Thank you for joining us, and listeners around the world, for unforgettable musical presentations by 17 established jazz artists and emerging talent from the comfort of home. We were delighted to be working with artists who were enthusiastic about bringing their music to you, our audience, within this different and exciting format.
The ongoing importance of social distancing gave the Fort Langley Jazz & Arts Festival the unique opportunity to reimagine itself in a way that not only wasn't a compromise; it opened up the festival to more people than ever before.
In rethinking the festival experience this year, we offered both a free all-day festival supported by sponsors and exclusive, ticketed live-streamed shows in the evening; used a combination of pre-recorded concerts and live-streamed performances; hosted exclusive interviews with each performing artist; produced and streamed 12 community spotlight videos showcasing local Fort Langley arts and culture organizations and sponsors; created Backyard Festivals where socially distanced groups could come together at their homes with festival-provided screens, programs, food and refreshments; created interactive festival experiences such as a pre-festival online salsa dance lesson and a Moment of Joy during the performance by Mazacote where we could try our salsa moves from the comfort of home; hosted a virtual artwalk featuring 26 local artists and galleries.
The festival attracted an estimated 10,000+ jazz lovers for an average of fours of viewing to our first-ever virtual festival.
We were delighted to bring the joy of incredible music and art not only to residents of our community and the surrounding region but to anyone around the world who needed something to lift their spirits during these unusual times. We said we’re ‘bringing home the joy of jazz’ — and fortunately, this year it didn't matter where you call home!”
Whether you joined us from the comfort of your living room, your back yard, your campsite, or your front porch, please know how very much we appreciated your Jazzing at Home with us.
It takes a Village
The festival would not have been possible without the generous support of our sponsors, partners and funders including title sponsor Odlum Brown Limited, ConWest and Vicini Live Urban, sponsors of the Saturday free concerts and Kane Shannon Weiler, sponsor of the Saturday evening concert. We would also like to thank our funders: the Government of Canada, FACTOR, Province of BC, CreativeBC, Arts Council of BC, Tourism BC and SoundON and our many in-kind supporters. A massive shout out to our organizing committee, musicians, visual artists, hosts, salsa dancers, production crew, volunteers - and YOU our audience!
It takes a village to put on a festival likes this and we are truly grateful for everyone’s support.
Given the success of our 2020 Virtual Festival, we are planning to keep the virtual portion of the festival and will be offering both online + in-person concerts and events to the festival in 2021.
We hope to see you at the 2021 festival, September 2-5, 2021.