Ford Adds Interactive Fun to This Year's Detroit International Jazz Festival

DETROIT, Aug. 30, 2006 -- The 27th Annual Detroit International Jazz Fest, the largest free jazz festival in North America, will again gather jazz fans from around the globe to inhabit downtown Detroit from Hart Plaza to Campus Martius Park from September 1, through September 4, 2006.

This year, the excitement of this three-and-a-half day event doesn't end there. Ford Motor Company, sponsor of the Ford Spirit of Detroit Stage, has included fun interactive activities into its zone. Guests will have the opportunity to sing like their favorite jazz legend on the Ford Fusion Idol Karaoke Challenge stage. Each participant's name will automatically be entered into an iPOD raffle. And, so the experience of their voices echoing through the Detroit streets is not forgotten, contestants will receive a DVD of their performance, compliments of Ford Motor Company.

For the more timid of festivalgoers, Ford Motor Company has provided an alternative solution. Guests will have the opportunity to count their way to a free iPOD Nano at the Ford Escape Hybrid Music Note Count Challenge. Participants can fill out an entry form with a guess as to how many Ford music notes it takes to fill a Ford Escape Hybrid to win this great prize. Guests also will have a chance to check out the 2007 Mercury Mountaineer. Product Specialists will be on hand to answer any consumer question.

"The city of Detroit has been a pioneer in the development of jazz music, and Ford Motor Company is pleased to support the initiatives of Mack Avenue Records and Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts and to keep the jazz sound alive," said Susan Pepper, Ford Motor Company. "We are also proud to assist the Detroit Jazz Fest in its mission of presenting a world-class signature event that helps make Detroit a tourist destination."

In addition to the exciting interactive activities, the Ford Spirit of Detroit Stage, one of the six stages spread throughout the festival, will be overflowing with a combination of jazz, blues, R&B, Gospel and of course, Motown sound. Featured performers on the Ford Spirit of Detroit Stage include Taj Mahal, Richie Havens and Dirty Dozen Brass Band. For a performance schedule, please visit the festival's website at http://www.detroitjazzfest.com/ .

For 27 years, the Detroit International Jazz Festival has attracted visitors and locals to an end of summer ritual on Labor Day Weekend that celebrates one of America's most important art forms. The festival boasts 6 stages and 100 acts over three days in a city well known for its musical legacy. Recently, the Detroit Jazz Fest became an independent, not-for-profit entity. It remains one of the largest festivals in the country that provides free admission.

Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures and distributes automobiles in 200 markets across six continents. With about 300,000 employees and more than 100 plants worldwide, the company's core and affiliated automotive brands include Aston Martin, Ford, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mazda, Mercury and Volvo. Its automotive- related services include Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford's products, please visit http://www.fordvehicles.com/ .

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