The Toronto Beaches Jazz Festival returns in July 2013. Once again it’s too big to cover in my little blog article, and does a fine job advertising itself.
(Added July 27, 2013): If you’re into “multicultural” rather than “jazz”, consider MEC in Scarborough for the July 27-28 weekend. The Muticultural Exploration of Canada) on Ashtonbee Road in Scarborough, near Warden and Eglinton. Mix 30 performing arts groups representing over 50 cultures and 100 food vendors, with a jobs expo or career fair, and you get MEC. 11am-9pm both days. The official 2013 MEC Poster (pdf) does not mention admission fees. Now back to our previously written article about Beaches Jazz 2013…
Let’s focus on the basic Beaches Jazz Festival facts, and then highlight the workshops which present a very special opportunity among the range of annual Toronto events.
The Basics of the 2013 Beaches Toronto Jazz Festival
The important basics are the dates and the venues.
The Toronto Beaches Jazz Festival 2013 runs from July 19 through 28. However, each major venue is active for only a portion of that time.
Here’s the list of the major 2013 Beaches Jazz Festival venues in chronological order:
- July 19-24: Woodbine Park.
- July 25-27: Beaches StreetFest along Queen Street East.
- July 26-28: Beaches Boardwalk.
- July 27-28: Kew Gardens.
I said more about some of these venues in last year’s “The Two-Weekend 2012 Beaches Jazz Festival Toronto“.
(Updated: July 19, 2013): Due to popular search queries, let’s also note the “2013 Beaches Jazz Festival Tune-Up Run” later in this article.
Woodbine Park Launches the Beaches Toronto Jazz Festival
Woodbine Park hosts the Main Stage as well as the Trinidad and Tobago Village for its opening weekend, and then “A Taste of Jazz”. Woodbine Park is bounded by Lake Shore Blvd East, Coxwell Avenue, Eastern Avenue and Northern Dancer.
I always recommend taking the TTC if you don’t bicycle along the Martin Goodman Trail. Try the 22 Coxwell Bus south from the Danforth subway line; it’s a short walk south from Queen Street to Woodbine Park.
Beaches StreetFest for the Beaches International Jazz Fest 2013
The Beaches StreetFest extends along Queen Street, east from Woodbine Avenue to Beech Avenue. Note that the official guide says that the Balmy Beach Club is at the foot of “Beach Ave.”, but they really mean “Beech Avenue”.
Jazz bands will play every few addresses along Queen Street, from 7-11pm during StreetFest. Walk down the street and pick a venue. StreetFest wins the “largest number of individual venues” competition by a long margin.
Don’t even think about driving to StreetFest. The 92 Woodbine South or 64 Main bus routes take you at Queen Street;
Beaches Boardwalk for the 2013 Jazz Festival
There are three specific venues in the Beaches Boardwalk segment of the Toronto Jazz Festival:
- The Big Band Stage is west of Lee Avenue.
- Boardwalk Place is at Lake Shore Blvd East and Northern Dancer Blvd.
- Latin Square is near the Leuty Lifeguard Station.
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Kew Gardens Closes the 2013 Beaches Jazz Festival
Kew Gardens will host a Main Stage as well as a Youth Stage to wrap the Beaches Toronto Jazz Festival.
Kew Gardens is a few blocks east of Woodbine, on the south side of Queen Street East. In my opinion, this park offers the prettiest venue in the eastern Toronto Beaches neighbourhood.
Free Workshops by the 2013 Beaches Jazz Festival Toronto
The Beaches Jazz Festival 2013 offers two groups of free workshops.
- The Mennonite New Life Centre offers a total of six jazz workshops on July 22, 23 and 24.
- During the Beaches Boardwalk series, two venues offer two sessions each on July 27 and 28.
The jazz workshops are “Vocal Jazz Bootcamp”, “Turning Pop into Jazz”, “Songwriting”, “Drum”, “Ukelele” (The ukelele as a jazz instrument? Who am I to question…), and “The Biz”. You must register by e-mail for these workshops; see the details in the official 2013 Beaches Jazz Festival Workshops page online.
The Mennonite New Life Centre is in the Toronto United Mennonite Church at 1774 Queen St. East, just west of Woodbine Avenue. These workshops run from 7-9pm on July 22-24.
There are two Beaches Boardwalk venues for dance workshops and demonstrations. The Big Band Stage, west of Lee Avenue, will be run by Bees Knees. The Latin Stage is near the Leuty Lifeguard station, with Miko Sobreira. These outdoors venues do not require registration; just show up by noon on July 27 or 28.
The Beaches Jazz Festival Run 2013
(Added July 19, 2013): The 2013 Beaches Jazz Festival Tune-Up Run starts at 8, 9 or 9:30 am on Sunday July 28, for the 20Km, 10Km and 5Km distances respectively. Runners should begin picking up their bibs at 7am at the pavillion south of Lee Avenue, not far from the Latin Square venue.
The runners head west along the Martin Goodman Trail. I remember encountering these waves of runners when our Running Room clinic happened to follow the same route towards Cherry Street; it’s a high spirited event. Cheer these athletes anywhere in the beaches and parks between Coxwell and Lee Avenue.
This popular multi-distance running event was sold out by July 19, although they have a “waiting list” in case previous registrants cancel. Since it’s an annual event, plan to start training early next spring and watch for the start of registration. This Canada Running Series event supports the Toronto East General Hospital Foundation.
The official Beaches Jazz Run page includes a link for those wanting to volunteer.
The 2013 Hennessy Talent Quest Winner at the Toronto Beaches Jazz Festival
(Updated June 29, 2013): Earlier this year I’d written about the “Hennessy Talent Quest for Toronto Beaches Jazz Festival 2013“. I just remembered that the winner will play the 2013 Beaches Jazz Festival at one of the StreetFest venues along Queen Street.
After a few moments of research on the appropriate official page, I found that the winner, Maneli Jamal will play at the east entrance to the Beach Public Library Gardens. That’s 2161 Queen Street East, from 7-11pm on July 25, 26 and 27.
Looking for Pre-Recorded Jazz?
Amazon Canada had offered a 5-CD Django Reinhardt “Classic Early Recordings” jazz set; check whether it’s still available! All 24 customer reviews gave it a 5-star rating; you really have to read the first, very comprehensive review of this pre-WWII jazz.
A more recent release is Tubby Hayes’ 4-CD “Little Giant Steps”. I’m sure Amazon would appreciate it if you write a review for them after buying this Hayes collection.
Looking for More Annual Events or a Holiday in Toronto?
You can find more annual events for your vacation in Toronto; or for local residents wanting things to do in Toronto on almost any weekend in the year.
Ideas for a Toronto Vacation or Staycation
Check the “annual events” or “Toronto events” categories toward the end of the left-hand menu. I especially like to cover summer attractions and special events in Toronto; but especially for Canadian holidays.
CityPASS offers discount tickets to Toronto attractions, including Metro Toronto Zoo coupons. You buy the voucher online, print it and take it to your first destination; let’s say it’s the zoo. They give you the coupon booklet but remove the Metro Toronto Zoo discount tickets. Visit the next four attractions, where helpful staff relieve your booklet of tickets but leave you with the rest of the information. You save over $40 by spending about $70. The voucher is good for almost two years, but you have to use all the discount admission tickets within nine days. This is terrific for tourists looking for multiple things to do in Toronto, or for a hometown stay-cation: use discount tickets to Casa Loma, the CN Tower, the Metro Toronto Zoo, the Ontario Science Centre and the Royal Ontario Museum in a nine day adventure. That’s five things to do in Toronto, and at a bargain price thanks to the discount coupons.
Disclaimer: DeHaan Services has no relationship to the organizer(s); I am not reimbursed for writing this article. However, DeHaan Services does write web site or advertising copy for clients. Our skills are demonstrated in online articles in Decoded Science and Decoded Pregnancy. That’s why DeHaan Services highlights these online articles on this site.
Thanks for reading about the 2013 Beaches Jazz Festival in Toronto, one of the major annual events every summer in Toronto. Now that you know the outline of the Beaches Jazz Festival 2013, make your detailed plans based on the official “Beaches International Jazz Festival Toronto“ site.
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