- 1
- 2
- next
- | single page
ELKHART -- Rose Bias says her family attended their first Elkhart Jazz Festival when her oldest child was a baby.
That child, daughter Sydney Bias, is now 11 and has two other siblings.
Attending the Elkhart Jazz Festival is still a family affair.
"I like having the whole family together," the Elkhart resident said Friday. "We see people from other states who come to see the festival and they'll come up and (comment on) how our kids have grown over the years.
"It's a nice way to stay in touch with people."
The children also have a keen ear for jazz, and dancing feet.
Sydney sat in a lawn chair next to her mother while siblings Taylor, 8, and Trenton, 6, danced to the big band sounds of Truth in Jazz, one of the first bands to perform at the free stage located at the Civic Plaza.
The 25th annual jazz festival will conclude today in downtown Elkhart.
Elkhart resident Ginni Gary said that she also attends the event. She said she was looking forward to seeing saxophonist Tim Cunningham, a jazz festival favorite, perform on the Civic Plaza stage later in the evening.
Like Bias, Gary said the festival gives her a chance to reconnect with old friends.
South Bend resident Fred Walker and his wife, Sharon, attended the festival for the first time.
The couple were among the hundreds who sat in chairs arranged on the street or lounged at tables. The weather was great for an outdoor event. The heat that enveloped the area earlier in the week was gone.
Fred Walker said that comfortable atmosphere and the music attracted the couple to Elkhart.
"I had heard about it for quite a few years, and we decided that we wanted to come out and hear some live jazz," Walker said.
"I absolutely enjoy it, and recommend that anybody come.
"The atmosphere is good and the setting is great."
Wife Sharon Walker agreed.
"I love all kinds of music and I like listening to the different kinds of jazz that they have here."
Elkhart Mayor Dick Moore said the longtime success of the Elkhart Jazz Festival is the result of total community involvement.
That child, daughter Sydney Bias, is now 11 and has two other siblings.
Attending the Elkhart Jazz Festival is still a family affair.
"I like having the whole family together," the Elkhart resident said Friday. "We see people from other states who come to see the festival and they'll come up and (comment on) how our kids have grown over the years.
"It's a nice way to stay in touch with people."
The children also have a keen ear for jazz, and dancing feet.
Sydney sat in a lawn chair next to her mother while siblings Taylor, 8, and Trenton, 6, danced to the big band sounds of Truth in Jazz, one of the first bands to perform at the free stage located at the Civic Plaza.
The 25th annual jazz festival will conclude today in downtown Elkhart.
Elkhart resident Ginni Gary said that she also attends the event. She said she was looking forward to seeing saxophonist Tim Cunningham, a jazz festival favorite, perform on the Civic Plaza stage later in the evening.
Like Bias, Gary said the festival gives her a chance to reconnect with old friends.
South Bend resident Fred Walker and his wife, Sharon, attended the festival for the first time.
The couple were among the hundreds who sat in chairs arranged on the street or lounged at tables. The weather was great for an outdoor event. The heat that enveloped the area earlier in the week was gone.
Fred Walker said that comfortable atmosphere and the music attracted the couple to Elkhart.
"I had heard about it for quite a few years, and we decided that we wanted to come out and hear some live jazz," Walker said.
"I absolutely enjoy it, and recommend that anybody come.
"The atmosphere is good and the setting is great."
Wife Sharon Walker agreed.
"I love all kinds of music and I like listening to the different kinds of jazz that they have here."
Elkhart Mayor Dick Moore said the longtime success of the Elkhart Jazz Festival is the result of total community involvement.
