“We’re going to play some Dixieland, with a capital D!” said Glen Tremblay, as Razzmajazz kicked off the first Fort Langley Jazz and Arts Festival on Saturday morning.
RazzMaJazz led a parade from St. Andrew’s church down Glover Road to the Fort Langley Community Hall.
There MC Mark Forsythe introduced the day’s events, which included two stages, one at the hall and one on the Bedford plaza near the waterfront.
“Sights and sounds, arts, and live jazz are going to be taking over the streets of Fort Langley today,” Forsythe said.
In addition to the main jazz stages, clusters of art displays and buskers lined the streets of the village, with pianists, students, and young combos and guitarists playing for passerby.
Youngsters got to help build “Fort Langley Jazz Town” out of clay in a tent on the grounds of the community hall.
Dozens of people took part in the initial parade, before settling in to enjoy the performances on the stage, or to head out in search of other performers.
Some of those performing included the WOW Jazz Orchestra, Van Django, The Murray Porter Band, the Miles Black Quartet with Julia Copeman-Haynes, and Rumba Calzada.
The musical events ran until 5 p.m.
