Nanaimo International Jazz Festival (NIJFA)

Nanaimo has a deep connection with jazz in its professional performers, some who have achieved national and international recognition as well as its distinguished jazz education programs in both the public schools and Vancouver Island University.

In 2017, Nanaimo hosted its first-ever jazz festival! New Orleans came to town, to celebrate the inaugural event September 15th to 17th. For 3 days and nights Nanaimo’s downtown was hopping with the beats and grooves of live jazz. The Festival put Jazz in Diana Krall Plaza, as well as a ‘Jazz Krall’ in other downtown cafes and public spaces throughout the event. Traveling all the way from New Orleans was the John Ellis quintet “Double Wide” who headlined the Festival’s main attraction at the Port Theatre Saturday night.
 
In 2018, the NIJFA headliner was the Charles Mingus Dynasty Quintet.