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 seventeen 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 2015 with a lineup that includes local, regional and national acts. From the Electric Blues Stage to Acoustic Alley, the Musical Discovery Zone to the Community Stage, and of course the Jazz Stage, presented by Heartland Bank, you’ll find something for everyone.
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.
Tastings with Whiskey Pete, a certified Spirits Specialist, will return to the Festival on Saturday June 20, from 2 to 6 p.m. He will entertain and educate participants and discuss the evolution of whiskey-making and the fine distinctions between many varieties of bourbon and whiskey.
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 2 p.m. – 8 p.m. with Columbus Brewing Company, Four String, New Belgium and Sweetwater breweries.
Sunday, festival guests will “Drink Local” and enjoy craft beer tastings with the owners of Gahanna’s Pigskin Brewery and wine tastings with Valerie and Robin Coolidge of local Wyandotte Winery. All tasting sessions will take place under the pergola at Creekside Plaza and tickets can be reserved by calling the Gahanna Convention & Visitors Bureau at 614-418-9114 or purchased on-site from the ticket booth on the Plaza.
Family Fun
The Giant Eagle Family Fun Zone features free kids’ activities, crafts and games. 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. 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 19: 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.; Saturday, June 20: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Sunday, June 21: Noon to 6 p.m. Admission is $5 on Friday, Saturday (until 5 p.m.) and Sunday. On Saturday, from 5 p.m. to close, admission is $8. Children under 12, and members of the military (with their immediate family) with military ID are FREE. Additionally, $13 weekend passes are available for purchase online at creeksidebluesandjazz.com. The Festival is presented by the Gahanna Convention & Visitors Bureau and is made possible with the support of sponsors and help from a corps of dedicated local volunteers. A complete schedule of entertainment and additional information is available at creeksidebluesandjazz.com or by calling the Gahanna Convention & Visitors Bureau at 614-418-9114.
Don’t sing the blues about your financial future. Jazz things up and contact one of our community bankers at Heartland.