Sunday, February 26, 2012

Mixing wine and jazz – and sunshine

I spent much of President’s Day Weekend covering the seventh annual Punta Gorda (FL) Wine & Jazz Festival for JazzTimes.com. The main event at the city’s Laishley Park along picturesque Charlotte Harbor featured pop saxophonist Mindi Abair (pictured), guitarist Peter White and The Rippingtons.

The festival is evolving beyond a one-day event. This year, organizers added a Sunday program that featured a mainstream jazz brunch in the ballroom of the nearby Isles Yacht Club. It drew a full house of 250. May the festival continue to grow - and evolve.

In addition to jazz, the Saturday program at Laishley Park lets attendees enjoy a huge variety of wines and tapas-sized portions of food from several dizen restaurants. Those are included in the cost of a ticket. All you need to bring are sunblock and your listening ears.

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