Three years ago, no one knew what to expect when homebuilder and former City Council candidate Paul Beyer laid plans for a festival celebrating the birth of Thomas “Tom Tom” Jefferson.
Now in its fourth year, the Tom Tom Founders Festival makes sense. It’s a week-long mash-up of local art, innovation and music designed to get everyone talking. And it’s bigger than ever thanks in part to deepened investment from UVA, 384 participants and a $50,000 grant from the Virginia Tourism Board that matches one marketing dollar to every $2 spent in 2014 and 2015.