The 6th Annual SC Jazz Festival is set for October 14-16 in Cheraw

Dizzy Gillespie’s hometown, Cheraw SC, is gearing up for the sixth annual South Carolina Jazz Festival October 14-16.

Complete with a bebop parade, a 5K run, a birthday party, all-you-can-eat BBQ, an outdoor jazz mass plus Dizzy’s bent horn and jazz galore, the three-day event is the perfect time to celebrate the late jazz great, who would have been 94 on October 21. 

Over 35 jazz performances are scheduled throughout the weekend at local restaurants, downtown Centennial Park, and the Theatre on the Green.  While most events are free, Main Event concert tickets are $20 per person for a single concert or $35 per person for both concerts. The Friday evening concert features the Charlton Singleton Quartet and the Kat Williams Trio while the Noel Freidline Quintet headlines Saturday evening’s concert.

The Dizzy Gillespie Scholarship Golf Tournament kicks off the weekend celebration Friday at 9 am with a Hole In One 2011 Chevy Cruze Giveaway. Open to all golfers, funds from the Cheraw State Park event are donated to the Cheraw Rotary Club for the Dizzy Gillespie Student Scholarship Fund.

Other weekend activities include a Centennial Park performance of the U.S. Air Force Heritage of American Band Rhythm in Blue Jazz Ensemble, “Dizzy on Display” at the Southern African American Heritage Center, an Italian Madonnari chalk competition, Art & Fine Crafts Exhibition, children’s events on the Town Green, music and dialogue at the Gillespie family’s church home,  wine and beer tasting at the Wine Factory, and the Historic Cheraw Cell Phone Tour, which leads participants to over 25 points of interest, including the home site where Dizzy Gillespie once lived, the Gillespie family's home church, and the school young Dizzy attended.

Visit www.SCJazzFestival.com to download the festival’s schedule of events, purchase Main Event concert tickets, register for the Dizzy Gillespie Scholarship Golf Tournament, and get more details regarding area lodging and restaurants.  This project is supported by the S.C. Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts.



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Pee Dee Arts is dedicated to promoting the Arts and cultural activities in the Pee Dee Region of Eastern South Carolina. To have your event, program or class promoted,

email Bruce Douglas at peedeearts@gmail.com.

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