2012 JazzFest, Aug. 3 & 4
Entering its 17th year, the Lansing JazzFest is a two-day FREE music festival that brings national, regional, and local acts to an audience of over 10,000 people from across Michigan and nearby states.
JazzFest’s music truly is living music, history in the making. Each artist at the festival is asked to play an original composition, something that hasn’t been played at any other festival.
This year’s festival will take place Friday, August 3 (4:30pm-12:30am), and Saturday, August 4, 2012 (1pm-12:30am), in the streets of Old Town, surrounded by the best of the Capital City’s art galleries as well as unique retail stores and grand architecture. Vendors offer delicious food, beverages, art, clothing, and crafts, and nearby galleries and boutiques open their doors during festival hours.
Lansing JazzFest continues to grow thanks to the contributions of its sponsors and volunteers. Support Old Town, Lansing, and live jazz!
JazzFest is produced by MICA (Michigan Institute for Contemporary Art).
Donate to JazzFest
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Happy Hour
In celebration of First Friday, there will be FREE admission to the beverage tent from 4:00-6:00 pm on Friday, for ages 21+. Come out with friends or make new ones and enjoy happy hour with the sounds of jazz on Turner Street.
Kidz Beat
The “Kidz Beat” music tent, open 4-7 pm Friday and 1-7 pm Saturday, is designed to allow interactive music exploration for parents and children from toddlers to early teens.
Activities available include face painting, chalk art, crafting your own musical instruments, an “instrument petting zoo” provided by Meridian Winds on Friday and Elderly Instruments on Saturday, and performances that solicit active audience participation. No musical talent is necessary, just a love of music and a willingness to have a little fun.
Friday at 5 pm, Okemos High School’s drumline will present an interactive drum experience targeted at kids age 3-11, allowing kids to play along in the drumline. Saturday at 3 pm, a drum circle targeted at kids age 3-11 will be presented. Other interactive experiences will be presented throughout the festival.
Ride the river boat taxi to JazzFest on Saturday and take advantage of free rides for children 10 and under.
River Boat Tours
Lansing Metro Marinas will be giving half-hour tours of the Grand River on Friday from 5 to 9 pm. Festival goers can experience the new vibrant downtown Lansing developments and natural surroundings from the water.
Tours are being offered at a discounted rate of $3 per person and will depart from the dock at Burchard Park, next to the Brenke Fish Ladder.
River Boat Taxi
Arrive to JazzFest in style! Lansing Metro Marinas will be running a taxi service Saturday from 2 to 10 pm from the Lansing City Market to Burchard Park, next to the Brenke Fish Ladder. Festival goers can ride to and from the festival on the scenic Grand River for $1. Children 10 and under ride for free.
The taxi will depart from the Lansing City Market on the hour (:00) and from Old Town on the half hour (:30). Parking is available near the City Market at the Lansing Center and surrounding areas.
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Dedication to Lansing
Lansing JazzFest began in 1995 when the Old Town Business & Art Development Association (OTBADA), having successfully produced OctoberFest the year prior, discovered that music festivals are an excellent way to encourage people to visit and enjoy Old Town.
Lansing’s jazz radio station, 89.7 WLNZ, signed on as a founding media sponsor, and MessageMakers became the festival’s founding business sponsor that same year.
In its early days, local musicians donated their time to play at JazzFest and volunteers from the neighborhood and the local community pitched in to see that the 4,000-5,000 people in attendance had a good time.
JazzFest is among the only mid-Michigan festivals to increase consistently in attendance every year since its beginning. Now, the number of attendees has grown to over 10,000, making sponsors and volunteers more important than ever!
Since its inception, JazzFest has welcomed such renowned artists as Orrick Ewing, Stanley Jordan, Hot Club of Detroit, Tim Cunningham, Johnny O’Neal, Rayse Biggs, Mose Allison, Michael Kaeshammer, TS Monk, the Professors of Jazz at MSU (Derrick Gardner, Randy Gelispie, Diego Rivera, Rick Roe, Rodney Whitaker, Sunny Wilkinson), Marcus Belgrave, Francis Kofi, Betty Joplin, Tyrone Johnson, and numerous regional and local acts. (More detailed lists of past artists are available.)
JazzFest is produced by MICA (Michigan Institute for Contemporary Art). WLNZ and MessageMakers remain founding supporters of JazzFest, along with other corporate sponsors and a committed team of over 150 volunteers.
JazzFest is THE place to enjoy the soothing rhythms and contagious beat of cool jazz tunes on a hot summer weekend.
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