Sask JazzFest returns to Saskatoon

The Saskatchewan Jazz Festival is returning to Saskatoon. (Hallee Mandryk/CTV News)

The Saskatchewan Jazz Festival has returned to Saskatoon, and organizers are excited to share their hard work with the public.

“We’re on day four, so our first two days, we call them breakout programing. We were all over the city of Saskatoon and then we just opened Victoria Park site yesterday on July 5th,” Shannon Josdal, the Executive Director of SaskTel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival said.

The ‘Strictly Jazz Series’ has been showcasing several artists throughout the week. While the series isn’t necessarily the main event, it is still quite special to many.

The Victoria Park events also have free admission for the first four days, for anyone to stop by and enjoy prior to the ticketed program which kicks off on Wednesday.

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“Folks can really look forward to a really diverse and exciting group of artists,” Josdale said.

A little rain didn’t stop people from gathering for some of the free programming in the park on Sunday.

“Folks are really enjoying the community feel. They love coming down to the park ... I’m biased, but I believe that the Saskatoon Co-op Beer Gardens is the best beer selection in Saskatoon. We have so many great, local craft brewers featured there,” Josdale said.

Many festivals took a hit as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Saskatchewan Jazz Festival was no exception. While the effects of the pandemic have eased up, there are still challenges when it comes to organizing events like the Jazz Festival.

“We were starting to feel that things were turning the corner in 2024, and we had our biggest ticketed show ever in 2024, really had a good year. Then with all of the economic uncertainty and tariff talk, it really threw the industry right back. So, it’s two steps forward, one step back,” Josdale explained.

However, the executive director is optimistic that the community support will keep Jazzfest alive and thriving in Saskatchewan for many years to come.

“We’ve had a lot of challenges and we continue to face them. But we do feel very loved and supported by the community right now,” Josdale added.

“So, we’re just going to keep doing what we do best and working through those challenges one day at a time.”