Five reasons to check out the Fort Langley Jazz & Arts Festival
1. ALL-STAR BLUES SHOW
For its third year, the annual summer festival includes more than a dozen livestreamed and pre-recorded concert performances. Two livestreamed shows are ticketed (with a limited number of tickets for the actual live performances): an All-Star Blues Show and Siobhan Walsh’s Tribute to Aretha Franklin. Jim Byrnes hosts the blues show with guests Taylor
James, Dalannah Gail Bowen, and Tom Lavin and The Legendary Powder Blues. Vancouver quintet Mimosa opens the Walsh set with a blend of jazz, Brazilian samba, cabaret and French ‘60s pop.
2. A DAY OF MUSIC
This day-long showcase features performances by nine acts, including Sister Jazz Orchestra, an 18-woman jazz ensemble; Roma Jazz Ensemble, which plays a mix of traditional Eastern European
folk, classical, swing and contemporary jazz; and Up Close, a jazz fusion outfit made up of graduate students of the Langley Fine Arts School.
3. MARDI GRAS STROLLING PARADE
Township of Langley Coun. Petrina Arnason and the six-piece RazzMaJazz Ensemble lead a (socially distanced) procession along the sidewalks of Fort Langley. The parade will be streamed on Saturday, Sept. 5 to officially open the virtual festival.
4. VIRTUAL ART WALK
“Fort Langley has long been known for its artists and art galleries, and ... we are delighted to share visual art from our local artists and galleries in our virtual art walk,” says festival executive director Karen Zukas.
5. DANIELA CARMONA
The Colombia-born, New York-raised actor/singer/ journalist hosts the event. Founder and director of Canada Latin Media, Carmona has also appeared in Untold Stories of the E.R., Lifetime and independent films, and commercials.