scholarships.
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