Do you know someone who is helping Charlottesville become an entrepreneurial hub and a creative community?
If so, the Tom Tom Founders Festival wants you to nominate that person for a celebration they’re calling “Founding Cville.”
The group is seeking entrepreneurs, artists, and other local innovators.
“Founding Cville talks about the Thomas Jeffersons of today,” said Paul Beyer, the director of the Tom Tom Founders Festival.
Beyer defines “founding” as an act that helps create something that did not exist before.
“The act of founding is difficult and takes perseverance, and Jefferson’s revolutionary legacy has relevance for entrepreneurial and creative individuals,” he said in a press release.
Beyer said the project is intended to highlight the city’s future and is similar to events such as the annual awards handed out by the Charlottesville Business Innovation Council.
Winners will be highlighted on banners that will hang on the lampposts of the Downtown Mall. They will also be honored at TomTom’s McGuffey Block Party on September 26.
Nominations will be taken at founding.tomtomfest.com through Friday, August 8 at midnight.
The block party will be the third time the group has held a fall festival at McGuffey.
In addition to music, art workshops, food trucks, and a beer garden, there will also be a gathering for local entrepreneurs and a statewide student technology tour.
The latter is an initiative to acquaint people across the region with Charlottesville. The trip is being sponsored by the Entrepreneurship Group at the University of Virginia.
“The Cville Startup Trip is a tour of our town’s startups led by U.Va. students primarily for undergraduates at other colleges in Virginia and DC,” said Carolyn Zelikow of the Tom Tom Founders Festival.
