TheBeaches International Jazz Festival is a month-longmusic festival held each year in the lakeside Beaches community ofToronto in July. Originally started in 1989,[1] it is now one ofCanada's largest free jazz festivals with nearly 1,000,000 attendees, throughout its month-long span.[2]
The Festival takes place across a number of venues; stage concerts are held in several different parks within the area and also along a two kilometre stretch of the Beach mainstreet during StreetFest -Queen Street East.
In 2022, the Festival returned to a full program of live concerts following several years of both live and virtual events due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3]
Every year, the Festival brings in internationally acclaimedjazz performers while also showcasing local talent, including "new generation" jazz musicians. The Festival now hires around 1000 artists per annum, including 50 bands for its "StreetFest" event along Queen Street East. The Festival offers concerts at various locations: theWoodbine Park Main Stage, Jimmie Simpson Park Main Stage, Big Band Stage, SING! A capella Stage .[4] The Festival holds a Workshop and Lecture Series which varies each year and is programmed to appeal to both professional musicians and to the general jazz loving public.
BIJF garners community support due to the community events it supports. These include: a "Jazz-Up Your Windows" Beach BIA - BIJF jointly sponsored contest for local retailers and multiplefundraising opportunities for local charities such as the "Beaches Jazz Tune-Up Run" on behalf of the BeachRotary Club, Community Centre 55 and theMichael Garron Hospital. The BIJF benefits the local economy, injecting over $30 million into theGTA.
Although the festival is funded by the province'sMinistry of Tourism and Culture, funding is also sourced from community donations. In November 2013, theGovernment of Canada donated $200,000 as part of theDepartment of Canadian Heritage funding program.[5]
43°40′09″N79°17′54″W / 43.66925°N 79.29835°W /43.66925; -79.29835
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