(Black PR Wire) For the third consecutive year, the Jason Taylor Foundation is giving the South Florida community the chance to witness the top youth poets in the state compete during a cutting edge event – the Louder Than A Bomb Florida Poetry Festival presented by Nova Southeastern University and UPS. This highly anticipated event takes place from March 27 – April 8, 2017.

Dubbed the “Super Bowl of poetry,” Louder Than A Bomb Florida, a Jason Taylor Foundation arts and education project, features a friendly spoken-word competition between school-based poetry teams representing local high schools from Broward, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and St. Lucie counties. Funding from Nova Southeastern University, UPS and a host of other community partners has assisted the Jason Taylor Foundation support the schools’ efforts by providing year-round, in-class and after-school instruction, which will culminate in this 13-day festival.

“Each and every day we see examples of the transformational effect our bluapple Poetry Network is having on young people, and Louder Than A Bomb Florida is an amazing way to celebrate that impact,” said Jason Taylor. “The collective voice of these brave poets is empowering students and schools, is strengthening communities, and changing lives. Given all of that, how could we not continue to provide this platform?”

The schedule of events for Louder Than A Bomb Florida is just as impressive, and is as follows:

Preliminary Bouts –

Day One

Tuesday, March 28, 2017 

8:30 – 10:30 a.m. &

11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Preliminary Bouts – Day Two

Wednesday, March 29, 2017

8:30 – 10:30 a.m. &

11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

ArtServe, Ft. Lauderdale

City of Sunrise Civic Center

Delray Beach Arts Garage

Magnetic Pompano

Firecracker/Dynamite Slam

Friday, March 31, 2017

10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Dillard School for the Performing Arts

Semifinals

Saturday, April 1, 2017

10 a.m.; 1 p.m.; 4 p.m.; 7 p.m.

Rose & Alfred Miniaci Performing Arts Center, Nova Southeastern University

LTABFLA Block Party, Art Slam & Coaches’ Slam Presented by

Hoffman’s Chocolates &

LIME Fresh Mexican Grill

Sunday, April 2, 2017

12:00 – 4:00 p.m.

The Fountains, Plantation

The RISE for Social Justice Town Hall Meeting

Monday, April 3, 2017

6:30 – 8:30 p.m.

Knight Auditorium, Nova Southeastern University

College Slam

Thursday, April 6, 2017

7:00 – 9:00 p.m.

Don Taft Auditorium, Nova Southeastern University

The Ultimate Software Individual Finals

Friday, April 7, 2017

7:00 – 10:00 p.m.

Don Taft Auditorium, Nova Southeastern University

The StevenDouglas

Team Finals

Saturday, April 8, 2017

6:00– 9:00 p.m.

Epstein Center for the Arts, Nova Southeastern University

Since founding the bluapple Poetry Network with actor and poet Omari Hardwick in 2012, the Foundation has helped more than 60 schools activate this program, with more than 1,000 participants inspiring their communities with poetry.

Louder Than A Bomb Florida is a festival featuring poetry bouts, workshops, exhibits, and ultimately the crowning of Florida’s top youth poetry team. The most critical component, however, is the year-round, meaningful instruction inside the classroom and after-school clubs, with teachers and teaching artists who create and facilitate a safe space for individual and collective expression.

In addition to Nova Southeastern University and UPS, other supporters of Louder Than A Bomb Florida include 1977 FATVillage, 99 JAMZ, Applebee’s, Arts Garage, ArtServe, Aveda Institute, BBX Capital Foundation, Best Buy of Davie, Broward Schools, Carnival Foundation, City of Sunrise, Cultural Arts Creatives, Florida Panthers Foundation, Goldman Properties, Hard Rock Live, Heroes of Hip Hop, Hits 97.3, Hoffman’s Chocolates, Invicta Watch Group, Li-Ning, LIME Fresh Mexican Grill, Miami Dolphins Foundation, Minuteman Press of Hollywood, NBC-6, Pavlov’s Ring The Bell Management, Pompano Beach Arts Foundation, Publix, RISE (The Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality), Savor Cinema, Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Signature Grand, Sonshine Communications, StevenDouglas, The Archives, The Fountains, Thunderous Genius Creative House, Ultimate Software, Urban Word, Way of Wade, Wizard Creations, Young Chicago Authors and Zing Sock Club.

For more information, or to purchase tickets for Louder Than A Bomb Florida events, visit www.bluapplepoetry.org or call (954) 424-0799.

About the Jason Taylor Foundation

In July 2004, Miami Dolphins legendary Defensive End, Jason Taylor, established the Jason Taylor Foundation, a 501 (c)(3) organization. The Foundation’s mission is to support and create programs that facilitate the personal growth and empowerment of South Florida’s children in need by focusing on improved health care, education and quality of life.

Since opening its doors, the Jason Taylor Foundation has impacted tens of thousands of children through innovative programming including The Jason Taylor Reading Room, Cool Gear for the School Year, the Jason Taylor Children’s Learning Center, Jason Taylor Scholars and the Omari Hardwick bluapple Poetry Network, among others. For more information on the Jason Taylor Foundation, please visit www.JasonTaylorFoundation.org or follow on Facebook: www.facebook.com/jasontaylorfoundation or Twitter and Instagram: @jtfoundation99 or @bluapplepoetry #LTABFLA.

About Nova Southeastern University (NSU)

Located in beautiful Fort Lauderdale, Florida, NSU is a dynamic research institution dedicated to providing high-quality educational programs at the undergraduate, graduate and first-professional degrees levels.  An independent, not-for-profit institution with approximately 25,000 students, NSU has campuses in Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Miami, Miramar, Orlando, Palm Beach and Tampa, Florida as well as  San Juan, Puerto Rico and online globally.  For more than 50 years, NSU has been awarding degrees in a wide range of fields, while fostering groundbreaking research and an impactful commitment to community. Classified as a research university with “high research activity” by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, NSU is one of only 37 universities nationwide to also be awarded Carnegie’s Community Engagement Classification. For more information, please visit www.nova.edu.

About UPS

For more than 30 years, UPS has supported the work of organizations that share our dedication to improving lives and strengthening communities where we live and work every day.  Within these communities, we're addressing important issues such as early-grade reading, high school graduation rates and financial stability.  This ties directly into the mission of the Jason Taylor Foundation.  This positive impact on society could not be created without the overwhelming help and support of UPS employees.  Since 1982, UPS and its employees – both active and retired – have donated more than $1 billion to non-profit organizations through their annual United Way campaign, becoming the first company to reach this philanthropic milestone.  As a result, UPS is a two-time winner of the United Way's Spirit of America award, the organization's highest national honor for corporate involvement and commitment to building better communities. For information, please visit www.ups.com.