2013 All-Canadian Jazz Festival Port Hope
“a leading showcase of Canada's burgeoning jazz scene"
– Doug Fischer, Ottawa Citizen
The All-Canadian Jazz Festival Port Hope has earned popular and critical recognition as a showcase for the finest in Canadian jazz. As the Globe & Mail noted back in 2002, some Canadian festivals hire Canadian musicians because they can’t afford to bring in musicians from farther away. The All-Canadian Jazz Festival, by contrast, made a conscious decision to focus on the astonishingly diverse and talented Canadian jazz community.
Other major dailies such as the Toronto Star and the Ottawa Citizen have also sung the praises of the Festival, noting that our lineup stands up well against the multi-million-dollar big-city festival lineups. Perhaps more importantly, musicians across the country have heard about our Festival, and contact us each year eagerly hoping to arrane gigs here.
Not only have the leading lights of Canadian jazz performed here, but the Festival's programmers have frequently signed rising stars who were on the verge of major label recording success.
For musicians and fans alike, the Festival’s appeal is increased immeasurably by the cozy small-town setting. Downtown Port Hope is recognized as the best preserved heritage district in Ontario, and dozens of quaint shops, restaurants and bars are only a block or two away from the park where the music happens.
“It's difficult to imagine a prettier setting for a music festival than Port Hope,” said the Ottawa Citizen. For information on accommodations, restaurants, and other attractions in the area see our tourism page.