CYPRESS, Calif., April 27, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Vans launches
online voting today for the seventh annual Vans Custom Culture
competition, a national contest designed to give high school
students a platform to embrace creative expression while joining a
movement to support arts education and foster their school's
#RightToArt.
In partnership with Americans for the Arts, Journeys, truth®,
Laguna College of Art and Design, and
Blick Art Materials, Vans is asking for the public to help select
the top five high schools from the 50 semi-finalists, competing for
$50,000 for their school's art
programs, among other rewards.
Starting today through May 11,
students, teachers, parents, friends and community supporters can
visit Vans.com/CustomCulture to see all of the designs and vote for
their favorite school. Supporters are invited to vote daily, as
each fan is allowed one vote per region per day. The top
five finalists will head to Los
Angeles in June for a final showcase event featuring
celebrity judges, including YouTube personality Maddi Bragg and top
chefs Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo behind Los Angeles restaurants Animal, Jon &
Vinny's and Son of a Gun among others, as well as a special musical
guest.
"Every year the team at Vans looks forward to seeing the
creative and inspiring student submissions. While the task of
selecting the top 50 finalists for Vans Custom Culture is never
easy, we're so excited to showcase these designs to the public and
have them take part in extending arts education nationally," said
Fara Howard, vice president of
global marketing at Vans. "We continue to be awed and inspired by
the level of creativity and dedication the students put in to their
submissions and we are so proud to help support arts programming
and empower the next generation's Right to Art."
Vans Custom Culture was created to inspire high school students
to embrace their creativity, while raising awareness of diminishing
arts education budgets. The design competition has grown rapidly
since 325 schools participated in the inaugural competition in
2010. Since then, more than 10 percent of high schools nationally
have participated in Vans Custom Culture and more than $600,000 has been contributed to support arts
programs in schools.
As part of the competition, each participating school created
four custom designs to represent the Vans "Off The Wall" lifestyle
(Action Sports, Music, Art, Local Flavor) using blank Vans classic
footwear as the canvas. From there, an internal Vans team including
some of the brand's designers, as well as employees, narrowed down
the selection to the top 50 schools for the public to vote on
(listed by region below).
Top 50 Schools Competing for Spot in Final Five
Event
California Region
- Eastside High School – Lancaster,
CA
- Evergreen Valley High School – San
Jose, CA
- Gregori High School –
Modesto, CA
- Northwood High School –
Irvine, CA
- Orange High School – Orange,
CA
- San Pasqual High School – Escondido,
CA
- St. Lucy's Priory High School – Glendora, CA
- Trinity Christian Schools –
Garden Grove, CA
- University High School – Irvine,
CA
- Western High School – Anaheim,
CA
Southwest Region
- Bel Air High School – El Paso,
TX
- Chouteau Mazie Public School – Chouteau, OK
- Franklin High School –
Franklin, TX
- Friendswood High School – Friendswood, TX
- James Pace Early College High
School – Brownsville,
TX
- La Joya High School –
La Joya, TX
- Moanalua High – Honolulu,
HI
- Raymondville High School – Raymondville, TX
- Sabino High School –
Tucson, AZ
- Timber Creek High School – Fort
Worth, TX
Southeast Region
- Covington High School –
Covington, LA
- Eastern High School – Louisville,
KY
- Great Bridge High School – Chesapeake, VA
- McEachern High School –
Powder Springs, GA
- Metcalfe County High – Edmonton,
KY
- Minor Daniels Academy – Louisville,
KY
- Paideia School - Atlanta,
GA
- Rome High School – Rome,
GA
- Southern Vance High School –
Henderson, NC
- Station Camp High School – Gallatin,
TN
Northwest Region
- Central Valley High School – Spokane Valley, WA
- Fir Ridge High School –
Portland, OR
- Fort Calhoun High School –
Fort Calhoun, NE
- McNary High School –
Salem, OR
- Parker High School –
Parker, SD
- Pocatello High School – Pocatello,
ID
- Red River High School –
Grand Forks, ND
- Sandy High School – Sandy, OR
- Vallivue High School – Caldwell,
ID
- V.J. and Angela Skutt Catholic
School – Omaha, NE
Northeast Region
- Catoctin High School – Thurmont,
MD
- Centennial High School – Ellicott
City, MD
- Cinnaminson High School – Cinnaminson, NJ
- John P. Stevens High School –
Edison, NJ
- J.P. McCaskey High School –
Lancaster, PA
- Lacey Township High School – Lanoka
Harbor, NJ
- Middletown High School South –
Middletown, NJ
- New Palestine High School – New
Palestine, IN
- Our Lady of Mercy School for
Young Women – Rochester, NY
- Rochester High School – Rochester,
MI
Vans Custom Culture Partners
In addition to the $50,000 grand
prize, Vans will donate $4,000 to each of the four
runner-up schools, plus an extra $50,000 to non-profit
partner, Americans for the Arts, the nation's leading organization
for advancing the arts and art education.
Finalists will also be eligible for a $15,000 'Local Attitude' award, presented by
retail partner Journeys to the school that creates the most
compelling 'local flavor' design. This is Journey's fifth year
partnering with Vans Custom Culture.
Further, the 50 semi-finalists have the chance to compete for a
separate $10,000 award
from truth® – the nation's largest youth smoking
prevention campaign. Participants will be challenged to customize a
skateboard deck inspired by their reaction to a raw fact about
tobacco. This year's challenge is: 'Only 7% of teens smoke.
That's down from 23% in 2000. We can get it to 0%. Now: Show us
what it looks like when we finish smoking for good.'
Finally, Laguna College of Art and
Design, a premiere national art and design college and the
first to offer a BFA degree in Action Sports design, has partnered
with Vans Custom Culture for the second year to offer a
$25,000 scholarship to each of the
top five finalist schools to allow one individual from each school
to earn their BFA in Design + Digital Media.
For more information on Vans Custom Culture or to cast your
vote, please visit Vans.com/CustomCulture. Follow the movement on
Instagram @vans.custom.culture and by using the hashtags
#RightToArt and #VansCustomCulture.
About Vans
Vans®, a VF
Corporation (NYSE: VFC) brand, is the original action sports
footwear, apparel and accessories brand. Vans authentic
collections are sold globally in more than 75 countries through a
network of subsidiaries, distributors and international offices.
Vans also owns and operates nearly 600 retail locations
around the world. The Vans brand promotes the action sports
lifestyle, youth culture and creative self-expression through the
support of athletes, musicians and artists and through progressive
events and platforms such as the Vans Triple Crown of
Surfing®, the Vans U.S. Open of Surfing,
Vans Pool Party, Vans Custom Culture, Vans
Warped Tour®, and Vans' cultural hub and
international music venue, the House of Vans.
Vans, "Off The Wall" Since '66
www.vans.com
youtube.com/vans
instagram.com/vans
facebook.com/vans
twitter.com/vans_66
vans.tumblr.com
Vans: Laura Doherty, (714)
889-3114, Laura_Doherty@vfc.com
Edelman: Parinaz Farzin,
(323) 202-1892, parinaz.farzin@edelman.com
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