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It’s official. Augusta, the Paris of the South, shall present its Westomagic once again: here’s the press release for the decided 2013 dates, which we’ve italicized below (which makes it all even more official).

The sixth annual Westobou Festival will unfold in the CSRA October 2nd-6th, 2013. The Augusta based Arts festival recently concluded 2012 events that featured Grammy nominated musician Janelle Monáe, acclaimed aerialist Philippe Petit, and Black Swan choreographer Benjamin Millepied’s southern premiere of the L.A. Dance Project. These are just a few highlights among an outstanding artistic lineup.

The 2012 Westobou Festival was marked a success by patrons, artists and organizers due in large part to quality artistic programming and a more condensed schedule. The festival was also well received by both local and surrounding art critics, dubbed a “mini Spoleto” by Atlanta journalist Catherine Fox. Pop Rocks columnist Steven Uhles applauded the new condensed format, noting that it enabled patrons to feel more engaged with festival events.

Westobou Festival engages audiences for five exciting days and captivating evenings each autumn. Through the use of unconventional venues and intersecting genres of film, words, music, visual, and dance Westobou festival gives the art patron the opportunity to “connect with the unexpected,” an experience that builds a richer texture of art. Westobou Festival performances and exhibitions are held at different venues in and around Augusta, GA and North Augusta, SC.

Mark you calendar on October 2-6, for Westobou Festival 2013. For more information on the festival, please visit www.162.144.212.112/~westoboufestival/2012 or call 706.755.2878

Want to view this year’s photos on your mobile phone, too? You can do that now. Just visit 162.144.212.112/~westoboufestival/2012 on your mobile phone. Click on the 2012 Photos button. You are now viewing them.

Catherine Fox and Cynthia Bond Perry of ArtsALT.com have blessed Westobou Festival’s 2012 selections in an article published just today — offering their thoughts, their sense of wonder. High-fives to ArtsATL, and bear hugs all (!), for digging into our festival. Your kindness toward it is overwhelming.

The article can be read here.

In an email shot direct from Mayor Deke Copenhaver’s office, Augusta director Hodges Usry gets an up-top verbal high-five for his hard work on the latest Westobou promotional vid:

Friends,

I wanted to share with everyone this cool new spot for Augusta’s own Westobou Festival created by my good friend Hodges Usry and paying fitting tribute to an Augusta legend who is simply one of the greatest musicians of all time.  I hope you all enjoy this as much as I did!

Deke

We give you props, Deke, for spreading Westobou Festival soul to the masses — we’re excited that you’re excited. Want to get excited, too? Check it.

Westobou – Commercial from Westobou Festival on Vimeo.

“The L.A. Dance Project lands in Augusta two weeks after its inaugural performances at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. Created by dancer and choreographer Benjamin Millepied, The L.A. Dance Project is a new kind of company fostering collaboration among choreographers, dancers, composers, producers and filmmakers.”

Click here to read more on the press release.

Have a smartphone? Maybe you do. Maybe you use it to help you get around town. Maybe you’ve used it as a drink coaster, a ketchup packet pad. Maybe you’ve thrown it great distances at high velocities. Maybe you’ve dropped it from greater heights. Maybe you’ve reflected sunlight via its glassy screen into a mountain lion’s eyes as a predator deterrent, saving you from becoming another wilderness trip news horror story.

Well, you can also use your smartphone to map the locations of all the events at Westobou Festival this year — directions to and from, all within your smartphone’s map app. iOS and Android, alike.

And do you need to buy tickets for those events, too? Easy peasy. The mobile site makes ticket buying the simplest affair.

Pull that weathered, sturdy phone of yours out. Dust it off. Browse to 162.144.212.112/~westoboufestival/2012. Explore.

Can you dig it? Can you sit still? The excitement is at an atomic level over here. We may even have balloons, super-caffeinated drinks. We may not be able to get any work done because it’s high-fives and hugs every 60 seconds.

Friday, August 3, 2012 — this is a big day for us, the day that is the most wide-open. It is the day ticket sales go live for the 2012 Westobou Festival. And you can’t stop the momentum once it gets rolling. Those ticket sale numbers’ll jump exponentially all day.

Want to connect with the unexpected? Want to get in on one of the best all-encompassing arts festivals this side of the Savannah?

Check it. Toss yourself into the momentum, start rock and rolling with us. Visit the pages your heart drags you to — music, dance, whatever it may be — and purchase a pair of keys to the festival.