Springfield, MA -- The Hoop City Jazz & Art Festival committee has taken Mayor Sarno’s new “Make it happen in Springfield” theme to heart by moving the 4th annual festival event right to the heart of the City. In fact, this year’s three-day event will take place just steps away from the Mayor’s office at the City Hall Esplanade and Court Square on July 9th, 10th and 11th.
The festival is free to all and offers a stellar line up of entertainment, including many Grammy winners and Springfield’s own Greg Caputo’s Big Band. This year’s performers include: Terence Blanchard, Average White Band, Elan Trotman, Zoe with Cindy Bradley, Kashif, Ken Navarro, Ed Fast & Conga Bop, Soul Source, Modern Riffs, and the Springfield Youth Chorus.
Mayor Sarno commented, “The City of Springfield is pleased to welcome this world class jazz festival to the City which is sure to be a great event and give a boost to local businesses.” “The jazz festival is a quintessential example of what can happen when the community, the City and businesses work collaboratively to bring the finest jazz artists in the country to downtown Springfield to be showcased and help define the City as a destination multi-day stay event location.”
Organizers report that this year’s festival marks a major turning point as the music and arts celebration moves toward becoming a significant regional destination event. According to John Osborn, president and founder of the HCJ&AF, “I’m proud to say we’ve grown over the past several years and today we’re poised to become one of the premier destination events of its kind in the northeast. We’re committed to bringing world-class talent to the festival at all levels. And by moving the festivities to the heart of the City we now can make a significant impact toward improving the downtown economy.
Hampden Bank is this year’s title sponsor and according to Rick DeBonis, senior vice president of marketing, Hampden Bank and an HCJ&AF committee member, “We see this event as becoming a gateway to everything great this City has to offer. As a catalyst the festival will move visitors and residents alike to our museums and our historical sites; to our hotels and restaurants, and to our unique places of interest. This translates into economic growth that we believe will have a ripple effect that will be felt throughout our community long after the last note is played. “ MassMutual is the event’s presenting sponsor.
For additional information including performance schedules and sponsorship opportunities call John Osborn at: 413-306-9791 or visit http://www.hoopcityjazz.org/