CREATING A WORLD STAGE IN THE TAMPA BAY AREA – Et Cultura St. Pete Announces Next Festival Date, Adds New Senior Leadership

St. Petersburg, FL — The founders of Et Cultura St. Pete (EtC StP) are pleased to announce that their next festival will take place February 13-17, 2019. Now in its third year, Et Cultura continues to bring together the best and brightest of creatives, tastemakers, innovators, and decision makers to St. Pete by creating a world stage in the Bay Area.

The mid-February date was a strategic decision in order to acquire the attention of performers and speakers, as well as festival goers. February is a peak tourism month for the area and is the start of festival season throughout the U.S. This year the festival will have a more streamlined footprint and schedule of events throughout Downtown St. Pete to be more walkable for attendees. This will allow participants easy access to more programs and events and to better immerse themselves in the EtC StP experience.

Over the course of these five days, EtC StP will create new avenues for innovative thinking and help foster conversations with audiences, our community, and contributing artists, while supporting emerging artists and providing an environment for learning through film, music, art, and interactive sessions.

The team has established strong community support, which highlights the intellectual and cultural melting pot the St. Pete has become. Partners include Visit St. Pete/ Clearwater, City of St. Petersburg, USF St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce, St. Petersburg Area Economic Development Corporation, St. Pete Innovation District, and their key strategic partnership with Open Partnership Education Network (OPEN).

The last festival brought together more than 100 artists and more than 50 music bands, featured more than 50 films with 15 filmmakers in attendance, and facilitated nearly two dozen interactive sessions. It hosted an extensive Street Market displaying more than 100 vendors’ creations and vintage VW car show, as well as the EtC StP Expo, highlighting local and national innovative businesses and organizations.

The team also has appointed new leadership tasked with bringing EtC StP to the next level. “We want to define this immersive experience within our community that brings creatives, intellectuals, and adventurers from around the world to discover what makes Et Cultura St Pete (EtC StP) a true destination festival,” said Lea Umberger, founder. “Each person we have added will bring different experiences and skill sets to the team to help actualize the goals EtC StP has set for 2019.”

Along with the founders Joel Malizia, Dave Allison, Lea Umberger, and Jim Aresty, the new additions will join Derek Horne (Senior Programmer- Film) and Gaetano “Tony” Rifugiato (Senior Programmer- Music) in creating the 2019 EtC StP Festival.
Kathryn E. Irwin (Senior Programmer – Interactive): With 10 years experience working on the SXSW festival in Austin, TX, she helped build the Interactive Branch from four rooms in the Convention Center to a city-wide 2,500 speaker monster. She has direct access to world class speakers and brings the knowledge of processes and procedures for a multi-day, multi-branch event.

Fred Steube (Business Development): Fred has 20+ years of strategic partnership and business development, digital technology innovation, and interactive advertising and media leadership. He has formed business partnerships with Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Yahoo!, Samsung, VISA, and Bank of America. Fred is intimately in tune with Pinellas County having owned several businesses and lived in the area for 36 years.

Susan Mills (Business Development): Susan applies her understanding of global business systems to new forms of business/community collaborations in which both commerce and social interests are served. Susan is experienced in all phases of business development from market entry, on-going growth and management, and initial public offer or acquisition. She focuses on weaving purpose and values into operations so that a company walks the talk of its brand, market, and financial promises.

Pyper, Inc. (Marketing Strategy & Execution): Pyper, Inc. (PY) is a full-service branding and advertising agency firmly entrenched in downtown St. Pete. The team at PY, led by Kelly Pyper, who has more than 25 years of agency experience, will collaborate on communications planning and be responsible for deploying those tactics.
The team has plans to make sure 2019 is a rewarding endeavor offering exciting and unique experiences.

The team is currently onboarding sponsors to ensure that Et Cultura 2019 is the best yet. With many opportunities for brand exposure and community engagement, becoming an Et Cultura sponsor is becoming part of the team. Et Cultura strives to make sure sponsors feel involved, represented, and confident that their brand is getting the best and well-received exposure possible. If interested in discussing sponsorship for 2019, please contact founder Joel Malizia (joel@etcultura.com) for more information.

Later this summer, EtC StP will release more information regarding ticket sales, venues, musicians, entertainers, submissions for acts, and more. Visit www.etcultura.com to stay in touch.

About Et Cultura
Et Cultura St. Pete (EtC StP) is a multi-day, culturally immersive event, with a mission to spotlight the creativity and innovation that brings the world to St. Petersburg, Florida. Established in 2016, this festival was founded to bring together creative minds to inspire, collaborate, and discover across local, regional, national, and ultimately, global levels. 2019 is expected to be the year where the world wants to be part of the conversation that Et Cultura has started and continues to foster. To join the conversation and learn more, visit www.etcultura.com.