The 6th annual TD Niagara Jazz Festival comes to Niagara-on-the-Lake this weekend, with its annual Jazz in the Park and other events in town.
The jazz begins Friday night, July 26, with a co-production of Music Niagara and the festival. Jazz in the Vineyard will be held at Pondview Estates Winery, featuring the Joe Trio, beginning at 7 p.m.
Saturday, Jazz in the Park features musical artists in Simcoe Park. The free event runs from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
“We are fortunate to be able to bring Jazz in the Park once again to the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake,” says festival executive director Juliet Dunn. “This is definitely a festival highlight for us, and being able to offer free events in the community is part of our mandate. Not everyone would have the opportunity to hear world-class pianists play on world-class pianos such as the Steinway grand pianos we bring in for the event. It is a treat to share this musical talent with the community.”
Saturday evening wraps up with the popular Soul Jazz in the Vineyard, with Cinnamon Jones and friends, beginning at 8 p.m. at the Hare Wine Co. on Niagara Stone Road.
On Sunday, at 11:30 a.m., a Dixieland Jazz Lunch in the Vines offers an elegant meal at Ravine Vineyard Estate Winery, featuring the Hamilton Dixieland All-Stars.
The weekend “winds up in a big way,” says Dunn, with Sunset Dinner Jazz at Ravine, presenting Talent and Soul, 100 Years of Nat King Cole. The event, which begins at 5 p.m., features award-winning jazz vocalist Ori Dagan with his tribute to the iconic American jazz pianist and vocalist.
This season’s Jazz Festival opened last weekend with the Niagara’s Summer Mardi Gras at the Henley Grandstand, and was a huge hit, says Dunn.
“The weather was so hot and muggy that it actually felt like New Orleans. People really got into the spirit of it all and masks, beads and feathers were flying. It was a magical event and we hope to keep it going for many years to come.”
The TD Niagara Jazz Festival is made possible in part by the TD Bank Group, the Province, the Government of Canada, the Niagara Region, the City of St. Catharines, and the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake, says Dunn.
For more information or tickets visit niagarajazzfestival.com.
