The Beaches International Jazz Festival takes place every July in the Beaches neighbourhood of Toronto located on the bank of Lake Ontario. The Beaches is a beautiful area with a small-town atmosphere, white-sand beaches, and the Woodbine Beach Park, where most of the performances of the Festival take place. Jimmie Simpson Park with its Main Stage, Big Band Stage, SING! and the Acapella Stage are just some of the Festival's attractions. It features about 1,000 artists every year and about 1,000,000 attendees during its month-long program.
The festival was founded in 1989 by the province's Ministry of Tourism and Culture. The Beaches Jazz Festival doesn't focus just on jazz. It covers reggae, blues, Latin, hip hop and other genres. Its past lineups included KC Roberts, Jay Douglas, Dumstaphunk, Teeny Tucker, Messenjah, and more.
StreetFest is one of the most popular events of the festival. Held along Queen Street East, between Woodbine Park and the Beach it features about 50 bands, food and lots of entertainment. Taste of Jazz in Woodbine Park is a food truck event that attracts Toronto's street food enthusiasts. It features over 20 trucks representing all possible tastes and flavours. Beaches International Jazz Festival Tune-Up Run is a race with three distances: 20K, 10K and 5K, organized by the Canadian Running Series and the local Running Room
