TORONTO, Sept. 6 and 7 /CNW/ -- 40,000 music-lovers set to rock out at the hottest weekend of the summer
TORONTO, Sept. 6 and 7 /CNW/ - After months of buzz, topped off by a visit from Sir Richard Branson himself yesterday to check out the Island, Toronto's third annual Virgin Festival kicked off today. This time around the music event of the year is even bigger: 54 artists including international superstars Foo Fighters and Oasis, three stages, a DJ dance tent and 40,000 fans expected to take in a supersonic mix of music.
"This year's Virgin Festival Toronto is set to go down as the best ever," says Nathan Rosenberg, chief marketing officer, Virgin Canada. "Since we launched in 2006, Virgin Festival has brought together more than 130,000 music fans and taken its place as one of the top rock festivals in the country. Virgin Festival attracts the biggest acts from all around the world. With this year's heavy hitters Oasis and Foo Fighters, plus 52 other amazing artists, we've got a jam-packed weekend that people will never forget."
On Saturday, the Virgin Mobile Stage will feature headliners and international superstars Foo Fighters, English post-punkers Bloc Party, indie rockers Against Me!, futuristic synth-rock duo MGMT and way more hot acts. On the TD Canada Trust Music Stage, fans can catch The Kooks, The Fratellis, Spiritualized, Wintersleep and Shudder to Think. The On Henry! Emerging Artist Stage features The Waking Eyes, Bad Flirt and other buzz-worthy emerging talent. In the BACARDI(R) B-LIVE(TM) tent dance fans can check out European sensation Switch and SebastiAn, Chicago-based duo Flosstradamus, NYC Bass Heavy Champion Drop the Lime and many more.
On Sunday, headlining superstar Brit-rockers Oasis and the legendary Modfather Paul Weller will take over the Virgin Mobile Main Stage, as well as Brit Award winners Stereophonics, L.A.'s Silversun Pickups and other stellar acts earlier in the day. The TD Canada Trust Music Stage will feature The Pigeon Detectives, Sons and Daughters, Yoav and other great acts. The Oh Henry! Emerging Artist Stage will bring out Road to Virgin Festival winner Secret Broadcast, Shad, Rock Plaza Central and other new talent. BACARDI(R) B-LIVE(TM) fans will be blown away by DJ extraordinaire and New York City-based Moby (DJ Set), Juno award winner Deadmau5, plus other unforgettable electronic artists.
"Once again we've crafted an incredible line-up and added a whole range of experiences that fans won't be expecting," says Andrew Bridge, director of Virgin Festivals. "With such a huge mix of artists and musical genres there's something for everyone. From indie rock and hip hop to electropop and punk, Virgin Festival Toronto 2008 will simply blow everyone away."
Let's Crunch Some Numbers
With so much going down at Virgin Festival, it's hard to keep track of it all! Here are a few key stats to keep in mind while checking out the festival:
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40,000 The number of music lovers expected to take over the Island.
3,000 Kilometres of recycled toilet paper will be used at Virgin
Festival. That's enough to lay out a road of toilet paper from
Toronto to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Which is really kinda gross.
3000 The number of guitar picks the bands will go through at the
festival.
54 Number of artists that will be performing at Virgin Festival
Toronto.
1 p.m. The time the gates open for the third Virgin Festival Toronto.
50 The number of big-ass speakers that will (literally) blow people
away.
300 The number of electric and acoustic guitars that will be used at
the Festival.
450 The number of crowd surfers expected to get physical during the
Festival.
15,000 Pounds of ice that will keep all those drinks cold.
30 Virgin Angels and Eco-Angels on hand to help you out or give you
a hug.
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Take Virgin Festival To Go!
Festival-goers on any mobile network can also get Festival info, including a map, the line-up, the latest breaking Festival news all by simply visiting www.vfest.ca/m straight from their mobile phones.
And the fun doesn't stop there! Festival-goers can also send a pic to the big screen straight from their mobile phone - just message it to 416.953.3860. Wanna get a message up on the screen? Text your message to 83378 (standard text messaging rates apply).
Don't Call It A Concert
Music won't be all there is to get into at the Festival. Fans will be able to explore a transformed Toronto Island with all the excitement to make the weekend a rockin' good time. Whether you want some new threads, a new 'do, or some some earth-friendly recycled bling, Virgin Festival is loaded with stores, vendors and services to give you the time of your life.
Check out all our partners - including Virgin Mobile, BACARDI(R), TD Canada Trust, Oh Henry!, Molson Canadian, Motorola, Energizer, Future Shop, Much Music, Subway(R) restaurants and XBOX. Check out www.virginfestival.ca for further details on all the experiences.
Virgin Cares
Virgin Mobile's Virgin Festivals (Calgary and Toronto) are expected to raise more than $100,000 for Virgin Unite this year. This will be made up of donations from ticket sales and from onsite fundraising.
Virgin Unite is the independent charitable arm of the Virgin Group, created to unite people and Virgin's global resources to make a difference. Virgin Unite works on a range of programs across the globe with a special focus on youth-related issues and HIV. For more information visit www.virginunite.com.
Calling on Angels
Everyone needs a helping hand now and then, and Virgin Mobile Angels will be on site to make sure that everyone has a great time. If anyone stubs their toe, can't find the beer tent, or just needs to see a smiling face, the Virgin Mobile Angels will be able to lend a hand to make sure everyone gets taken care of. Plus the Angels will be armed with Motorola RAZR2 mobile phones to loan out if people need to make a quick call.
Bringing Some Green To The Scene
"Caring for the environment is always a top priority for everything we do, and being green has been a huge part of all our planning for Virgin Festival Toronto," says Nathan Rosenberg, chief marketing officer, Virgin Canada. "We've taken every step to make sure Toronto Island is left as beautiful as we found it. More than that, we're looking to really educate and inspire people on things they can do every day to go green and make a difference in the fight against climate change."
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Here's how Virgin Festival is keeping its promise to "green it like they
mean it":
1. Recycling
2. Using non-toxic inks and recycled paper for printed materials
3. Virgin "Green" Angels on site to help with sorting recyclables
4. Thirsty folks can get a re-useable Virgin Festival cup and fill it up
as many times as they want at the Water Station, instead of using a
plastic water bottle
5. Human-powered mobile phone chargers at the Motorola tent
6. Trade in your empty water bottles for swag and prizes at the
TRASHed:: Recycling Store. We encourage garbage picking
7. Hit the TD Canada Trust solar-powered web station to upload your
pics, update your MySpace page and way more
8. Tree donation to Toronto Island Park
9. Virgin Festival will purchase carbon offsets for any energy that
needs to be used
10. The Festival has partnered with PickupPal to encourage music lovers
to meet up and carpool to the ferry terminal
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Ticket Information
What tickets are left can either be purchased at the gates or general ticket sales for both two-day and one-day tickets are on sale at select Future Shop locations, all Ticketmaster outlets and by calling 416-870-8000.
Ticket information is also available at: virginfestival.ca. Two-day tickets are $159 (including all sales taxes, $12 ferry fee, and a $2 donation to Virgin Unite Canada). One-day tickets are $87 (including all sales taxes, $6 ferry fee, and a $1 donation to Virgin Unite Canada).
About Virgin Festival Canada
Virgin Festival Canada has established itself as one of the top rock festivals in North America. Since the first-ever Canadian Virgin Festival launched in Toronto in September 2006, around 130,000 music lovers have lived the Virgin Festival experience. This year Virgin Festival is being hosted by the cities of Calgary and Toronto. For more information on the festivals visit www.virginfestival.ca.
About Virgin Mobile Canada
The Virgin Mobile group of companies has attracted more than 10 million customers worldwide. As the No.1 mobile youth network, Virgin Mobile Canada's mission is to connect, entertain, and reward like nobody else. Its simpler, better deals offer customers control, flexibility, and choice to design mobile packages that truly work for them. J.D. Power and Associates ranked Virgin Mobile highest in customer satisfaction with prepaid wireless service for three years in a row(1), 91% of customers would recommend Virgin Mobile to a friend, and a 2007 independent survey confirmed that Virgin Mobile has the happiest customers of any of the national cell phone companies in Canada.
Virgin Mobile phones are available at more than 4,000 locations with top-up cards available at more than 10,000 locations nationally. Virgin Mobile products can also be purchased online at http://www.virginmobile.ca or by calling 1-888-999-2321.
About Goldenvoice
Established in 1985, Goldenvoice is a full service local concert promoter based in Los Angeles producing over 400 shows per year throughout North America. Goldenvoice and its parent company AEG Live host the most critically acclaimed music festivals in the U.S. Goldenvoice created and operates the award winning annual Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival as well as Stagecoach: California's Country Music Festival. In addition, AEG Live, co-produces both the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Bumbershoot: Seattle's Music & Arts Festival.
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(1) J.D. Power and Associates 2007 Canadian Wireless Customer
Satisfaction StudySM. The 2007 Canadian Wireless Customer
Satisfaction Study is based on responses from nearly 6,000 mobile
phone users. Respondents were surveyed in September 2007.
jdpower.com.
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