The new Jazzfest venue is a hit with this Saskatoon couple — they live across the street

The 2023 edition of the SaskTel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival wrapped up Sunday and by all accounts it looks like the new format and new location were positive changes.

For Patricia and Bob Hoffman, moving to a home overlooking the river 20 years ago was their dream. Now, having front row seats to the festival is an added bonus.

“This is a great place to be. Being by the river is always good. If you don’t like people, noise and action, don’t be down here,” Bob Hoffman told CTV News.

The festival has typically been held in the Bessborough gardens, but organizers had other plans this year.

“We moved for the sustainability of the festival. We needed to find a home that would allow us to keep costs down to pass savings on to patrons and allow the festival to grow, and Victoria Park was that home,” Executive Director Shannon Josdal told CTV News.

The first four days of the festival took on a different format.

“We had one main stage and the first six days were free and last four days were ticketed,” Josdal says.

From early indications, it looks like more people flocked to this park compared to 2022.

“Free program for us is about 1500 people, so to see 5000 people and 4000 through the gates on that first weekend is really incredible,” she said.

Being nestled on the riverbank with people living so close was taken into account, but site designers used the hill as an amphitheater. The success of the choice wasn’t known until that very first performance on June 30 when organizers were holding their breath waiting to see what would happen.

“It makes listening really fantastic and makes for a lot of space and good sight lines because people aren’t stuck on one level and it also helps eliminate noise to the surrounding neighborhoods because you have this natural wall,” she said.

The grass is noticeably in rough shape after thousands of people took over the space for over a week and Josdal says, with the extreme heat, the grass took more of a beating. They couldn’t water the grass in between days, so it got extra trampled. She isn’t too concerned as the city is working to get the hearty ground cover back into shape as soon as possible.

Morgan Heise also lives across the street and has rave reviews of the festival being right on his doorstep.

“I feel like it was more family friendly in a park and overall, just a great experience,” Heise told CTV News.

After 10 days of early morning sound checks, which according to Heise, took place between 9:00 and 10:00 a.m., he’s happy to see things wrapped up.

“I’m 26 but I feel that grouchiness and need some peace and quiet, but for a festival that went on that long, it was great,” he says.

The Hoffmans say front of their house was a drop off zone which added to the experience with festival patrons stopping to chat and being really respectful of their yard and space.

“It was really good. We got to meet a lot of people. It was just a fantastic time.”

So as crews finish dismantling what’s left of the festival, organizers are looking ahead to next year and confirm they will be coming back to their new home in Victoria Park.