City Summer: Beaches International Jazz Fest ‘a great celebration’

Posted July 14, 2011 9:40 pm.

This article is more than 5 years old.

Founder of the Beaches International Jazz Festival, Lido Chilelli, wants you to know you don’t have to spend thousands of dollars traveling to experience the sights and sounds of our planet’s unique cultures.

For a 10-day stretch every summer, the world comes to Toronto’s sandy east end community by the lake — and admission is totally free.

“It’s a great celebration,” Chilelli boasts. “There’s excitement and surprises every which way you turn. If you
want to go around the world of music, you come to the Beaches Jazz Festival.”

The festival, which Chilelli first organized in 1989, has grown immensely since its humble beginnings.

“I was operating a bar/restaurant called Lido’s in the Beach at the time. I started live jazz and I saw that there was such a great following and support for it,” the longtime Beach resident and business owner explains. “I thought, ‘You know what, this area needs a jazz festival.’”

The inaugural event saw about 3,000 music fans head down to Queen Street E. Now, close to a million people flood the neighbourhood to soak in the spectacle.

“It was the little festival that grew and now it’s one of the top 10 jazz festivals in the world.”

As attendance expanded, so did the impressive list of performers. This year over 250 musical acts submitted an application to perform. As Chilelli explains, the festival attempts to cater to a wide range of musical tastes.

“We went outside the box and we introduced fusion and Latin and Caribbean and reggae. We basically made it a people’s festival.”

Some of this year’s big names include: Toronto legend Carol Pope, Luis Mario Ochoa & Cimarrón, blues musicians Diana Braithwaite and Chris Whiteley, and Raoul and the Big Time Big Band, to name a few.

They’ll be performing at a variety of locations like the Latin Square at the foot of Lee Avenue, the Big Band stage adjacent to the Beach Boardwalk, and stages set up at Woodbine Park and Kew Gardens.

(See a full list of performers and locations here.)

There’s also plenty of room for audience participation. The festival offers numerous free workshops ranging from Comedy Improv and Ukulele to salsa and swing dancing

For many the highlight of the festival takes place during its last three days, July 21-23rd, when the ever-popular “Streetfest” closes off traffic and transforms a 2km stretch of Queen Street E between Woodbine and Beech Avenues into a huge eclectic stage and dancefloor, with over 50 bands performing nightly between 6 and 11 p. m.

Chilelli is confident there’s something for everyone at the Beaches International Jazz Fest.

“The people can relate to the music and we want people of all ages and cultures to participate and have a good time.”

Some Key Performances and Events:

Friday, July 15, 2011:

Carole Pope, 7:30 p.m. @ Woodbine Park – Main Stage.

Saturday, July 16, 2011:

Big Sam’s Funky Nation, 8:30 p.m. @ Woodbine Park – Main Stage.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011:

Ukulele Workshop with Steve McNie, 7-9 p.m. @ Mennonite New Life Centre, 1774 Queen St. E.

Friday, July 22, 2011:

The George Lake Big Band, 3 p.m. @ Big Band Stage

Saturday, July 23, 2011: