{"id":4498,"date":"2023-03-09T11:01:29","date_gmt":"2023-03-09T16:01:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jazzinthegardens.com\/firstact\/?p=4498"},"modified":"2023-03-14T11:02:50","modified_gmt":"2023-03-14T15:02:50","slug":"how-jazz-in-the-gardens-grew-from-a-small-festival-to-one-of-the-most-anticipated-multi-day-events-in-the-country","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jazzinthegardens.com\/firstact\/2023\/how-jazz-in-the-gardens-grew-from-a-small-festival-to-one-of-the-most-anticipated-multi-day-events-in-the-country\/","title":{"rendered":"How Jazz In The Gardens Grew From A Small Festival To One of The Most Anticipated Multi-Day Events In The Country"},"content":{"rendered":"
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When Suzan McDowell\u2019s company was hired as the marketing agency for the Jazz in the Gardens Music Fest<\/a>\u00a0in 2006, she remembers passing out free tickets and pleading with people to come. Now the multi-day festival is one of the year\u2019s\u00a0most anticipated events<\/a>\u00a0and easily attracts an average of 60,000 people to the City of Miami Gardens every March.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The growth isn\u2019t by luck or happenstance. It came from years of hard work and grinding.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI am so proud to have been there at the very beginning when it sounded like a crazy idea. When Mayor Shirley Gibson called asking for my help, Jazz In The Gardens had just eight tickets sold just a few weeks before the festival. We ended up with about 1000 people after a bunch of hustling,\u201d McDowell told\u00a0Moguldom Nation<\/em>. \u201cThen in year two, the attendance quadruped. That\u2019s when we knew we were on to something.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gibson was the first mayor of Miami Gardens and founder of the festival, but JITG continued to grow under the leadership of her successors, Mayor Oliver Gilbert and current Miami Gardens Mayor Rodney Harris. For the last 16 years, city officials have intentionally curated a talented event team and partnered with local businesses to drive the festival\u2019s evolution. It\u2019s something Harris takes immense pride in.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe started Jazz in the Gardens as a concert in the parking lot and in dirt fields out here in Mami Gardens. Now it has grown into not just a music festival, but it\u2019s an experience,\u201d Harris told Moguldom Nation in an exclusive interview. \u201cPeople just enjoy coming out and experiencing the hospitality that the residents of Miami Gardens put on.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The festival went from taking place on one afternoon and solely featuring local artists to bringing audiences some of the most iconic artists in music history. This year\u2019s festival boasts Jill Scott, Jodeci, Ari Lennox, Adam Blackstone, El Debarge, Erykah Badu, Charlie Wilson, Keyshia Cole, Sean Paul, Mike Phillips, Kierra Shear, Chandler Moore and Pastor Mike Jr. Comedian Deon Cole will serve as the festival\u2019s host.<\/p>\n

It also now hosts four days of events, including a poetry contest, opening night party and Women\u2019s Impact Luncheon.<\/p>\n

Harris said the festival hasn\u2019t reached its peak yet. \u201cWe\u2019re still growing. We\u2019re still looking at it, trying to get it to a point where we can have events during the whole week,\u201d Harris said. \u201cSo, we still have things planned and look forward to growing Jazz In The Gardens even bigger, but time will tell.\u201d<\/p>\n

Planning for the next festival begins almost immediately after the current one ends because it is a yearlong undertaking, Harris added. He cited critical tasks like securing artists, managing partnerships with the Miami Dolphins and the Hard Rock Stadium, paying bills from the previous festival, soliciting participation from hotels and restaurants, etc. as the reasons so much pre-planning is needed.<\/p>\n

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\u201cA few days after Jazz is over, they\u2019ll start getting ready for next year\u2019s Jazz,\u201d Harris said. He credits his Assistant City Manager, Vernita Nelson, the executive producer for Jazz In The Gardens, as the \u201csuperwoman\u201d and driving force behind the event\u2019s success.<\/p>\n

\u201cVernita does a great job. For her to take on this role and really make this thing go off is just incredible,\u201d Harris said. \u201cHer and her team, they do a great job; and all of the people in the marketing department, Suzan McDowell, she does a great job with getting everything taken care of; and it\u2019s an ongoing process.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Nelson, who isn\u2019t big on the spotlight and prefers to work diligently in the background, told Moguldom she\u2019s honored to serve her community by coordinating Jazz In the Gardens. However, she and Mayor Harris are careful to note that they couldn\u2019t do it on their own. \u201cTeam\u201d is a word they both use often.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe annual production of Jazz in the Gardens Music Festival is truly a labor of love for me and the team. I grew up and still live in Miami Gardens, so producing a top-tier festival for my city is the goal every year,\u201d Nelson said in an emailed statement. \u201cOur \u2018line-up formula\u2019 of old and new school R&B, Neo Soul, Hip-Hop\/Rap, Gospel, and Jazz \u2013 with a dope host \u2013 keeps JITG ranked among the top spring festivals in the nation.\u201d<\/p>\n

She admitted some challenges arise during the planning process, noting time management and ensuring they have a pleasant guest experience are extremely important.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWith many moving parts, the most challenging aspect is time management. If one element is delayed, it affects three to four related elements of the festival implementation process,\u201d Nelson said. \u201cThe guest experience and safety have always been top priority. However, post-COVID efforts took our safety efforts to another level. \u2026 This may be a second thought for most, but having ample restroom facilities and sufficient bandwidth\/Wi-Fi is essential to the guest experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to Nelson, city employees and McDowell\u2019s team at Circle of One Marketing, the Jazz In The Gardens event team includes a coalition of local businesses.<\/p>\n

They include Melvin Roane of Roane Consulting Group, whose team manages sponsorships and corporate partnerships; Flora Sweet of Sweet Plans, whose team coordinates the Women\u2019s Impact Luncheon; LaShannon Petit of PRPL whose team manages social media; Merdie Lane, who manages volunteers; and Vannis R. Lopes, who manages vendors.<\/p>\n

Despite the festival\u2019s growth to a national event, Miami Gardens is still very committed to spotlighting local artists and business owners.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important to include them because they are our local talent. They are the future of our music industry and we want to make sure that we help them,\u201d Harris said. \u201cJazz In The Gardens can help them propel to a higher level in the music industry. We want to get them the exposure they\u2019ll need. We also reach out to get our small businesses active.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harris also touted the economic impact and exposure the festival brings. He said he\u2019s seen businesses go from having food trucks to purchasing brick-and-mortar buildings after participating in Jazz In The Gardens. He further noted that some entrepreneurs have even given him testimonials that they\u2019ve made enough money at Jazz In The Gardens to cover their annual costs.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just Miami Gardens that benefits from Jazz In The Gardens; it has an economic impact on the entire region of South Florida,\u201d Harris said.<\/p>\n

Cliff Samuels owns a namesake restaurant with locations in Miami and Hollywood, Florida. He said he\u2019s had a positive experience at the festival.<\/p>\n

\u201cJazz in the Gardens has helped to establish\u00a0Cliff\u2019s restaurant in South Florida over the years. The vendor process is easy and smooth and we are proud to be a featured food vendor at this important event,\u201d Samuels said.<\/p>\n

Connie Kinnard is the Senior Vice President of Multicultural Tourism & Development for the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau. She agreed with Harris about the \u201cdirect power\u201d Jazz In The Gardens infuses into South Florida\u2019s economy and shared data from their research department from 2019 that showed the event generated nearly $12.3 million in revenue for the region.<\/p>\n

According to researchers, over 4,000 jobs were created or supported and over $500,000 in local taxes were generated.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is one of our most recognized events nationally and the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau will continue to be a significant sponsor partner,\u201d Kinnard told Moguldom.<\/p>\n

Harris wants JITG partners like Kinnard, residents, and visitors alike to feel like family.<\/p>\n

\u201cJazz In The Gardens gives us the opportunity to have like a big family reunion where everybody can enjoy themselves and have a great time,\u201d Harris said. \u201cIt\u2019s been a wonderful event for the last 15 years and this year is not going to be any different. We want everyone to come out and not just enjoy the festival, but enjoy the City of Miami Gardens.\u201d<\/p>\n

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When Suzan McDowell\u2019s company was hired as the marketing agency for the Jazz in the Gardens Music Fest\u00a0in 2006, she remembers passing out free tickets and pleading with people to come. Now the multi-day festival is one of the year\u2019s\u00a0most anticipated events\u00a0and easily attracts an…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4499,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-updates"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jazzinthegardens.com\/firstact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4498","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jazzinthegardens.com\/firstact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jazzinthegardens.com\/firstact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jazzinthegardens.com\/firstact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jazzinthegardens.com\/firstact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4498"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/jazzinthegardens.com\/firstact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4498\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jazzinthegardens.com\/firstact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4499"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jazzinthegardens.com\/firstact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jazzinthegardens.com\/firstact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jazzinthegardens.com\/firstact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}