Jazz Festival manager Marc Anderson, left, and Tauranga Jazz Society president Jeff Baker. Photo / George Novak
Bay retailers, and accommodation and hospitality businesses are gearing up for one of the busiest weekends of the year, thanks to a weekend of jazz.
The 58th National Jazz Festival and 43rd National Youth Jazz Competition return on Easter weekend with an impressive and exciting programme of events across Tauranga.
The competition will showcase emerging jazz players' talents with 300-plus secondary school students performing at the Baycourt Community & Arts Centre on March 31 and April 1.
On Good Friday the Historic Village, which is the venue for the TECT Jazz Village, will come alive with Tauranga's version of a New Orleans French Quarter.
The Baycourt Community & Arts Centre is also the venue for a line-up of talent from April 1 to 4.
Highlights include Kiwi crooner Steve Carlin teaming up with Roger Fox Big Band to showcase songs from Frank Sinatra's songbook.
Downtown Tauranga will also be the place to be this Easter, with the two-day carnival of music and other entertainment, with multiple stages along the Strand and extending to the new Wharf Street Precinct and Red Square.
Strolling musicians, an arts and craft market, a Vintage Car Parade and the Family Fun Zone will all add to the vibrancy, festival manager Marc Anderson said.
Anderson said it was "exciting" to be able to showcase such an "awesome" programme featuring the best jazz musicians in the country and more.
"There is a sense of excitement building, not just among the musicians but also among the restaurants, cafes and bar owners in downtown Tauranga.
"Particularly those on The Strand and Wharf St, who are effectively our partners in helping make the festival a great success, along with the council's events team and our sponsors."
Anderson said the social and economic benefits to Tauranga were huge and he was sure there was something for everyone to enjoy, even those who were not jazz fans.
He expected at least 30,000 people to attend the festival and urged people to get in early to buy tickets for the paid concerts.
Anderson said since 2009 TECT's support has made the National Jazz Festival possible.
"We simply would not be here without them. Thank you TECT for helping us bring our community together once again to celebrate and enjoy all things jazz.
"With 12 years of support and over $1m in funding, TECT has helped us grow the festival into the spectacular event it is today," he said.
Craft Bar and Kitchen (CBK) owner Billy Emeny said the festival was a "massive" event for the city, especially for restaurants and bar owners hoping their tills would be ringing.
"It's hugely exciting for the city to be able to hold the festival, particularly with what's been happening in Auckland, and we're all crossing our fingers it can go ahead," he said.
Hospitality NZ Bay of Plenty & Waikato regional manager Alan Sciascia said the hospitality businesses were looking forward to a significant financial boost over the festival weekend.
"The hospitality sector is certainly hoping we don't get a repeat of last year's unfortunate cancellation as businesses are already struggling with survival due to the yo-yo Covid alert levels."
Downtown Tauranga chairman Brian Berry said it was important to show people Tauranga CBD was open for business, with a united front over the festival weekend.
"The festival is one of our key activation events for the CBD and it's really important that it's fully supported by the whole community.
"It's a really well-run event and it's a credit to Marc and his team that the festival is back this Easter with a fantastic programme and more venues, including in Wharf St.
"I encourage as many retailers as possible to stay open as it will add to the vibrancy and shows people, particularly our visitors, that the CBD is very much open for business."
Sandra Johnson, the owner of Dry Dock Cafe in Wharf St, Tauranga, agreed.
Johnson said it was "very exciting" that the festival was going ahead as she and her staff were gearing up to have one of their busiest trading weekends of the year.
"It's particularly exciting that there will be a stage set up in the Wharf St precinct, and fantastic news that the festival is able to go ahead after such a challenging year."
Hospitality New Zealand's accommodation sector Bay of Plenty chairman Tony Bullot said generally there were good bookings during Easter weekend, but there were still plenty of rooms available.
Some people were waiting to see what happened in terms of any alert level changes, while others tended to hold off until closer to Easter weekend, he said.
Gareth Wallis, Tauranga City Council's Community Services general manager, said: "In addition to the economic benefits that come from hosting events of this scale, the iconic festival adds to the vibrancy of our city.
"It inspires social connectivity and builds community pride."
Wallis said the festival currently received an annual $50,000-plus GST grant through the council's Legacy Event Fund.
He said the most recent economic impact evaluation was in 2015, which revealed an increase in the region's GDP of $359,000 due to the festival.
"It's reasonable to expect the economic [and social] impact of the festival will have increased significantly since 2015."
Tourism Bay of Plenty chief executive Kristin Dunne said the festival provided a "fantastic" incentive to travel to Tauranga and the Bay of Plenty over Easter – a time when the summer season had already cooled off for much of the region's tourism industry.
"The city is an amazing backdrop for those who come from out of town and contribute to our local economy. There are huge flow-on effects on accommodation, hospitality, retail and tourism activities.
"The recent alert level change has caused significant disruption and economic loss for the region. We have our fingers crossed for a successful 58th National Jazz Festival in Tauranga."
Festival tickets can be bought at Baycourt Community & Arts Centre or at Ticketek.co.nz
Giveaway
The Bay of Plenty Times Weekend and Rotorua Daily Post Weekend are giving away tickets to the festival.
Text 4487 and let us know what Jazz Festival event you would like to attend to be in the draw to win a double pass for you and a friend. Entries close March 29.