Latest / Kvetch & Release / Jazz in the Parks swings into session

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Jazz in the Parks swings into session · Kvetch & Release

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  You know. Last week there was a really cool event that was held at
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  Lansbury Park. Jazz in the Park is back, and by all accounts,
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  there were a lot of people there. Joining me to discuss right now.
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  As one of the co organizers with Just Cake Productions, Kristin ciappis full disclosure
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  co host on Rose City Politics with me. Hey Kristin, how you doing,
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  Hey, John, thanks for having me on. Yeah, thanks for
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  joining here. So hundreds of people came out, hundreds of people. We
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  were absolutely blown away by the response. I think we had anticipated somewhere around
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  two hundred and by our account, probably between four hundred and five hundred people
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  came to the park last week. That is wild. Congratulations on getting so
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  many people out. That was at Lansbury Park. Who was performing last week
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  We had Orchestraction, So we kicked off the series with a twelve piece band
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  and for their third set of the evening they also brought on a vocalist,
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  so it was incredible to have them. We also had a part of the
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  band. Juno nominated trumpeter Russ Macklin was part of it. The vocalist,
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  Christine Camello, is a great singer and a local such an incredible thing to
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  see groups of people music enthusiasts, local neighbors, people who were just kind
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  of stopping by the park to see what was going on and taking in the
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  music. And I think one of the greatest things was people would stop and
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  bring in a picnic and have a couple of chairs and a whole feast out
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  there while they brought in the music, and it was it was just wonderful.
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  Was there anyone just like showing up because they heard the music in the
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  park they didn't know what was going on, Yeah, that's the coolest thing.
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  Actually, these parks across the city, we've been really selective about choosing
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  places that are that are in neighborhoods, that are really close to houses,
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  that are you know, parks that people use that come there's always a playground
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  and you know, people using the park with their families, and the music
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  is just a part of the experience. We're just enhancing that space. And
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  so to me, this whole pro meeting people where they are. We've found
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  that people who are just biking by or walking by, or they're you know,
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  out in the neighborhood, they hear the music and they come on over
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  and it's such a cool experience. Now you how many of these events have
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  taken by least this summer. So we are doing six events this series.
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  Last year we did four, and this year we're able to do six.
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  We are funded with a City of Winter Arts, Culture and Heritage Fund grant
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  and we're very, very grateful for that support. And we also have a
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  little bit of support this year from Nations as well to kind of help us
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  bring in more band members. And you know, as you know, the
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  cost of paying musicians to come out and play in these parks is there's some
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  expense to that. So when you get a big group like the twelfth piece
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  band that we had last week, it costs a little bit more money and
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  so we depend on some donations to kind of keep the music alive and to
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  help us expand a little bit. And so because of that support, we've
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  been able to expand it quite a bit this year. We've got some bigger
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  groups playing and like I say, we are able to do six. We
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  are opening and closing the series at Lansbury Park on that beautiful historic bandstand.
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  But this week tomorrow night, we are moving to our second location and we're
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  going to be in Willisted Park with Mike Karlov and Shahita Narula, along with
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  Mike Polozolo and Kevin Venny as our combo for this week. That's going to
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  be a heck of a show with those names there. We talk often,
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  Kristin about arts funding in Windsor and how you know, it's not necessarily at
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  a level that I think a lot of activists in the community, artists in
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  the community would like to see. You're able to do a lot yourself with
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  relatively a little amount of money. I mean, you got what about five
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  thousand dollars from the Arts, Culture and Heritage Fund. You drew five hundred
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  people out and that was just for one event, and this of course is
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  being spread across all of the different dates that you have. It's really amazing
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  what you're able to do. But I think it also it speaks to just
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  imagine what more we could have in this community if there was more money that
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  was allocated. Absolutely, it's I'm so excited that I get to be a
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  part of it and that I get to be an organizer for it, because
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  it does really show how much the arts community can do with such a tiny
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  amount of funding. You know, when you think an event or a festival.
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  You think about a one time event, and a lot of times that
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  can cost up to you know, five, ten thousand and fifteen thousand dollars.
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  But with the five thousand dollars that we have because we're doing something really
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  simple. You know, we're just hiring musicians, We're putting them in the
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  park, We're paying them fairly and making sure that we can bring music to
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  people and meet them where they are. You know, like I say,
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  there's so much you can do with so little. Imagine what more we could
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  do if we had more sustainable arts funding in the community. It just gets
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  me really excited about you know, what's the next step for our arts community.
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  What's the next step to build an industry here? And I think that's
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  always the question for activists. But it doesn't stop us from enjoying what we
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  have. We're certainly so grateful for the support that we have, and this
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  series just goes to show how great we can we can the great things that
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  we can make. There's always more wants to have, but it doesn't mean
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  that what is being provided is not appreciated. Of course, that it helps
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  to contribute to our incredible cultural fabric and landscape that we have here. But
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  do you mind if I just tee you up for one right now? Sure?
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  Okay, So five hundred people, four to five hundred people, that's
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  a lot. Next year, we hope, of course, it continues to
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  grow, probably in need of a space that can maybe you know, best
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  handle that amount of people. Is there an ideal place in the city that
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  you think would be great to put on some outdoor shows. I see what
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  you're doing here, and I'm just kind of get me to tell you how
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  much I love the Jackson Park banshow I am willing to tell you at this
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  time that I absolutely love that space. And I look across the city,
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  like I say, we have moved from this year. We're in Lansberry Park,
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  We're in Willisted, We're at Atkinson Park, Wigle Park, Memorial Park,
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  and so we've gone through as many parks as we can in the city
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  looking for an appropriate size venue that has a stage and a playground and some
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  washrooms for our guests, and a place that can house the audiences that we're
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  getting, which is probably you know, maybe around four hundred people. And
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  truly that space that I know is such a hot topic right now. The
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  Jackson Park Bandshell is an ideal spot for this kind of event, and it
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  would really support us well if they were able to refurbish it absolutely well.
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  Again, Yeah, I'm looking at the list of parks here, noticeably absent
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  as a Jackson Park on the list of where you've done these events. But
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  of course, listen, I'm so happy that so many people came out.
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  I hope that tomorrow night's event goes great. Willisted Park with Mike Carloff headline
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  on that there sounds like it's going to be a really fun time. Kristin,
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  thank you so much for your time. Thank you so much. We
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  hope we see you in the park, See you soon. Kristen Sappis is
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  a co organizer of Jazz in the Park as well as one of the co
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  leads that Just Cake Productions. Thank you so much, Kristin Sappis.