JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 All weekend, the Jacksonville Jazz Festival has attracted tens of thousands of locals and tourists to the River City.<\/i><\/p>\n
Sunday is the final day, but the hustle and bustle downtown has given the entire area some extra attention.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a good environment,\u201d Jacksonville resident Dr. Kenyatta Lee said. \u201cSo, I do think it\u2019ll help Jacksonville grow.\u201d<\/p>\n
He and his wife, LaQuita, say they have been to several Jacksonville Jazz Festivals throughout the years.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not sure how many cities offer free jazz events like this,\u201d LaQuita said. \u201cI think it\u2019s amazing that Jacksonville is offering this type of event for free for the community.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
Action News Jax also spoke with Keith Phelps, one of the touring keyboardists, for Patti LaBelle.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think post-COVID this is really exciting,\u201d Phelps said. \u201cIt\u2019s great for people to be able to come out, just get back to music and congregate and the things that make us feel good.\u201d<\/p>\n
Phelps said he loves to see how jazz music brings people together and looks forward to an exciting final day.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll be closing the festival out with her this evening,\u201d Phelps said.<\/i><\/p>\n
The\u00a0<\/b>lineup<\/b><\/a>\u00a0has attracted tens of thousands of people daily.<\/p>\n Anthony Raters is the front of the house manager at\u00a0<\/b>Uptown Kitchen & Bar<\/b><\/a>, an already busy spot just a mile from the Jacksonville Jazz Festival activity.<\/p>\n \u201cWe love it,\u201d Raters said. \u201cWe love bringing this life back to the city. Downtown needs more of this. We just love having these events come through.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n Executive Chef Kevin Williamson has brought some major New Orleans flavor to the restaurant; it is something new and returning customers have raved about, including this weekend.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s being in contact with people that come to eat at this restaurant because they\u2019ve been looking for something like this for a minute,\u201d Williams said. \u201cSo my passion and their love for food just makes it one big happy family that comes together.\u201d<\/p>\n Tourists and locals say they\u2019re optimistic about the city\u2019s future.<\/p>\n Keith Hunt traveled from Clermont with his family and said he watched an incredible performance by Stephanie Mills.<\/p>\n \u201cJacksonville is a wonderful city,\u201d Hunt said. \u201cI would like to come back and see more of the city and see what Jacksonville has to offer.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n Organizers say the Jacksonville Jazz Festival is one of the largest free music festivals in the country.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s right on the river,\u201d Kenyatta said. \u201cThe backdrop is just unparalleled. To have this as a resource really brings the community and the city together. It\u2019s peaceful, clean and family friendly. It was a great experience.\u201d<\/p>\n Councilman Reggie Gaffney of District 7, shared his thoughts on Sunday.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m so excited that the last three days have been a big hit,\u201d Gaffney said. \u201cTonight is going to be even better. I just like what the City of Jacksonville is doing when it comes to understanding what it takes to bring our community together. I believe we need to do more of these.\u201d<\/p>\n The final day of the festival will run Sunday from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m.<\/p>\n To learn more about the Jacksonville Jazz Festival,\u00a0<\/b>CLICK HERE<\/b><\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n