Hi all,
Things are gearing up for the Jacksonville Jazz Festival starting this Thursday, May 27-Sunday, May 30. We will post photos to our www.facebook.com/makeascenedowntown (http://www.facebook.com/makeascenedowntown) and www.twitter.com/masdjax (http://www.twitter.com/masdjax) pages in the next few days as stages go up and activities begin. We hope to see everyone in downtown Jacksonville for great performances on multiple stages in the heart of downtown. There will be much to see and do including the Piano Competition, children's activities, art exhibits, wine tasting, an art show & sale, a parade in the streets, the Jazz Jam, jazz brunches and much more. We have great partners including the Main Library, MOCA Jacksonville, Riverside Arts Market, the Cummer Museum and more that are all offering special components during the festival. Also, we are thrilled to have so many downtown businesses and restaurants offering discounts and programming their own activities for the festival so we thank everyone for their support and participation.
Complete information can be found at www.makeascenedowntown.com (http://www.makeascenedowntown.com) or www.jaxjazzfest.com (http://www.jaxjazzfest.com).
City Hall Pub is open for all festival hours.
Bring your VIP badge or Jazz Fest program, and we'll give you one free glass of wine, draft beer or liquor drink!
We're also having a live Jazz Brunch on Sunday, May 30 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
Call ahead for reservations at 356-6750.
www.cityhallpub.com (http://www.cityhallpub.com)
The Swingin' Stage is loading in at Main St. and Adams St!
Quote from: MASDjax on May 26, 2010, 04:29:39 PM
The Swingin' Stage is loading in at Main St. and Adams St!
MJ.com been slacking since the Laura Trio news.....Like when the new hot girl enrolls at your school you forget about the girl you used to flirt with lol....
This is going to be my first Jax Jazz Festival, anyone have any recommendations?
It appears it may be another wet Jazz Fest weekend. I ahte saying that after last year's incredible rainfall amounts, but the cards are not being dealt in our favor again and I'd watch the forecast closely because my shift just bumped up the chances of precip for the weekend to 40%, and this will likely go higher.
Take your ponchos or umbrellas and pay attention to the skies as from now until the beginning of July is the most active time for significant amounts lightning in thunderstorms.
Buzzkill! :(
Rednavy- don't rain on our parade! j/k We are hoping for great weather this year and encouraging everyone to come out. In the event that it does rain, ponchos are encouraged since we don't want umbrellas obstructing everyone's view.
Here are some photos from set up today! The first is the stage loading in at Main & Adams St.
(http://i691.photobucket.com/albums/vv271/MASDjax/lot.jpg)
Our JAZZed up fountain (including pianos) at Hemming Plaza's Groovin' Stage (still a work in progress)
(http://i691.photobucket.com/albums/vv271/MASDjax/IMG00019.jpg)
Our Little Laura Street Stumps need water, so rain may not be such a bad thing.
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or maybe you could just wait for the Laura St construction project to make it up your way....then the stumps will be removed.
btw...since the Jazz Fest isn't all on Laura St this year, will your business be affected positively?
Looking forward to a great time. I remember attending the very first one and the next few when it started at Mayport NAS. The first year, they were stunned by the size of the turnout. We literally parked under the wings of planes on the tarmac. Imagine that today!
Can't wait for the Preservation Hall Jazz Band at the Swingin Stage!! Hurricanes in a roadie, Nawlins' style!
Quote from: tufsu1 on May 26, 2010, 09:30:05 PM
or maybe you could just wait for the Laura St construction project to make it up your way....then the stumps will be removed.
btw...since the Jazz Fest isn't all on Laura St this year, will your business be affected positively?
interesting
I will miss it again this yr, u guys have fun. I hope it doesnt rain like it did last yr. Take lots of pics pls.
WJXT just said 30% to 40% rain and thunder over the weekend. Take a poncho!
The Criminal Vagrants are getting an early start for Jazz Festival 2010.
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What is the setup of this? I would like to go take photos but I want access, I dont want to be standing in a crowd.
JC go here, http://www.makeascenedowntown.com/ and all your questions will be answered..
Ms. Vicki has a hard time driving around downtown Jacksonville and getting to work pre Jazz Festival. Sgt. Propper took care of the situation. He sets the standard for what a JSO officer should be.
(http://i820.photobucket.com/albums/zz125/feederi/vicki/th_MVI_0214.jpg) (http://s820.photobucket.com/albums/zz125/feederi/vicki/?action=view¤t=MVI_0214.flv)
Chef Wilfried takes a mini vacation
(http://i820.photobucket.com/albums/zz125/feederi/wilfried/th_wilfriedparking.jpg) (http://s820.photobucket.com/albums/zz125/feederi/wilfried/?action=view¤t=wilfriedparking.flv)
Quote from: jbroadglide on May 27, 2010, 01:21:28 PM
JC go here, http://www.makeascenedowntown.com/ and all your questions will be answered..
Thanks!
The crowd downtown for the Jazz Festival tonight is amazing. People are stolling the streets, dancing at stages and having a great time. Will post some photos soon! If you can't make it tonight, join us this weekend!
I agree...it was awesome tonight (despite Mr. Moran's warnings above)...I know some people were concerned how things would be off Laura St this year, but it is still wonderful...and people are actually using the Main St pocket park
Great job COJ Special Evenets team!
So what about JAZZ?http://s0.ilike.com/play#Duke+Ellington:It+Don%27t+Mean+A+Thing+%28If+It+Ain%27t+Got+That+Swing%29:33360:s22924604.8080700.87028.0.1.82%2Cstd_37b02839705ad56fb56817d2caa1a6c3It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing lyrics
What good is music,
what good is melody,
if it aint possessing something sweet.
It aint the music,
it aint the melody,
theres something else that makes that tune complete.
It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing,
doo-wab-di-wab doo-wab-di-wab doo-wab-di-wab doo-wab-di-wah
It don't mean a thing, all you gotta do is sing,
doo-wab-di-wab doo-wab-di-wab doo-wab-di-wab doo-wab-di-wah
Makes no difference if its sweet or hard,
you just give that rhythm everything you got.
It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing,
doo-wab-di-wab doo-wab-di-wab doo-wab-di-wab doo-wab-di-wah
Makes no difference if its sweet or hard,
you just give that rhythm everything you got.
It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing,
doo-wab-di-wab doo-wab-di-wab doo-wab-di-wab doo-wab-di-wah
It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing.
Quote from: stjr on May 26, 2010, 09:30:43 PM
Looking forward to a great time. I remember attending the very first one and the next few when it started at Mayport NAS. The first year, they were stunned by the size of the turnout. We literally parked under the wings of planes on the tarmac. Imagine that today!
HA! HA! I was there too STJR... Funny as hell, if I recall they expected 10,000 and got 100,000+ . The entire village was eaten by the crowd, and the ferry landing where the stage was was so crowded one could have walked over the whole audience and never fallen through! The vendors were running out of everything and the JTA and their "graduate school of advanced mass transit planning," had Mayport Road backed up to Ponte Vedra! Some people actually spent most of the entire day in their car. We ended up parking near Wonderwood and hiking in past the salt marsh darting between cars for a couple of miles.
The main difference was at that time we actually had a REAL JAZZ station in NE Florida's radio lineup. It might have been a non-commercial teaching station, but the music was excellent. I talked to a director out at Jones College who told me they would be the NUMBER 1 station if they were commercial. So a few years later, when the school picked up a big old name in local radio, they offered the Jazz Station collections to anyone FREE, if they would broadcast it. Typical JAX, nothing+nothing=NOTHING. Today our radio desert includes XX? stations all claiming to have the loudest RAP or RAUNCHIEST ROCK or a country preacher highlighted by Rush and Sean! Stellar Jacksonville... Simply Stellar...
Someone educate me here, does ANY station offer the Hearts-of-Space or Echo's shows? Oop's gotta go, Elvis is playing and Buddy Holly is up next on my boom box. OCKLAWAHA
In Atlanta , listento AM 1690 and on FM 90.1 ,H. Johnson, Jazz Classics Saturday night from 9 pm to 2 am.
You may be able to get on streaming radio.
Quote from: jbroadglide on May 27, 2010, 01:21:28 PM
JC go here, http://www.makeascenedowntown.com/ and all your questions will be answered..
The link to the Sunday printable schedule doesn't work - goes back to a Make A Scene page. Saturday's worked though!
Quote from: JC on May 27, 2010, 01:18:54 PM
What is the setup of this? I would like to go take photos but I want access, I dont want to be standing in a crowd.
Go take pics. The crowds is good footage
Quote from: Jerry Moran on May 27, 2010, 10:26:01 PM
Chef Wilfried takes a mini vacation
(http://i820.photobucket.com/albums/zz125/feederi/wilfried/th_wilfriedparking.jpg) (http://s820.photobucket.com/albums/zz125/feederi/wilfried/?action=view¤t=wilfriedparking.flv)
Its funny when someone from the suburbs does a smash & grab in downtown. At least we know they didnt use the Skyway to get away with the good.....Mass Transit is how criminals get around right??
Quote from: tufsu1 on May 26, 2010, 09:30:05 PM
btw...since the Jazz Fest isn't all on Laura St this year, will your business be affected positively?
think I answered my own question...Laura St was hopping tonight...including Magnificat, Chamblins, and (at least from the window) La Cena...clearly the Jazz Festival is bad for local small businesses ;)
also....probably 10,000 people at the Main St stage....the entire pocket park was full...might be even bigger tomorrow night for Patti LaBelle!
Aerial shot of Duval Street and Main Street! Check out the note projection on the Main Library. Better photos coming soon.
(http://i691.photobucket.com/albums/vv271/MASDjax/Duval_Main.jpg)
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You guys/gals have really done a fantastic job this weekend!
Leaving the house and going to the beer garden at Eddie Farrah's joint right now :)
Great pics. Alot of people out.
Those are great pictures!
Just a fantastic event! Even better than last year.
I will admit that I thought they had lost their minds when the Festival was moved from Metro Park to the downtown area. WRONG!! Spread around downtown makes it much better than it was. More room for everybody including the artists.
Watched the Noel Friedline Quintet and the Jacksonville Mass Choir at Snyder Memorial at noon and came away exhausted just listening to the energy that they put out. Just fantastic.
Quote from: stephendare on May 30, 2010, 11:21:24 AM
Quote from: fieldafm on May 30, 2010, 11:19:41 AM
You guys/gals have really done a fantastic job this weekend!
Leaving the house and going to the beer garden at Eddie Farrah's joint right now :)
where is that, field?
where the old Lerner building (I think) was on Main St...between Perdue Office Interiors and Eddie's building
Quote from: MASDjax on May 29, 2010, 10:50:56 PM
Aerial shot of Duval Street and Main Street! Check out the note projection on the Main Library. Better photos coming soon.
(http://i691.photobucket.com/albums/vv271/MASDjax/Duval_Main.jpg)
Is that Jacksonville or London?
Quote from: fieldafm on May 30, 2010, 11:19:41 AM
You guys/gals have really done a fantastic job this weekend!
Leaving the house and going to the beer garden at Eddie Farrah's joint right now :)
I gotta co sign this. The Pics look great.
Who ever had the idea to have this in the heart of the city instead of Metro Park has the right idea.
Thanks for all the great feedback! The beverage garden is right next to the Farah & Farah building in the alley. Come join us. Maceo Parker and the St. Johns River City Band are tearing it up.
Must have been 15,000 on Main St Jazz Fest this evening and another 5,000+ at The Landing for the rock concert (it was mob packed)!
We don't want to pick favorites. ;) There really was something for everyone at the festival so we are more interested in hearing who YOUR favorite performances were so please tell us.
The crowd was really incredible tonight and it was wonderful to see downtown full of people dancing in the streets and in galleries, restaurants and businesses. Here are two more shots from Saturday night taken at the end of Ledisi's performance and at the beginning of Chris Botti and the Jacksonville Symphony on the Swingin' Stage.
From a lift on Monroe St.
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From the roof of the Main Library-love this one!
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More photos coming soon from the festival and possibly some "on the street" video we shot.
Congratulations! The Jazz Fest was terrific (albeit not the $ky-high-way, but that's no surprise to anyone) and a great example of what Jax can and does need to do more of. Well organized and lots of "officials" on hand for any concerns needing to be addressed. Best of all, not one less-than-outstanding performance by our witnessing.
Anyone that missed it should regret it. Despite it's name, there was music for just about every type of music lover. And, the exposure to great but unknown, unheralded, or unfamiliar talent is a blow-away-your-expectations experience that one treasures forever.
Keep this up, and we will all be talking about the good ol' days when crowds were of the size MASDjax describes verses multiples bigger.
Can't wait til' next year.
Way to go! 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)
MASD, was Wes Lester taking pictures this weekend? Looking forward to the flickr updates.
Wow, best Jazz Festival for awhile IMO!!!!
Yes, Stephen the Beer Garden was where the old Lerners was. While it definately sucks that the Lerner building is gone, that courtyard can be really cool.
So many things I can say about Jazz Fest(Tito Puente Jr was on fire) but I'm off to the Memorial Wall dedication for now...
Someone mentioned it already, but the lack of building interconnectivity with pedestrians was glaringly evident even to the most novice observers this weekend.
Quote from: fieldafm on May 31, 2010, 09:27:13 AM
MASD, was Wes Lester taking pictures this weekend? Looking forward to the flickr updates.
Wow, best Jazz Festival for awhile IMO!!!!
Yes, Stephen the Beer Garden was where the old Lerners was. While it definately sucks that the Lerner building is gone, that courtyard can be really cool.
So many things I can say about Jazz Fest(Tito Puente Jr was on fire) but I'm off to the Memorial Wall dedication for now...
Someone mentioned it already, but the lack of building interconnectivity with pedestrians was glaringly evident even to the most novice observers this weekend.
Yes, Wes Lester was one of the photographers during the festival and he will post photos soon. The latest shots I posted were taken by Brad Biringer and Zak Ross. We will also have more in our photo gallery as well!
Great job with the Jazz Festival - the downtown location is a vast improvement over Metro Park!
Best performance of the weekend was by one of Jacksonville's own: Renee Dickerson's fabulous version of Amazing Grace at the end of her set with Noel Friedline in Snyder Memorial. Wow.
Such an awesome event. So well done. Photos are great. Just all in all stoked that Jax could put something like this together. Well done, congrats and thank you to all who were involved in making this happen.
~j.
I think the roof blew off the Snyder Memorial during that rockin' gospel choir and the ever cool Noel Friedline group. The emotion was sky high at the end of one hour and 30 minutes of music. Just a great great jazz festival and so many people really enjoying the day and the cool night breezes. Thank you festival planners.
Here is a great one from Sunday during Patti LaBelle's performance. This was taken from the top of the Duval St. Garage (corner of Duval and Main Street). The orange dot on stage is Patti and by the end of her performance, there wasn't an inch of grass left in the pocket park to sit on.
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Best use of that little park since it's creation.
It finally gets used by people who actually pay taxes. Wonderful scene though.
After polling other nearby merchants, and having had a week to digest, we all agreed that the 2010 Jazz Festival was a success as an entertainment event. The feel of the crowd was good, and the music met expectations.
Downtown brick and mortar businesses suffered. La Cena’s Tuesday â€" Thursday business was destroyed by street closures on Thursday, and the anticipation of event parking and other logistical problems by the dining public throughout the week. Friday and Saturday nights’ volume was less than half of a normal weekend. After seeing the Friday night festival attendees, we decided that opening for lunch on Saturday and Sunday would be futile. Overall, for Jazz Festival week, sales at La Cena were off 60% from the previous week and 70% from this week.
To my knowledge, Chew was not open during the event. Benoit at the Magnificant Café said his sales were weak considering the number of people on the street. He did not open on Sunday based on Saturday’s experience. Jerry at the Zodiac seemed to do all right on Saturday night. He had some entertainment, so that surely helped. Ron at Chamblin’s did well too, but he always does considering the broad appeal his bookstore has. I think he expected sales to be much better than they were. Charla at the Next Gallery didn’t like having to look at the back of a clothing vendor's tent all day long.
Special Events was cooperative, by not placing a diesel generator on Laura Street between Adams and Monroe, but only after I had to threaten legal action. During the 2009 Jazz Festival, a diesel generator was placed at the Elk’s Building main entrance, and the entire building smelled of diesel fumes. I did not want a repeat of that.
Traffic control was better than in 2009, and Sgt. Leonard Propper of the JSO was very helpful. Sgt. Propper was quick to respond to situations and make adjustments to traffic patterns, and handle citizen complaints about a few abusive JSO officers who were manning the intersections.
It’s pretty clear that the Jazz Festival crowd is not interested in upscale dining, or, for that matter, indoor dining at all. Only a handful of people came into La Cena’s bar. We did not know that beer was going for $5 a bottle on the street, and warned our first bar patrons that our beer was “pricy†at $5.75 for an import. The guests thought it was a deal, considering it was only 75 cents more than a street beer, and included house bread and butter, grissini, and all the air conditioning you can soak up.
It’s a shame that the established, property tax paying brick and mortar merchants were displaced by the Gypsy vendors that set up tents overnight and raked in the dough selling $11 frozen drinks and $12 fish and soggy fries.
What about next year? The merchants are working on it.
I wonder if Downtown Jax can duplicate the scene with more events downtown, I have thrown down the gauntlet, now let's see them duplicate it.
Jerry - The only way to get better is to do it more often, once a year is not enough! At that rate, we'll be into 2-3 more generations before we see the events we dream of now.
QuoteIt’s pretty clear that the Jazz Festival crowd is not interested in upscale dining, or, for that matter, indoor dining at all.
Jerry, I would suggest otherwise. We had such an interest but.... with an almost continuous schedule of entertainment, we found no "break" long enough to have an "inside" dining experience other than maybe the Subway. If you want business, the festival needs to insert a "dinner" break and restaurants have to promise a turnaround within that break. Even then, an issue would be if people want to give up good seats at stages for a meal only to come back to find such seats gone. To address this, it would seem that they would have to clear out all seating after every act. Good luck with that! (I did notice people leaving portable chairs for a while and no one taking them. So, maybe some would chance the break.)
I do think one opportunity would have been promoting a late after-the-show dinner on Sunday. Patti Labelle finished by about 8 or 8:15 PM. Thousands wandered about afterward.
Another option would be "gourmet" take out service through the festival tents/kiosks. Order and prepay before one act and your food will be delivered and waiting there after the act is over. That eliminates patrons leaving the festival area and takes care of the timing.
The dinner break is a good idea, and you have great insight into how the festival works for patrons. All remaining the same, I think the only way local merchants can take advantage of these festivals is to get out on the street with everyone else. Should I get a sidewalk cafe permit from the City, extend my licensed premises via the DABT onto the sidewalk, and offer sandwiches, wine, and beer?
I was hoping there would be a segment that would want to take a break from the street and get away for a couple of hours in a full service restaurant. During the festival, many people looked at our menu posted at the door, but spun on their heels and spent almost as much money at a tent.
Should the ballerina dance at the strip club a few times a year for the cash? Maybe we will, and the performance will be better than anything a tent has to offer. It will be interesting to see if the City will work with the Merchants, especially when the Merchants will not be paying those hefty kiosk fees.
No disrespect at all, but why wouldn't you want to be aggressive with all of those people in the area? The merchants that had outside tents did very well. I myself dropped some cash at Burrito Gallery(twice with their New Orleans themed fare), the Omni and the Beer Garden. It seems that the promoters did their job to get the people downtown, the rest is up to you. Having experience with outdoor festivals(both as a patron and running a few and/or being a vendor at a few) I can say the ones that don't get aggressive in getting their product out IN FRONT of the attendants are the ones that lose out.
Again, no disrepect whatsoever(b/c I sympathize with the great challenges you run into operating a restaurant downtown) but I don't think having to reorganize a festival around a dinner break just b/c you hope people will meander into your doors is the right thing to do. From an organizers and a patrons perspective... you already have the constant problem of not having enough time to get in all that you want. Get in front of the people, and they will fork over their cash. They want to spend it, its either going to be the guy in front of them with food and beer... or the guy in the corner out of their way. 95% of the time they're going to give their cash to the food and beer that they can smell right in front of them.
Another case in point, I once ran a retail store that was tucked away in the corner of the mall. It took all of one Christmas season to realize that even though the mall was packed that it was clearly time to bite the bullet and pay for a temporary kiosk to get my higher margin products in front of the traffic areas the second Christmas season.
As someone who was at the Jazz Festival spending money, and from the perspective gleaned from working similar festivals... that would be my advice for what its worth.
As someone who was your potential customer... I would have welcomed more quality food options(which I'm sure you would have provided, Ive eaten at your establishment before) but I wasnt going to take 45 minutes away from the festival to go sit inside a restaurant.