Smaller crowds, other factors took toll on a 17-year tradition
After 17 years of bebop bliss, the Sisters Jazz Festival is ceasing operations indefinitely, festival Chairman Steve Mills announced Tuesday.
There are several reasons for the decision, but the primary factor is declining attendance, Mills said.
“Over the past few years the number of people that have attended the festival has gone down a little bit each year, and the last couple of years it's been significant enough that it's had a financial effect," he said.
“We just felt like at this point in time ... it would just be better to stop it."
Exact figures were unavailable, but Mills said about 1,300 people attended the three-day festival in 2007, down 10 percent to 15 percent over 2006 and 20 percent to 23 percent over the 2000 event. In recent years, three-day passes cost $70 and one-day admission cost between $25 and $35, depending on the day.
The festival, held every September in downtown Sisters, brought to town regional and national bands that played a range of traditional jazz, from Dixieland to ragtime to big band. It was started in 1991 by jazz fans looking to add their own twist to the town's busy fall, which also includes a folk festival and quilt show.
After 17 years of bebop bliss, the Sisters Jazz Festival is ceasing operations indefinitely, festival Chairman Steve Mills announced Tuesday.
There are several reasons for the decision, but the primary factor is declining attendance, Mills said.
“Over the past few years the number of people that have attended the festival has gone down a little bit each year, and the last couple of years it's been significant enough that it's had a financial effect," he said.
“We just felt like at this point in time ... it would just be better to stop it."
Exact figures were unavailable, but Mills said about 1,300 people attended the three-day festival in 2007, down 10 percent to 15 percent over 2006 and 20 percent to 23 percent over the 2000 event. In recent years, three-day passes cost $70 and one-day admission cost between $25 and $35, depending on the day.
The festival, held every September in downtown Sisters, brought to town regional and national bands that played a range of traditional jazz, from Dixieland to ragtime to big band. It was started in 1991 by jazz fans looking to add their own twist to the town's busy fall, which also includes a folk festival and quilt show.
For more information contact All About Jazz.
