Events

The festival began in 1989, when local jazz artists were booked to perform at the Kew Gardens Bandshell in the beach area of Toronto. Now celebrating her 34th anniversary, the festival has blossomed into a month long mid-summer event that attracts thousands of fans and makes a major contribution to promoting Canadian jazz excellence locally and on the world stage.

Beaches Jazz Festival

And Now....

The Beaches International Jazz Festival is a month-long music festival held each year in the lakeside Beaches community of Toronto in July. It's now one of Canada's largest free jazz festivals with nearly 1,000,000 attendees, throughout its month-long span.

The Festival takes place across a number of venues; stage concerts are held in several different parks within the area and also along a two kilometre stretch of the Beach mainstreet during StreetFest - Queen Street East.

Every year, the Festival brings in internationally acclaimed jazz performers while also showcasing local talent, including "new generation" jazz musicians. The Festival now hires around 1000 artists per annum, including 50 bands for its "StreetFest" event along Queen Street East.

The Festival offers concerts at various locations: the Woodbine Park Main Stage, Jimmie Simpson Park Main Stage and Big Band Stage. The Festival holds a Workshop and Lecture Series which varies each year and is programmed to appeal to both professional musicians and to the general jazz loving public.

The Festival attracts around one million attendees and benefits the local economy, injecting over $30 million into the GTA.