After roughly two years of planning, the first ever Lock Haven Jazz and Art on Main Street (LH JAMS) Festival was held – and it was every bit the success we hoped it would be!
Nearly 150 people attended the Art & All That Jazz Reception, held Friday, Aug. 19, which raised funds for the 2017 festival – setting the stage for what is yet to come!
Speakers at the reception included CCAC President Steve Getz, who – along with CCAC Vice President Carol Ann Simon Cillo – conceptualized the LH JAMS Festival; CCAC board member Mary Coploff; Donna Wilson, provost and vice president of student affairs at Lock Haven University and CCAC board member; Eddie Severn, director of jazz studies at LHU and LH JAMS artistic director; and former Lock Haven Mayor Rick Vilello – who now serves as executive director for the Governor’s Center for Local Government at the Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development. The evening was punctuated with a cash bar, music by Saturday performers and hors d'oeuvres.
About two hundred and fifty people made their way to downtown Lock Haven on Saturday, August 20 to hear the tunes of nine different bands – Just Jazz from Uptown Music Collective, Zeropoint Big Band, Last Resort, Marko Marcinko Latin Jazz Quintet, Gabe Stillman & the Billtown Giants, Swing-nova, Nancy & Spencer Reed, Steve Rudolph with Eddie Severn and The Rick Hirsch 4.
Vendors lined the sides of the streets Saturday afternoon, restaurants placed tables out front for guests and artists Brienne Brown, Susan Nicholas Gephart and Karl Leitzel painted live, en plein air for attendees’ enjoyment. A short bout of rain didn’t deter the resilient crowd – who took shelter for the brief rain and found their seats again shortly afterward.
Thanks to our partners: LHU, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts; Lock Haven University Foundation; Pennsylvania Wilds; The Express; Fraternal Order of Eagles, Aerie 4298; Clinton County Government; Jim and Carol Hanna; City of Lock Haven; The Record; Clinton County Visitors Bureau; Lock Haven Elks Lodge 182; Downtown Lock Haven, Inc.; Bear Country Radio 99.9 FM; 92.1 WSQV; Fairfield Inn & Suites Marriott; Best Western; M&R Contracting Inc., Stella A’s Bar & Grille, Avenue 209 Coffee House, Broken Axe Brew House and The Riverside Saloon.
Next year’s festival is slated for August 18 & 19. Get ready for more LH JAMS and see how you can get involved in the planning fun!