ORANGE CRUSH FESTIVAL® PRESS, PERMIT & ECONOMIC IMPACT POSITIONING STATEMENT

Orange Crush Festival® is a multi-city, historically Black college–originated Spring Break and cultural tour series, founded to provide organized, permitted, and economically productive experiences for college students, young professionals, creatives, and Black-owned businesses across the Southeast.

What began as a college-driven cultural moment has evolved into a structured entertainment, media, and small business platform that responsibly channels tourism, commerce, and cultural engagement into host cities.

HISTORICAL & CULTURAL CONTEXT

Orange Crush® originated from HBCU Spring Break culture, a tradition where students from Atlanta-area colleges historically traveled to Tybee Island — the only public beach in Georgia — as a rite of passage and cultural gathering.

Rather than allowing unstructured, unmanaged activity, Orange Crush® formalizes this tradition into:

• Permitted events

• Managed venues

• Coordinated schedules

• Defined economic partners

This protects public safety, local resources, and community relationships, while preserving an important cultural legacy.

TARGET DEMOGRAPHICS (DATA-INFORMED)

CORE ATTENDEE BASE

• Ages 18–34

• College students & recent graduates

• Young professionals

• Creatives, DJs, artists, entrepreneurs

PRIMARY FEEDER MARKETS

Atlanta Metro Colleges & Universities

• Clark Atlanta University

• Spelman College

• Morehouse College

• Georgia State University

• Georgia Gwinnett College

• Kennesaw State University

• Clayton State University

• University of West Georgia

• University of Georgia

Atlanta serves as the primary population engine, sending organized tourism to Savannah, Tybee Island, Allenhurst, Jacksonville, and Miami.

ECONOMIC IMPACT: HOW HOST CITIES BENEFIT

Orange Crush® is intentionally designed to circulate money locally.

DIRECT ECONOMIC CONTRIBUTORS

• Hotels & short-term lodging

• Restaurants & bars

• Transportation providers

• Security & staffing services

• Local venues

• Vendors & merchants

• Black-owned businesses

• Media & production crews

STRUCTURED SPENDING

By scheduling multiple days of activity, Orange Crush® increases:

• Length of stay

• Repeat patronage

• Multi-location spending

• Predictable crowd flow

This reduces strain on public services while increasing taxable economic activity.

BLACK BUSINESS & CORPORATE SUPPORT ALIGNMENT

Orange Crush® actively prioritizes:

• Black-owned businesses

• Minority vendors

• Local entrepreneurs

• Student-led companies

• Regional corporate sponsors seeking authentic cultural engagement

This aligns with:

• DEI initiatives

• Minority business development goals

• Youth employment opportunities

• Community reinvestment strategies

Orange Crush® serves as a bridge between corporate resources and community-based commerce.

PUBLIC SAFETY & RESPONSIBLE PROGRAMMING

Orange Crush® programming is intentionally venue-based and time-structured, reducing:

• Uncontrolled gatherings

• Traffic congestion

• Beach overcrowding

• Emergency response strain

Key safety principles include:

• Designated event locations

• Clear start/end times

• Professional security

• Crowd dispersion planning

• Coordination with city agencies

This approach transforms a historically informal gathering into a predictable, manageable tourism event.

MEDIA, PRESS & CITY BRANDING VALUE

Orange Crush® generates:

• Earned media coverage

• Social media visibility

• Digital content distribution

• Youth-centered tourism branding

Host cities benefit from:

• National exposure

• Positive cultural narratives

• Student & young professional engagement

• Repeat annual tourism

Orange Crush® content highlights:

• Local landmarks

• Local venues

• Local businesses

• Community partnerships

WHY TYBEE IS CENTRAL TO THE TOUR

Tybee Island holds unique cultural significance as:

• Georgia’s only public beach

• A historic destination for Black college Spring Break

• A natural anchor for regional tourism

Orange Crush® does not replace Tybee’s identity — it organizes and protects it, ensuring that cultural tradition and municipal responsibility coexist.

LONG-TERM COMMUNITY VALUE

Orange Crush® is not a one-time event — it is a repeatable annual platform that supports:

• Youth employment

• Student entrepreneurship

• Minority business growth

• Cultural tourism infrastructure

• Regional collaboration between cities

This creates predictability, which cities can plan around year after year.

CONCLUSION: WHY ORANGE CRUSH® IS A PARTNER, NOT A PROBLEM

Orange Crush® represents the formalization of an existing cultural reality.

Instead of unmanaged gatherings, Orange Crush® offers:

• Structure

• Accountability

• Economic contribution

• Cultural respect

• Public safety coordination

The result is a mutual benefit for students, businesses, municipalities, and host communities.

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Long before Orange Crush®, Black students had to fight just to touch the shoreline.

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BUSINESS, STYLE & OWNERSHIP “From Streetwear to Startups: How Atlanta Investors, Vendors & Student Entrepreneurs Power the Orange Crush® Economy”