While many music festivals fall by the wayside, Fredericton’s Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival continues to be the city’s pride and joy.
Marking its 26th year harvest week remains a highlight on Frederictonians calendars and doesn’t appear to be slowing down any time soon.
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“We’ve got about 400 musicians that’ll be joining us this week playing across 20 stages,” explained marketing manager Amy Theriault. “We have about 1,000 volunteers onsite to pull off the actual event itself.”
“We’ve got some very passionate people behind the event,” she said.
That passion isn’t just reserved for those putting on the show though as many downtown businesses report that the festival means they’ll be enjoying their busiest time of the year.
“We had an economic impact assessment done in 2011 and the numbers put us at $6 million,” said Theriault.
“It’s very beneficial for the businesses and the restaurants and for babysitters in town,” said Kate Rogers, Fredericton’s deputy mayor. “There’s so many impacts, positive impacts that the festival brings.”
Organizers say the success of the festival is the result of slow but steady growth which has seen it expand to include many more musical genres than just jazz and blues as well as it being embraced by the city as their own.
“It’s really a festival that’s been put on by our community,” Theriault said.
Festival organizers estimate over 85,000 people will attend this year’s edition which wraps up on Sunday.