Summer In The City Spotlight #1: Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz
Charles Christie, lead organizer of the Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz, has had a lifelong passion for Hartford, family and music. In 1996, he was invited by the board to build the presence of the festival, so he began by incorporating arts and crafts vendors to attract more visitors. Almost 20 food vendors and almost 60 Arts & Craft, Health & Human, and Services vendors set up shop on the Bushnell Park lawn every summer for three days in July.
"The Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz is now woven into the fabric of the city."
Christie is part of a 12-member team that creates thiswidely renowned “destination event,” as people fly in from around the countryto participate in celebrating all things Jazz. On the more local spectrum,residents from the capital region have been known to block the weekend off as a“stay-cation” to make sure they grab a spot at the park, before the thousandsof yearly visitors arrive. “Some Hartford families, schools, and businesseseven use our event as a place to host their class reunions,” remarked Christie.“The Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz is now woven into the fabric of thecity.”
The theme of this year’s Festival is “A Mixed Bag of Jazz.”The event will feature performances of styles including New Orleans, Smooth andContemporary, Latin, and ‘Straight Ahead.’ A personal highlight of Christie’swill be trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis’s headlining appearance on Friday, July19. Other performers include The Funky Dawgz Brass Band, Rohn Lawrence, JazminGhent, Julian Vaughn, Braxton Brothers, Studio 860/SideStreet Dancers, PersonalTouch, Zaccai Curtis, Steve Clark, Jonathan Barber, and Nat Reeves.
The Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz certainly has comealong way since its roots, having started literally on the back of a pick-uptruck. “Being able to see all the hard work come to life in Bushnell Park iswonderful,” Christie added. “I enjoy when I can walk through the park and seethe smiles, creative set-ups and be able to listen to the sounds transcendthroughout the park for everyone to hear. It feels good…this is a feel-goodevent we are proud of.”
The Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz will take place in Bushnell Park from July 19 through July 21. More information about the festival can be found on their website. Summer in the City, which is made possible by United Technologies, is a program of the Greater Hartford Arts Council, in partnership with the City of Hartford.
- Dan Deutsch, Marketing & Communications Manager
GHAC