What started as a small jam session in 1959 has now turned into an annual three-day jazz event, a festival favorite for South Texas citizens. This year the Texas Jazz Festival celebrated their 65th anniversary Oct. 23-25 at Heritage Park in downtown Corpus Christi.
The jam-packed event brought music-lovers of all ages, with kids in face paint, adults in Halloween costumes, and Jazz Fest veterans rocking vintage merch and hats from previous years.
First-timers also found plenty to keep them busy in between performances with food, drinks and vendors.
“The music is great. So much diversity. We love this, we always want to capture the moment,” said Jared Johnson, who sat down with wife Nina Johnson to have their caricature drawn by local artist Kevin Reuter. The Johnsons came from Beeville to enjoy their first Jazz Fest.
Both fans and festival workers have a soft spot for the festival. Jonathon Garcia, Board of Director for the VIP section, is one of the many who work together to make the event enjoyable for all.
“We hand out a bunch of food, like today we have mini tacos,” said Garcia. “We serve sodas and wine, but also just try to make our members feel at home.”
“It’s a sense of community, we get a bunch of people coming over from not just around Texas, but out of state, Oklahoma, Florida even. It brings out many people who love jazz music. It’s a good fun time and it’s free!”
