The legendary Fats Domino, who will perform at this year’s Festival, will be honored as the subject of the Official 2006 Jazz Fest Poster, the most collected poster series in the world. A portrait of Fats Domino by New Orleans painter James Michalopoulos will symbolize the city’s culture returning home. The poster is on sale now and additional information is available at www.art4now.com.

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival 2006 schedlue will be annouced later this month, check back here at www.jazzpolice.com for details as they emerge.

Jazz Fest Producer/Director Quint Davis said, “We’re dedicating this year’s Festival to the people of New Orleans and inviting everybody who cares about this city to come to Jazz Fest and play a meaningful role in bringing back the city’s culture, which is the soul of America. Jazz Fest 2006 will be a homecoming party for thousands of New Orleans musicians, Festival chefs and craftspeople, and we want the world to join us in welcoming them back as we present the celebration of a lifetime.”

Sponsorship of this year’s Festival, according to Davis, is one of the major reasons why the Festival is happening as planned. “In light of the great financial challenges of presenting the 2006 Festival on the grand scale everyone is accustomed to, we simply could not have produced Jazz Fest without unprecedented corporate support from Shell, who becomes the Festival’s first-ever Presenting Sponsor.”

“Today is about the people of greater New Orleans,” said Executive Vice President Marvin E. Odum, who heads Shell Exploration & Production in North and South America. “The homecoming of Jazz Fest is a key component to restoring the unique cultural fabric of New Orleans. Shell is honored to have the opportunity to help energize greater New Orleans and its rich music traditions.”

American Express and Tenet Choices, Inc. will also be important corporate partners for Jazz Fest 2006 and are helping to make the event a reality. This is the first step in a series of initiatives American Express will undertake to help promote the culture and stimulate the economic recovery of New Orleans.

Davis thanked the Fair Grounds Race Course (A Churchill Downs Company), a longtime sponsor of Jazz Fest, who he said stepped in very early in the planning phases of this year's Festival and made the vital commitment to prepare the site in time for the event to occur.

Shell is the Presenting Sponsor of the Festival. American Express, Tenet Choices, Inc., Acura, Miller Lite, Fair Grounds Race Course (A Churchill Downs Company), Southern Comfort, Sheraton New Orleans Hotel, Rajen Kilachand, Zatarain's, St. Charles Vision are all also official Jazz Fest sponsors.

Randy Phillips, President and CEO of AEG LIVE, which co-produces the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, said, “Last year, AEG LIVE and Festival Productions, formed an effective partnership to revitalize one of our country's premier heritage events. After hurricane Katrina, Jazz Fest took an even greater meaning and urgency as a symbol of the rebirth of the great city of New Orleans. We are thrilled to, again, be part of music and cultural history in the making.”

Flanked by numerous public officials and corporate partners at the Sheraton New Orleans Hotel, Davis said that New Orleans and state of Louisiana tourism representatives all agree that the Festival will play a critical role in helping to jumpstart the city’s all-important tourism industry. Jazz Fest will be the first major tourism event occurring over dates when a substantial number of hotel rooms will be available for visitors to New Orleans, and Festival-goers will be an important part of the city’s early recovery.

Tickets for Jazz Fest went on sale Tuesday the 31st at www.nojazzfest.com and www.ticketmaster.com, at all Ticketmaster outlets or by calling (800) 488-5252 (outside Louisiana) and (504) 522-5555 (New Orleans). Tickets can be purchased in person at the Jazz Fest ticket office located at New Orleans Arena, 1501 Girod Street. In a limited-time only offer, tickets to either Jazz Fest Friday are only $20 from today through Wednesday, February 15. Also starting today, Jazz Fest tickets are on sale by specific weekend, with each ticket valid for a single day’s attendance. Prices are $30 in advance, $40 at the gate. Children’s tickets (under age 12) are only $5 in advance or at the gate. Jazz Fest’s popular Big Chief VIP Experience also returns with full weekend passes and VIP amenities available for only $500 per weekend, $600 with parking. Additional ticket and VIP information is available at www.nojazzfest.com.

Davis said the Festival plans to announce its music lineup of local legends and special guests in February. The Festival’s famous, multi-stage format featuring the world’s greatest roots music (jazz, blues, rock, gospel, rhythm & blues, Cajun, zydeco, funk, African, Caribbean, folk music, and much more) will be programmed with the magical variety the Festival always delivers. To receive the lineup as soon as it becomes available, sign up for the Festival’s e-list at www.nojazzfest.com.

David Oestreicher, president of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation, Inc., said, “On behalf of the Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation, we are overwhelmed that this year’s Festival — the most important in the history of the event — has garnered so much support from both the public and the private sectors. Jazz Fest 2006 will mark a new beginning for the city and the re-establishment of our great culture.”

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation, Inc. is the non-profit institution that oversees the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presented by Shell. The Foundation uses proceeds from the Festival to develop and support special projects designed to preserve and perpetuate the area’s rich music and cultural heritage. For information on the Foundation and its programs, visit nojhf.org or call (504) 522-4786.