Canvs and Downtown Organizations Collaborate to Celebrate Tech on August 16th

ORLANDO, Fla. - Aug. 12, 2016 - PRLog -- Canvs, a downtown-Orlando coworking space and community resource, is joining with event partners Downtown Orlando Partnership (DOP) and Orlando Tech Association (OTA) to create the Downtown Orlando Tech Celebration on the evening of August 16^th.

Presented by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's Research Park, which recently celebrated a construction milestone of its cornerstone engineering and aerospace innovation complex, the occasion will recognize the flourishing ecosystem for starting and growing tech businesses in downtown Orlando. It will also celebrate the convergence of support from a broad cluster of business, civic, and tech leaders in the Orlando region who contribute to the area's growing reputation as a location for tech entrepreneurship and innovation.

Carlos Carbonell, CEO of Echo Interaction Group and President of OTA, will emcee the evening that will include remarks by Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, University of Central Florida's President Dr. John C. Hitt and Dr. Karen A. Holbrook, Interim President and CEO, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

Companies from Starter Studio's sixth accelerator class, including artitstry.io, as well as Fyre, from FireSpring Fund's first advanced funded accelerator program, will showcase their products along with more than a dozen other local tech startups.

Attendees will be able to network during the reception-style event that will also feature live music. Appetizers and drinks will be provided. The event runs 5 to 8 p.m. on August 16, 2016, inside Canvs' 20,000 square foot facility and the atrium of the Church Street Exchange in downtown Orlando.

"We have worked hard to diversify our economy and grow Orlando's reputation as a place of innovation and collaboration where entrepreneurs can pursue big ideas," said Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer. "We are proud of our growing technology sector, strong educational partnerships like the one we share with UCF, our skilled labor force and quality-of-life amenities, which are important economic development tools to attract more creative companies and young talented employees to Downtown and our region."

UCF President Dr. John C. Hitt agrees, "As America's leading partnership university, UCF prides itself on working with industry and government to drive entrepreneurship in downtown Orlando and beyond. With the approval of UCF Downtown, bold new opportunities are coming to advance Orlando as a high-tech hub for Central Florida."

Event sponsors for the evening include VOXtell and Purple Rock Scissors and corporate support is also provided by Greenberg Traurig and LRA Insurance. Additional event partners include Coors Light, Downtown CREDO, Filmscape Productions, Gifn, and Monkey Rum.

Event tickets are $40 and may be purchased at the Downtown Orlando Partnership website (http://www.doporlando.com/events/techcelebration/). A portion of ticket proceeds will go to support the FireSpring Fund and its FireSpring Seed Accelerator, a nonprofit evergreen seed fund and advanced tech business accelerator that provide funds and a program of mentorship to promising technology startups to help them grow and scale their businesses.

About Canvs

Canvs is a coworking space and nonprofit organization founded in August 2014 and now entering its second year of operation with the vision to support Orlando's startup community, making it easier for anyone in the region to start and grow a company, and to expand the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the region. Founded by local technology executives Philip Holt, V.J. LeBlanc, Jeremy Paulding, and Chris Staymates, their aim was to transform Orlando into a top-ten city nationally for technology startups. For more information, visit Canvs' website (http://canvs.org/).