I attended the 26th Annual Detroit Jazz Festival this Saturday. We make this a must event during the long Labor Day weekend and have been doing so for many years.This year was different in a number of ways. For the first time, we booked rooms at the RenCen instead of going home every night and coming back the next day.
Also for the first time, the Jazz Fest organizers decided to close off Woodward Avenue from Campus Martius to Hart Plaza and add stages at the Spirit of Detroit Statue and at Campus Martius.
The organizers also departed from the strictly jazz music menu to allow other forms of music which included some blues as well as some oldies.
The Detroit Jazz Festival was in danger of closing if they did not find new sponsors (Ford quit) and attract larger crowds. I think the crowds were noticeably larger this year, the weather was great, the music was great and the crowds were well behaved and enthusiastic.
We had a great view from our room overlooking the Detroit River and Windsor, Canada. Our kids joined us Saturday night - so that made our stay there even better.
I hope the festival organizers have learned from this year and will apply the lessons learned to next year. The increased attendance, I hope, will attract many new sponsors and keep this Labor Day tradition going strong for many years to come.
Janusz
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