One of the signature events of the summer for the past 28 years in the Sioux Empire is taking a break for now.

The Sioux Falls Jazz and Blues Society announced on Friday that JazzFest has been canceled for 2020.

Tryg Fredrickson, executive director of the Sioux Falls Jazz and Blues Society, told KSFY, the Jazz and Blues Society has decided to place JazzFest on hiatus to allow the organization to focus on educational programming.

The event saw a significant drop off in attendance numbers in 2019 due to a number of different factors.

Beth Ormseth, President, Board of Directors, of the Sioux Falls Jazz and Blues Society issued the following press release to the media on Friday, (December 6).

"Live music performance has grown tremendously in Sioux Falls, and we are very proud to be a part of that. This growth, and other headwinds over the last few years including weather events, unforeseen artist cancellations, and increasing expenses cause us to pause and evaluate the model for the festival that we remain committed to in the future. With this, the Board of Sioux Falls Jazz and Blues Society will assess our organization and programming, including JazzFest, as we grow into 2021." 

"Education has been at the core of why we do what we do, and we're thankful that JazzFest, among other fundraising efforts, has afforded us the ability to provide our educational programming for the last 20 years. Festival revenues have declined, and that has been a catalyst for us to channel our mission toward all the other great things we do, including raising music appreciation and education for our youth and younger audiences."

"The Sioux Falls Jazz and Blues Society not only plans to continue its growth in educational programming across the state, but also to expand to neighboring communities outside South Dakota who have supported the organization over the last two decades. "The Sioux Falls Jazz and Blues Society is larger than one annual event, and we want to let our patrons know that we're carrying forward their love for jazz and blues to our younger audiences with full rigor. Our work is to expand the reach of our mission — especially to groups and communities that can benefit from it the most."

Fredrickson told KSFY, the plan as of right now is to "refresh and retool" the JazzFest event.

One thing we know for sure, in 2020, the Sioux Empire won't be quite as hot and not nearly as populated in Yankton Trail Park for at least two days in mid-July.

Source: KSFY TV

 

 

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