24 Years of Music and Community The Creekside Blues & Jazz Festival returns for its 24th year in Gahanna, Ohio

By Rachel Karas

With June approaching, thousands will soon gather in the Creekside District of Gahanna to listen to the soulful sounds of local and nationally-renowned musicians for the annual Creekside Blues & Jazz Festival.

Celebrating its 24th year, the Creekside Blues & Jazz Festival, presented by Visit Gahanna, (the Gahanna Convention & Visitors Bureau), has been entertaining crowds since its inception in 1999. The highly anticipated festival is Gahanna’s largest signature event and draws over 20,000 visitors from Ohio, the Midwest and beyond.

Running from June 16 through 18, festivalgoers can take full advantage of the festival with three stages of live music, delicious food and beverages from local businesses and food trucks, local vendors, and nature paths at the Creekside Park and Arboretum that adjoins the festival grounds.

Visit Gahanna’s Executive Director, Lori Kappes, shared highlights of what is coming to this year’s festival, as well as tips on how to stay up to date as the event approaches.

How has the festival grown and changed over time?

“First held in 1999, the Creekside Blues & Jazz Festival began as a half-day event to commemorate the opening of Gahanna’s Creekside Park and the revitalization of the downtown Gahanna area,” Kappes says.

“Today, the festival is a three-day cultural event that features hours of world-class music on multiple stages, mouth-watering cuisine, regional artisans and more.”

With blues and jazz at the center, what can people expect when it comes to music?

The festival offers a wide range of music varieties including its namesake blues and jazz, but also funk, soul, rock, bluegrass and more. There will be three different stages for visitors to enjoy including a Jazz Stage, a Blues Stage and a Community Stage.

The Blues and Jazz stages will feature a mix of local, regional and national musicians, while the Community Stage will focus on showcasing artists from primarily around the Central Ohio area.

Some bigger names include awardwinning blues artist Zac Harmon; saxophonist Marion Meadows, who will be performing with local band The Urban Jazz Coalition; and Bluesmen Lil’ Jimmy Reed and pianist Ben Levin.

How else can people get the most out of the festival?

There will be plenty of food to enjoy, as Kappes says the organizers pride themselves on having a wide variety of cuisine including 20 food vendors and various local restaurants within the festival grounds.

Kappes says some food vendors from last year plan to return, including Island Noodles, Louisiana Grill and Ribman Catering. Popular festival foods such as fresh-cut fries, funnel cakes and kettle corn will be present along with vegan options from new vendor Turtle Island.

Besides the good food and music, festival-goers can also support local retail vendors and artisans and enjoy draft beer options, all of which will be from Gahanna’s local breweries.

The Open Air Art Studio returns to the festival for its second year, allowing visitors to watch and admire as local artists create art murals on the festival grounds.

For some family fun, kids can learn more about music at the kid-friendly Music Discovery Area, which will be open on Sunday.

“We’re excited to add a kid-friendly ‘Music Discovery Area’ to the festival this year to help teach and inspire a love of music in children,” Kappes says. “The Mu- sic Discovery Area will allow kids the opportunity to get on stage alongside young musicians, to learn about and play musical instruments, and to see what it’s like to perform in front of an audience.”

How does such a big event like this work and come together?

“We couldn’t do it without the volunteers we have,” Kappes says. “And we have many who dedicate their entire weekend to come and help. Some of our volunteers who have taken larger roles start planning for the next year’s event shortly after the festival happens. So those people are involved all year long.”

Each year, there are roughly 350 people who sign up to help, each getting a T-shirt, free admission, snacks and treats, as well as a picnic once the festival is done as a thank you from the Visit Gahanna team. And even though applications opened in March, Kappes says, they always take volunteers right up until the day the festival kicks off.

Kappes says in addition to having volunteers to help, the sponsors are a large part of what makes the festival possible, especially the stage sponsors. This year, Toyota Direct and Drive Direct are sponsoring the Blues Stage, Heartland Bank is sponsoring the Jazz Stage, and Civista Bank is sponsoring the Community Stage. CS

Rachel Karas is an editor at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at rkaras@cityscenemediagroup.com.

Know before you go

• Tickets for the event can be purchased at the gate or at the festival’s website, CreeksideBluesAndJazz.com.

• Adult tickets are $15 each, youth (ages 11-17) are $10 and children (ages 10 and under) get in for free. Additionally, any active duty or veteran military member will be admitted for free with their Military I.D. at the gate.

• Weekend passes valid for all three days for the festival are also available for adults for $30 or youth (ages 11-17) for $20.

• A special Buy One, Get One Free Ticket sale will be available for Sunday, June 18 only.

• Free parking will be available at the AEP Ohio building at 700 Morrison Rd. with a complimentary shuttle – sponsored by AEP Ohio and Mount Carmel – that will take visitors to the festival grounds.

• See the full line-up and schedule of musicians, list of vendors, local accommodations and travel tips on the festival’s website at CreeksideBluesAndJazz.com.