Vancouver jazz festival moves into heart of the city

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The Vancouver International Jazz Festival kicks off every year with a free opening weekend. This year, that part of the event is moving downtown, relocating from Gastown.

The move is meant to increase accessibility and visibility – and thus attendance – and groom the next generation to become jazz lovers by making the event family friendly.

"It's been something that the organization has been wanting to do for quite some time," said Fatima Amarshi, executive director of the Coastal Jazz and Blues Society, which produces the jazz festival.

"To be able to now take what has become an iconic event, a real international platform for the great talent of the city, and put it in the heart of the city at that iconic location … just seems ideal."

Building on the success of the location during the 2010 Olympics, the free event – dubbed Downtown Jazz – will be held outside the Vancouver Art Gallery and at Robson Square, with three live performance stages, two outdoor licensed bistros and what's being called a Family Zone.

Ms. Amarshi said the society approached the city with the proposal a year ago. "I think for the city, it took a little bit of time to sort of feel the after-effects of the Olympics and see what was possible."

Policing and emergency plans have been worked out with the city over the past year, "to make sure that we could meet all of their requirements in a way that really was celebratory, but also safe for us," said Ms. Amarshi.

The move will mean the opening weekend will be bigger – and more expensive – than previous Gastown Jazz weekends, but Ms. Amarshi would not provide details on the increased budget.

"What I can tell you is there has been a very conscious decision on our part to make sure we invest in this, this year. This is a big shift for us," she said. "It's a permanent move and we expect to see the return not only in a bigger audience, but in a wider range of visitors and residents able to access the music … and, of course, part of this is also to build a new generation of audiences for the music."

The 27th annual TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival runs June 22 to July 1 at various venues throughout the city. Artists scheduled to perform at free concerts during the opening June 23-24 weekend include New-York-based modern jazz/hip hop artist José James, Vancouver folk band Maria in the Shower and local big-band legend Dal Richards.