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TUESDAY, JUNE 19, 2007 B3
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DANESE KENON / The Star
GROOVW: Christopher Downs (from left), Sarah-Mejia Downs and Tina Cornetta enjoy the sounds of Yerba
Buena. An estimated 18,000 to 20,000 people attended the three-day festival in Military Park.
Rain-free Jazz Fest
sees attendance leap
By David Lindquist
davidJindquistfaindystar.com
Indy Jazz Fest organizers say
attendance reached 18,000 to
20,000 for the event staged Friday through Sunday at Military
Park, marking the first time since
1999 that attendance has gone
up. The 1999 fest entertained
65,000 on eight stages.
Specific attendance figures
won't be available until collected
tickets are counted by hand, according to Helen Small, president and chief executive of the
American Pianists Association.
No precipitation fell on the
2007 edition of the festival, and
crowds gathered in 80- and 90-
degree conditions for three consecutive days.
"I hate to see a drought any
time, but it was nice not to worry
about the weather," Small said.
"It allowed people to come out in
force."
The largest portion of Indy
Jazz Fest's composite crowd
showed up Saturday, when soul
singer Al Green headlined an
eight-act bill.
"I felt the energy building in
the park Saturday afternoon,"
Small said. "People just kept
coming in, even after Al Green
started."
The APA took over production
of Indy Jazz Fest in 2003, after
the Indianapolis Bond Bank forgave the event $300,000 in debt
related to performances canceled by rain in 2000.
In 2006, the association failed
to break even on its festival operating budget of $1.25 million.
Last year's attendance was
14,500, the lowest three-day tally
in event history.
This year's operating budget
was $1.3 million, with about
65 percent covered through corporate sponsorships and foundation funding.
"I'm sure we came out on the
positive side (with ticket revenue)," Small said.
Small said a 10th edition of
Indy Jazz Fest in 2008 is a virtual certainty, with a formal announcement expected in coming
weeks.
* Call Star reporter David Lindquist
at (317) 444-6404.
ROCKING OUT: Pedrito Martinez (foreground) and Mike Rodriguez (background), of Yerba Buena, entertain a dancing crowd. Their Sunday show
was on the final day of the fest.
