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Vans is bringing schools across the nation together as public voting opens at vans.com/customculture for the top 50 high schools competing in the Vans Custom Culture contest. Now in its fourth year, Vans Custom Culture is a nationwide art call to action, with students competing for a chance to win $50,000 for their school's art programs.

Beginning April 22nd through May 13th, 2013, students, teachers, parents and friends alike, nationwide, can visit vans.com/customculture to vote for their favorite school's designs. The top five schools will be invited to New York City to showcase their designs for the crowd and celebrity judges at a special event in June 2013 at the Whitney Museum of American Art, where the grand prize-winner will be announced.

Earlier this year, more than 1,400 schools across the country registered for Vans Custom Culture, with each school customizing four classic Vans styles. From there, an internal Vans team narrowed down the selection to the top 50 schools which are listed below.

Vans Custom Culture inspires creativity among students through art and design while at the same time aiming to shed light on diminishing budgets for art in education. Since its inception in 2010, Vans Custom Culture has reached tens of thousands of students and has awarded more than $175,000 to support high school art programs.

For more details, visit the Vans Custom Culture platforms: Website: http://www.vans.com/customculture/ Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/vanscustomculture

Top 50 Schools Competing for Spot in Final Five Via Public Online Vote:

California Region: Burbank High School (Burbank, CA), Calvary Murrieta Christian School (Murrieta, CA), Casa Roble High School (Orangevale, CA), Cornelia Connelly High School (Anaheim, CA), Dos Pueblos High School (Goleta, CA), Eastside High School (Lancaster, CA), Los Gatos High School (Los Gatos, CA), Nordhoff High School (Ojai, CA), Redlands High School (Redlands, CA), University High School (Irvine, CA)

Southwest Region: Chandler High School (Chandler, AZ), Friendswood High School (Friendswood, TX), Hastings High School (Houston, TX), Lutheran High School of Hawaii (Honolulu, HI), Moanalua High School (Honolulu, HI), Mountain View High School (Mesa, AZ), Sandra Day O'Connor High School (Phoenix, AZ), South East Career and Tech Academy (Las Vegas, NV), Tucson Magnet High School (Tucson, AZ), Wheat Ridge High School (Wheat Ridge, CO)

Southeast Region: Bob Jones High School (Madison, AL), Boone County High School (Florence, KY), Croatan High School (Newport, NC), Eastern High School (Louisville, KY), George M. Steinbrenner High School (Lutz, FL), Kickapoo High School (Springfield, MO), Lake Norman Charter High School (Huntersville, NC), Northside Christian School (St. Petersburg, FL), Parkway South High School (Manchester, MO), South Mecklenburg High School (Charlotte, NC)

Northwest Region: Belgrade High School (Belgrade, MT), Bigfork High School (Bigfork, MT), Hagerman High School (Hagerman, ID), Lakeridge High School (Lake Oswego, OR), Lincoln North Star High School (Lincoln, NE), Mountain View High School (Meridian, ID), Pinedale High School (Pinedale, WY), Secondary Academy for Success (Bothell, WA), St. Stephen's Academy (Beaverton, OR), Tahoma Senior High School (Covington, WA)

Northeast Region: Central Bucks High School South (Warrington, PA), Chicago High School for the Arts (Chicago, IL), Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau High School (Galesville, WI), Kings High School (Kings Mills, OH), Lakewood High School (Lakewood, OH), Mapleton High School (Ashland, OH), Middletown High School South (Middletown, NJ), Triton Regional High School (Runnemede, NJ), Vernon Hills High School (Vernon Hills, IL), Wheaton Academy (West Chicago, IL)

About Vans Vans®, the original action sports footwear and apparel company, is a brand of VF Corporation (NYSE: VFC). Vans collections include authentic footwear, apparel and accessories and snowboard boots and are sold globally in more than 170 countries through a network of subsidiaries, distributors and foreign offices. Vans owns and operates more than 300 stores in the United States and internationally, each offering a wide range of Vans footwear and apparel while communicating our Brand and athletes' rich stories. Vans promotes action sports lifestyle and youth culture through support of athletes on boards and bikes all over the globe and through progressive events such as the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing®, the Vans Downtown Showdown, the Vans Pool Party and the Vans Warped Tour®. More information about Vans can be found at www.vans.com, Twitter @vans_66 and www.facebook.com/vans.

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