For , change has proven to be good.
For most of its , JazzFest took place over a week to 10 days, and much of it was held on Tri-C鈥檚 Metro Campus with just a few performances in Playhouse Square.
However, in 2014, the Festival was moved to summer, shortened to three days and is almost entirely staged in Playhouse Square.
Director Terri Pontremoli says these shifts have really been beneficial to the festival.
鈥淏y moving to the summer, that makes us more of a destination event. So what makes it better when you put your lineup together, the artists are really on the road doing their tours of North American and Canadian jazz festivals. So it鈥檚 better to get these artists when they are actually out. There鈥檚 not too many challenges because there are so many great musicians, so it makes it easy to put together a good lineup,鈥� she said.
Pontremoli said the move to Playhouse Square has changed the makeup of the crowd.
鈥淭here鈥檚 more and different people coming. People are coming from out of town and state and really immersing themselves. They enjoy free outdoor activities that start at 3 p.m. and go until midnight. The dance floor is always thumping. They get to really enjoy downtown Cleveland,鈥� she said.
There are ticketed concerts and free performances, as well as a number of activities for children.
Friday at 1:40 p.m., JazzFest artists and play in ideastream鈥檚 Westfield Insurance Studio Theater as part of our Applause Performances series.