A Year in the Life of the Ottawa Jazz Festival
photo: Suzan Zilahi
Staff at the Ottawa Jazz Festival are often asked, “What do you do year-round after the Festival?” Many would be surprised to know that planning for next year begins as soon as the stage lights are dimmed after the last concert.
Immediately after the Festival infrastructure is returned and Confederation Park is thoroughly cleaned and restored in lightning speed. Final invoices are sent, bills paid, reports are sent to funders and sponsors. Fall and winter programming is finalized for the upcoming season. All of this is completed by the end of August and then the hard work begins.
Come September it’s all hands on deck as we initiate our critical fundraising campaign for the year right up to the Festival. This includes sponsorship renewals and acquisitions, grant applications, an annual auction & benefit concert and individual donations. The more successful the campaign, the more dynamic and prolific the programming.
Currently we’re well into our fundraising campaign and in final countdown mode for the TD Ottawa Winter Jazz Festival starting next week from February 4 – 7.
Before we know it we’ll have the distinct honour of presenting the line-up for the upcoming year. Announcements for the 2016 TD Ottawa Jazz Festival will begin this March.
And then we’ll be in intense preparations for the 36th edition taking place over 11 days from June 23 – July 3. It takes many individuals to organize and execute an event of this magnitude including staff, the board of directors, highly experienced volunteers, sponsors, technicians, remarkable musicians and of course our dedicated audience.
A year at the Ottawa Jazz Festival is very cyclical, always hectic and so very rewarding.
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