April 24, 2006 – East Dorset, Vermont – Manchester Designer Outlets and the retail brands that they represent will sponsor all five of the $10,000 Mini Prix events at the 2006 Vermont Summer Festival taking place July 12 to August 13, 2006, in East Dorset, VT.

The agreement with Manchester Designer Outlets marks the largest and broadest local sponsorship in the history of the Vermont Summer Festival. Polo/Ralph Lauren, Escada, Giorgio Armani, Hickey Freeman/Bobby Jones and Tumi are the five Manchester Designer Outlets brands participating in this unique sponsorship agreement. Each brand will sponsor one of the $10,000 Mini Prix events taking place every Friday at 1 p.m. during the five-week Vermont Summer Festival horse show. The winner of each Mini Prix event will receive their share of the $10,000 purse as well as a prize from the sponsoring brand.

"The Vermont Summer Festival is one of the most prestigious horse shows in the Northeast and the Manchester Designer Outlets include some of the world's top brands so the partnership is a perfect match," said Judy Wheeler, Director of Operations for the Manchester Designer Outlets. "We are pleased to sponsor the prizes for the five Friday events, and we see this partnership as helping make the Festival, our stores and the town of Manchester even more of a destination this summer."

Ruth Lacey, Marketing Executive for the Vermont Summer Festival, agreed, saying, “We have crafted a relationship that will support our ability to continue to award valuable prizes to our competitors, promote the brands of the Manchester Designer Outlets organization, and drive consumer business to the local outlets. I am confident that this sponsorship will result in a win-win scenario for both the Vermont Summer Festival and Manchester Designer Outlets.”

Manchester Designer Outlets signifies the newest trends in today’s shopping experience: boutique-like specialty stores offering everything from designer label fashions for men and women, to luxury home furnishings, distinct gifts and stylish accessories – metropolitan or handcrafted, international or American. Shopping at the Manchester Designer Outlets stores offers a wide array of culture, style and sophistication – a retreat for shoppers and travelers with savings up to 70% off retail prices from top name brands.

New England’s largest “AA” rated hunter/jumper horse show, the Vermont Summer Festival offers over $600,000 in prize money, making it the richest sporting event in the state of Vermont. Each week of competition includes a $10,000 Friday Mini Prix, sponsored by Manchester Designer Outlets, and, for the first four weeks of competition, a $30,000 Sunday Grand Prix. The 2006 Vermont Summer Festival closes with the grand finale, the $50,000 Vermont Summer Celebration Grand Prix on Sunday, August 13. Each of the five weeks also features a $10,000 Show Jumping Hall Of Fame High Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper class, part of the Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series, and is also a member event of the Marshall & Sterling League and the North American League (NAL).

For more information on the 2006 Vermont Summer Festival including sponsorship opportunities, or to download a prize list, please visit www.vt-summerfestival.com or e-mail: info@vt-summerfestival.com.

For further information on Manchester Designer Outlets, please e-mail mdo@sover.net or visit www.manchesterdesigneroutlets.com.