A MESSAGE FROM THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

THE KASLO JAZZ REIMAGINING

For over 30 years, the Kaslo Jazz Etc. Festival has been known as the “best little festival in the world” defined by our indomitable mountain spirit, our lakeside village vibe and our iconic floating stage. Since 2019 our little festival has faced a global pandemic, increased forest fires, loss of corporate sponsorship and rapidly rising costs for just about everything. It’s pressures like these that are causing festivals everywhere to struggle.

And today we find ourselves in their company; in debt and challenged with the decision about how to move forward. We don’t want to abandon ship – or our iconic floating stage – but we need to reimagine what the festival looks like and chart a new course for the future.

WE NEED YOUR HELP TO PULL IT OFF.

Our plan is to make sure the music and festival spirit returns to Kaslo; but not as you know it. This summer, the three-days of camping, family fun, and amazing music on the beach will not be happening. We are still exploring all options for producing events this year, but we need a bit more time to determine what that looks like. We know this news will be disappointing to many of you.

We’ve always taken pride in being transparent, so with that in mind, here are some details you should know:

• KJES is currently $250,000 in debt and our goal is to clear this up by the end of 2026. This debt is a result of the constantly rising cost for everything from infrastructure, insurance, contractors, and much more. KJES is a registered charity and has not made a profit since 2019. With our limited capacity in Kaslo Bay Park, we have not been able to charge what was necessary to break even financially, and recognize we can not increase the price of tickets more than we already have. We are fortunate to get some grants and funding, but those are never guaranteed. With year-to-year funding, it is impossible for arts organizations such as ours to confidently plan on any funding when budgeting, which means we rely on ticket sales and other smaller revenue streams over one weekend to get us through an entire year. This is no longer sustainable.
• Our Board of Directors is working on restructuring so that this never happens again. That means reimagining what type of events we can produce in this new era, and also working on governance, policies, and procedures to strengthen the organization from being overwhelmed.
• We have not had any staff since November 2025. Both our Executive / Artistic Director, and Bookkeeper were laid off at that time and have been supporting the Board voluntarily since. We appreciate their continued commitment to the organization.
• We recognize many of you have plans to attend Kaslo this summer, and some of you have already purchased tickets. We’ll be reaching out to existing ticket holders separately very soon with some creative options.

To get through this, we’ll need the support of everyone who loves the festival. If you are in a place where you feel you can pay it forward, please click HERE or use the button below to make a donation and help us keep the festival afloat for another generation. Please also stay tuned for other opportunities to support the festival.

Together we can reimagine, restructure, restore, rebuild and continue to call Kaslo home to the “best little festival in the world” into 2027 and beyond.

If you have any questions or want to help in other ways – please email fundraising@kaslojazzfest.com