The Creekside Blues & Jazz Festival (CBJF) is a three day cultural celebration featuring hundreds of musicians, delicious cuisine, artisans from the region, amusement rides and engaging family activities. The event started nineteen years ago as a one-day dedication of Gahanna’s new Creekside Park area and the beginning of Olde Gahanna’s revitalization. The Festival has experienced unprecedented growth in attendance and has truly become more than the celebration of music, food and fun; it has become a premiere family summer event.
With a history for bringing unparalleled blues and jazz musicians to Olde Gahanna, the Creekside Festival continues that tradition in 2017 with a lineup that includes local, regional and national acts. From the Electric Blues Stage to Acoustic Alley, the Musical Discovery Zone to the Creekside Community Stage, and of course the Jazz Stage, presented by Heartland Bank, you’ll find something for everyone.
View Stage Schedule
While the focus of the weekend is always the music, this year there will be plenty of other fun ways to round out the Creekside Blues & Jazz Festival experience.
Eating and Drinking
As always, there will be great food vendors and many wonderful restaurants within the Creekside District that will be welcoming hungry and thirsty festival goers.
Watershed Distillery will offer tastings on Friday night with four new herb-infused cocktails created specifically for the Creekside Blues & Jazz Festival.
Saturday brings craft beer tastings from 3 p.m. – 7 p.m. with Kindred Spirits.
Both Friday and Saturday tasting sessions will take place under the pergola at Creekside Plaza and reservations can be3 made online at www.creeksidebluesandjazz.com. Seats are limited.
Sunday, festival guests can enjoy a delicious southern-style brunch on a waterfront patio, overlooking Gahanna’s beautiful Creekside Park at the Father’s Day brunch at Barrel & Boar. Reservations available online at barrelboar.com/Gahanna.
Family Fun
The Giant Eagle Family Fun Zone features free kids’ activities, crafts and games on Saturday from 2 p.m. til 7 p.m. and on Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. While there, stop by Musical Discovery Zone to enjoy a free, hands-on blues and jazz musical learning experience where kids can beat bongos, blow horns, twinkle keyboards, make their own musical instruments and more. Kids of all ages have the chance to interact with musicians from the Columbus Jazz Arts Group and the Columbus Blues Alliance as they discover the amazing world of rhythm and melody through interactive workshops. Visitors do not have to pay admission to the Festival to enjoy the activities in the Giant Eagle Family Fun Zone.
About the Creekside Blues & Jazz Festival
An estimated 35,000+ people are expected for the three-day festival featuring more than 90 hours of live music and entertainment. Festival hours are: Friday, June 16: 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.; Saturday, June 17: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Sunday, June 18: Noon to 6 p.m. Admission is $7 on Friday and Sunday, and $10 on Saturday. Children under 12, and members of the military (and their immediate family) with military ID, are FREE. Discounted weekend passes are available online prior to the festival weekend at creeksidebluesandjazz.com (early bird pricing of $15 through May 15, $18 from May 16 through June 15). Weekend passes will be available at the gate only on Friday, June 16, at $21. Free admission on Sunday between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. is available for each person who donates at least one nonperishable food item to benefit Gahanna Residents in Need (GRIN). Ride-all-day wristbands are available each day for the amusement area and cost $15.
Don’t sing the blues about your financial future. Jazz things up and contact one of our community bankers at Heartland.