Fort 91原创 Jazz and Arts Festival is moving to September long weekend.

Originally scheduled to take place in July, festival organizers have decided to move the event to the Sept. 4 to 6 weekend 鈥済iven the unprecedented time.鈥�

鈥淏ringing the community together to enjoy music and art is what we do, but with the COVID-19 outbreak, we need to take precautions,鈥� said Karen Zukas, a festival executive director.

鈥淭he health and safety of festival attendees, artists, staff and volunteers are of the utmost importance and we believe postponing the festival to later in the summer is the best decision at this time,鈥� said Zukas. 鈥淎s we move forward with creating another memorable festival, we are monitoring the situation closely and staying up to date with the latest information. We will continue with caution, care and optimism in planning this year鈥檚 festival.鈥�

READ MORE: LIST: Events that have been cancelled in 91原创 and what鈥檚 still on

Jazz in the Vine with Kenny 鈥淏lues Boss鈥� Wayne and Blue Moon Marque were two previously postponed concerts and will be rescheduled in the fall.

鈥淭he evolving situation has reaffirmed how deeply important connection, celebration, music and art is to all of us,鈥� said Dave Quinn, artistic director for the festival.

This year鈥檚 festival will again feature free jazz concerts on two main stages and four pop-up performance stages on the Saturday and Sunday, along with four evening concerts for ticket holders.

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A new concert series called Art of Jazz 鈥渨ill feature innovative and creative jazz acts in an intimate concert setting.鈥�

Organizers are expanding on art offerings at the festival with an outdoor painting challenge presented by Opus Art and Supplies, a student art exhibit, artist vendor areas and Indigenous arts workshops and demonstrations.

鈥淲e are very hopeful that by late summer we will be able to come together as a community to enjoy live music and art,鈥� Quinn said.

A band lineup and a complete list of festival activities will be announced in June.

Fort 91原创 Jazz and Arts Festival is a not-for-profit organization that was established in 2018 that works to 鈥渆nrich cultural life in the Fraser Valley鈥� by bringing a variety of jazz acts and visual artists to Fort 91原创.

joti.grewal@blackpress.ca
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