No final decisions on dates for the SaskTel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival have been made yet or whether or not it will be live. Artistic director Kevin Tobin says other festivals, like the Regina and Winnipeg Folk Festivals have had to cancel because of concerns around the pandemic.

However, the Winnipeg festival has rescheduled for July, so organizers are discussing whether that might work for the Jazz Festival. Tobin says July 9th to the 18th was when the festival was originally scheduled, but now with the variants of concern and the restrictions, the hope is that a time later in the summer might work better. It could be a live festival, but scaled accordingly, respecting the restrictions, or it could be a mix of virtual and live or all virtual.
Tobin believes a decision will be announced soon.

Virtual performances are something that Jazz Festival organizers may want to keep in the mix once the pandemic has subsided. Tobin says their virtual connection series with 5 performances has over 55,000 views so it adds an opportunity for new programming elements.

There are a couple of virtual performances coming up. Folk artist Jeffery Straker is May 11th and Blue Rodeo is May 28th. More information is available on the Jazz Festival’s Facebook page.