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Apr 9, 2018

7th Annual Tom Tom – Monday Highlights

by Tom Tom Staff A week of exploring innovation, entrepreneurship, and creativity with the community begins today! Monday at Tom Tom The most anticipated week of the year launches TODAY! We are beyond thrilled by the incredible support we have had in planning this remarkable week with Charlottesville and beyond. A week of festivities and celebrating the beginning of Spring – despite the snow – and the start of the 7th annual Tom Tom Founders Festival is here at last. Thank yo

Apr 2, 2018

What is the Tom Tom Team Looking Forward To?

by: Tom Tom Staff The Tom Tom Founders Festival family works hard year-round to bring you an intense and engaging week of celebrating innovation and entrepreneurship, with Block Parties, workshops, luncheons, and art thrown into the mix. This year is no different. Here is a taste of what each of us are most looking forward to this year, and think you should have at the top of your list. See you soon! Paul Beyer Founder and Executive Director “I’m looking forward to having inc

Apr 2, 2018

Partner Events at Tom Tom 2018

by Tom Tom Staff Our Partners From the beginning, Tom Tom’s success has relied on community engagement. After all, the festival would not succeed without hundreds of participating and supporting organizations each year. Partner events are a way for local organizations to have their free events included at the Tom Tom founders Festival and a way for us to promote some of our city’s most worthy causes and organizations. Partners Collaborative Events We are Here Diversity Festiv

Mar 27, 2018

Charlottesville’s Signature Dish Revealed!

by Tom Tom Staff Charlottesville is home to visionary thinkers, farmers, artisans, and chefs who have put the city on the map as a local-food destination. We couldn’t be prouder to bring you our food programming at Tom Tom. The Road to a Signature Iconic cities have iconic dishes. Now, Charlottesville has one too. Last autumn, several chefs, food historians, and culinary writers held meetings to discuss how they could pinpoint and find a dish that encompassed the culture, cha

Mar 27, 2018

by Tom Tom Staff The What The Tech Mixer takes place amidst the magic and mingling of the Block Party; it is an opportunity for individuals to connect and network with the region’s and nation’s top innovating companies. Showcase your talent and you may just be recruited! But first, you’ll need to upload your resume to start throwing your hat in the ring! Don’t let this opportunity pass you by. Get connected to dozens of potential dream employers, and see what heights Tom Tom

Mar 26, 2018

Make a Difference – Volunteer at TomTom!

by Tom Tom Staff Impact Tom Tom Foundation is a nonprofit that brings the Founders Festival – the Summits, Block Party, workshops, luncheons, Resident Artists, and more – to the community of Charlottesville; we aspire to keep it accessible and open to the public as much as possible. Who doesn’t love a free concert on a warm spring day in the heart of your favorite city? The truth is: none of this is possible without our volunteers. Year after year, Another truth? Tom Tom Fest

Mar 26, 2018

Crowdfunded Pitch Night Finalists Announced!

by Tom Tom Staff Ten finalists. Three minutes. Your vote. Join us on Wednesday, April 11th at The Jefferson Theater from 7pm to hear the pitches of local entrepreneurs vying for your votes – and ultimately, for the chance to realize their dreams for the community. See the ten finalists below, and start being inspired by these dreamers! Every vote counts, and to one of these lucky finalists, it will award them a cash pool and a chance at a mentorship with Community Investment

Mar 26, 2018

CAT and JAUNT All Wrapped Up in Art

by Tom Tom Staff You voted, we tallied, and they wrapped! We are pleased to present the 2018 City Art Bus winners – for the first time, we have TWO! One design will be featured on a CAT bus, and another on a JAUNT bus for the duration of the year. Four Years of Art Bus Initiatives In the four-year running annual initiative, Tom Tom Festival and Charlottesville have seen buses decked in art come and go, bringing diversity and joy to the city streets and the over 200,000 commut

Mar 21, 2018

Download the Tom Tom App!

Whether you’re a badge holder or a free festival attendee, you’ll want to have Tom Tom’s new app! . Introducing the Tom Tom App This year navigating Tom Tom’s hundreds of sessions will be easy with the new Tom Tom App. Alongside a new master registration platform, Sched, which integrates with the Eventbrite ticketing platform, you’ll be able to register for sessions, share them with your friends, meet other attendees, and check venue capacity, among many other things. With th

Mar 20, 2018

UVA Alumni Returning to Cville for Tom Tom

by Tom Tom Staff UVA Connection Tom Tom 2018 will welcome over 200 speakers to Charlottesville, VA, including a number of notable University of Virginia alumni. University if Virginia’s presence is Charlottesville is undeniable, and arguably essential to the ebb and flow of life in the city. As a Founding Partner, UVA has had a positive influence and impact on the birth and growth of Tom Tom Founders Festival. In helping oversee, helm, and cohost programs, we have seen succes

Mar 16, 2018

Incredible Cash, Mentorship Prizes for Aspiring Entrepreneurs at Crowdfunded Pitch Night

by Tom Tom Staff Lights… Camera… PITCH! Ten local entrepreneurs have three minutes each to share their pitch with a live audience – three minutes that may prove to be the most important of their lives. In those three minutes, the local dreamers are vying to inspire the crowd, and ultimately seize the top prizes that will help launch their business concept and see it come to fruition. Take a look at some of our previous winners, and the positive mark they have left on Charlott

Mar 16, 2018

Do Lunch with National Leaders at the Founders Luncheons

by Tom Tom Staff About Luncheons Everyone has a favorite part of the Tom Tom Founders Festival. For many, it’s the Summits. For several, the Block Parties. For others, it’s the niche events: the competitions, the workshops, the exhibits, the receptions. One of our favorites are the Founders Luncheons. The Luncheons bring attendees together at one of Charlottesville’s acclaimed restaurants to sit at the table with some of our top keynotes, speakers, and participants of the Sum

Mar 15, 2018

UVA “Hacking Diversity” Gives Power to the Underrepresented

by Tom Tom Staff On Saturday, April 14, during the 7th annual Tom Tom Founders Festival, a coding hackathon will take place at the historic Jefferson School African American Heritage Center. Cohosted by the UVA’s Hacking Diversity, the hackathon aims to provide a chance to hundreds of talented individuals who would like to be a part of the coding community, but are often overlooked – simply because of who they are and how they look. Registration is OPEN and accepting applicat

Mar 14, 2018

Just Eat: The Future of Food – Tickets On Sale Now!

A blockbuster keynote panel of visionaries and industry disrupters explores the future of food. Thursday April 12 at 12pm, The Paramount Theater Individual Ticket ($25) Includes Lunch Included in Summits Badge Limited Time Discount: Use code “JUSTEAT” for $15 off your individual ticket. GET TICKETS NOW What else straddles the personal, cultural, and geopolitical? When considering topics from climate change to racial inequality, food intersects all of them. What we grow, raise

Feb 26, 2018

Speakers Announced for Founding Keynote Stories

Charlottesville, VA (February 26, 2018) — The Tom Tom Founders Festival has announced its speakers for Founding Story Keynotes, which will take place on Friday, April 13th from 9AM to 5PM at The Paramount Theater in downtown Charlottesville. Entrepreneurs, innovators, and advocates will share stories of the grit, creativity, vision, and purpose that helped them build extraordinary ventures, revolutionize industries and enrich the world. The Founding Stories Keynotes are inclu

Feb 20, 2018

The Presidency at a Crossroads: Tickets on sale now!

Hosted in partnership with the University of Virginia’s Miller Center Wed. April 11. 6:00pm. The Paramount Theater. Individual tickets ($15). Also included with Summit, All Access, and Patron Badges.GET TICKETS Explore the history and future of the American presidency with preeminent experts from both sides of the aisle. In two panels, influential political leaders, journalists, and scholars will explore the role of the presidency on the global stage—followed by an assessment

Feb 20, 2018

Dan Rather Keynotes Tom Tom Summits

Updated 6.14.18 – Video to What Unites Us released: Dan Rather: What Unites Us Hosted in partnership with C-VILLE Weekly, UVA’s College and Graduate School of Arts & Science. Thursday April 12, 8PM | The Paramount Theater Available with Summits Badges as part of the Summit 4-day experience . Dan Rather’s storied career includes 24 years as anchor of the CBS Evening News. He has captured the fascination of a new generation with a Facebook page followed by millions. His talk wi

Feb 16, 2018

John Cleese at Tom Tom!

TICKETS ON SALE NOW TO LAUGH AND LEARN WITH LEGENDARY COMEDIAN In a special engagement with UVA’s Division of Perceptual Studies, meet the man behind Monty Python in a two-night series. You may know him best for his warning about “The Killer Rabbit” in Monty Python: The Holy Grail, but John Cleese has more to his portfolio than being a parody of Sir Lancelot the Brave. Cleese, born in 1939 (yes, he’s old and so are you), has found great success as an actor, voice actor, comed

Feb 13, 2018

UVA Darden School Partners with Tom Tom Festival to Spark Innovation in Small Cities

The University of Virginia Darden School of Business today announced its partnership with the Tom Tom Founders Festival is continuing into its seventh year. The festival — a celebration of innovators, visionaries and artists — will take place in downtown Charlottesville, Virginia, 9–15 April, with keynote speakers including news icon Dan Rather, comic legend John Cleese, Pulitzer Prize winner Amy Goldstein and Honest Tea cofounder Seth Goldman, among others. With an expected

Feb 7, 2018

Tom Tom Announces the American Evolution Innovators Cup

In partnership with the 2018 Tom Tom Founders Festival, American Evolution is presenting the 2018 Innovators Cup! The Cup is designed to bring together the best and brightest entrepreneurial teams from Virginian universities in a competition! The teams will convene to pitch and showcase their innovative ideas and business concepts in front of a live audience at the Jefferson Theater on April 12th, in hopes of winning $20,000 in prizes, mentorships with celebrated innovators,

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