Let the jazz begin
The TD Niagara Jazz Festival gets back in the groove this weekend.
The annual event kicks off its fifth year with a slew of concerts in St. Catharines this weekend before shifting to Niagara-onthe-Lake next weekend.
The expanded schedule will include two full days of free entertainment at Simcoe Park in Niagara-on-the-Lake July 28 and 29, as well as the new, free World Music on the Beach day July 22 at Lakeside Park in Port Dalhousie.
Co-organizer Juliet Dunn says three days of free events is the result of corporate and community support for the festival, including $130,000 from title sponsor TD Canada Trust for this year and next.
World Music on the Beach, this year’s largest addition, gives the festival an anchor event for St. Catharines.
“We’ve got the food, the wine, the beer, the kids’ stuff, bands and artisans,” she says. “So it’s kind of like the same vibe (as Simcoe Park), but we really thought that world music would be a much better fit in St. Catharines.”
It runs from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Among the artists are AlyshaBrilla, Sina Bathae and the LatinVintage Orchestra.
Other shows opening weekend include Kevin Breit and his Fancy Tailors 9 p.m. Friday at The Warehouse Concert Hall (11 Geneva Street) and Dr. Jazz and the Jazzbugs 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Cefalu Rustica Eatery (1 Lock Street).
The festival’s first show is Thursday night at The Warehouse Concert Hall with the Duncan Hopkins Trio.
In addition to the Simcoe Park slate, next weekend sees Niagara-on-the-Lake shows by Sharon Musgrave and the David Restivo Trio July 28 at The Hare Wine Co. (769 Niagara Stone Road) and Timeless Clarinet with Phil Nimmons and David Braid July 28 at St. Mark’s Church (41 Byron Street).
Dunn says the Simcoe Park component expanded to two days because crowds would stumble upon the event and say they’d be back the next day because they had other plans.
“And then we’d say, ‘Oh, we won’t be here tomorrow.’ It seemed like a lot of effort to not be there the next day, so this is the first time we’re trying two days in a row.”
Expanding the festival to two weeks brings it a step closer to Dunn’s dream of seeing something similar to the 10-day Montreal Jazz Festival in Niagara. She hopes to see Niagara Falls become part of the festival by 2020.