Blues & Jazz Festival

The 17th Annual Erie Art Museum Blues & Jazz Festival, scheduled for Saturday, August 1 & Sunday, August 2 at Frontier Park, is the largest jazz and blues event in the region. The two-day Festival presents national and regional musicians in a beautiful outdoor, family-friendly setting. The event is free and held rain or shine.

Helpful Tips
• Bring your blanket or lawn chair.
• A wide variety of festival fare from local vendors and
restaurants will be available for purchase.
• Coolers are permitted.
• Please leave your pets at home.
PETS ARE NOT PERMITTED at the Festival.

Getting Here
The Festival is held at Frontier Park, located at the corner of West 8th Street and the Bayfront Parkway in Erie, Pa.

By Bike: Support the Festival’s GREEN efforts and ride your bike to the Festival. A FREE bike corral is available at the Festival’s Information Tent near the entrance to the Festival grounds.

By Foot: The multi-purpose trail along the Bayfront Parkway now connects Frontier Park with the parking lots at Liberty Park Park & Ride on the Bayfront Parkway. Festival visitors can walk without having to cross the Bayfront Parkway.

By Car:
• From south–follow I-79 North until it turns into the Bayfront Parkway. At the second light, turn left onto Greengarden, proceed north to Frontier Park.
• From west–take I-90 East to Exit 22, follow I-79 North as above.
• From east–take I-90 West to Exit 22, follow I-79 North as above.
• Handicapped drop-off and parking on West 8th Street.

Parking
FREE Festival parking is available along West 8th Street, throughout the Frontier Park neighborhood and on Greengarden Blvd., south of West 8th Street. When parking at the lot on Greengarden Blvd., please consider making an optional $2 donation to the Lake Erie Arboretum at Frontier Park to reduce your carbon footprint from driving to the event. Parking also is available at the Park & Ride at Liberty Park along the Bayfront Parkway.

Parking also is available at the Park & Ride at Liberty Park along the Bayfront Parkway.

Staying Here
Festival visitors planning on staying overnight in Erie may contact the Bel-Aire Hotel, (814) 833-1116 or the George Carroll House (814) 459-2021 for reservations. Visitors may also contact VisitErie at (814) 454-7191.

Tent and Cooking Policy
The Erie Art Museum enforces a strict tent policy that regulates physical tent placement as well as tent set-up time. The Erie Art Museum will not permit any tents to be set-up prior to 9 a.m. on Saturday, August 1. Festival staff will strictly enforce this regulation. All tents set up prior to this time will be taken down and can be redeemed at the Festival’s Information Tent. No unauthorized sales or solicitations. Additionally, please note that overnight camping at Frontier Park is against City of Erie ordinance, as is open-flame cooking (e.g., charcoal grills and turkey fryers) and that City of Erie police will be strictly enforcing this rule. Propane grills are permitted.

Festival Poster
The 2009 limited edition festival poster is created by graphic designer Corry Lino and the designers at PAPA Advertising. Also, thank you to PAPA Advertising for printing the collectible poster.
Lino states, "In my work, I use a printmaking approach to develop my style of line art. I like to build and then deconstruct lines to form unique visuals. Usually, I begin to develop concepts using pencil, ink and white out on paper ­sketching with the hope of the happy accident.
As the lines build, they create abstract shapes that I begin to fill in. The harmonious relationship between positive and negative space yields the larger picture. While I always want the viewer to appreciate the overall goal of the piece, I also want them to be captivated by what is hidden or built up inside."

Festival Merchandise
Limited edition organic cotton T-shirts, buttons and Festival posters as well as crowd-pleasing bubbles, glowsticks, inflatable instruments and CDs from some of this year’s musicians are for sale at the Festival’s Information Tent situated at the entrance to the Festival grounds along West 8th Street, and at the T-shirt tent located by the stage.

Supporting Us
Thanks to our sponsors, all Festival performances and activities are FREE to Festival visitors; the Erie Art Museum asks your support by donating to the Festival’s Bucket Brigade volunteers who circulate through the Festival grounds throughout the weekend. Please consider a minimum $5 donation for every person in your party.

Volunteers Needed
Volunteers assist with all aspects of the Festival, from Bucket Brigade
to backstage production. To volunteer, call the Erie Art Museum,
(814) 459-5477.

Greening-Up
The Festival has partnered with the Lake
Erie Arboretum at Frontier Park (LEAF) and
WJET-TV, Fox 66, YourErie.com, and ErieGreen to do our part to reduce the Festival’s environmental impact and to create awareness of the need for environmental stewardship.

You can support our efforts in the following ways:
1. Recycle what you bring–no styrofoam or other non-recyclable materials. Recycling cans are located throughout the Festival grounds.
2. Walk or ride your bike to the Festival.
3. If you do drive, consider making an optional $2 donation to LEAF when you park your car at the free festival parking on Greengarden Blvd. Your donation will help to offset your carbon footprint from driving.

The Erie Art Museum and our partners are doing our part too:
1. Styrofoam of any kind is prohibited and serving cups or plates must be biodegradable.
2. We've limited the need for cutlery by serving foods that do not require the use of cutlery, or by providing biodegradable cutlery.
3. Condiments are in "pump" style dispensers, not individual packets.
4. Festival guide is printed on recycled content paper that is 30% post consumer waste.
5. All Festival t-shirts are 100% organic cotton.