The 8th Boquete Jazz & Blues Festival

Recently Boquete, located in the Chiriquí highlands, has been making a name for itself. Last year, US News spoke to the small mountain town as “one of the world’s biggest and best-known overseas retirement communities.” Offering a cool mountain climate, abundant natural beauty and a variety of amenities, its clear why the town has gained its popularity. Boquete is quickly developing into a hotspot of activity, but what's really special about Boquete is that it is full of culture, and rich with musical talent. From February 13 until February 16 the Boquete Jazz & Blues Festival will serenate the foothills of Volcan Baru. In its beginnings this humble festival brought a small local crowd of music lovers together. Today, it is a well-known musical event that draws spectator and musical acts from all over the globe. Each year, the event boasts a variety of concerts and parties. This year like last, the festivities will kick off with a New Orleans style parade.

The annual festival is put on by a charitable, non-profit organization called The Boquete Jazz and Blues Festival foundation. The foundation seeks to support and enrich the cultural life in Boquete by making music more accessible. Volunteers are dedicated to putting on a series of free concerts monthly throughout the area. The foundation also works along side MEDUCA (the ministry of education), to encourage music programs in schools throughout the Boquete area.

The annual festival is among the many ways the foundation strives to promote musical arts in the Chiriqui highlands. By welcoming international and local musicians, each offering a unique musical style, the festival itself has grown culturally and musically diverse. This year acts will include a variety of international blues acts including Chuck Beattie, and notable national Latin Jazz artists among many others.

The main concerts will be held in the open-air amphitheater located in the resort & spa community of Valle Escondido. To accompany the main event there are several concerts happening daily at hotels and restaurants throughout the area.

Pre-festival activities start as early as the February 7th, with the opening of an art exhibit called “The Art of Music”. Artwork will be displayed at the Boquete Library until Feb. 27.

For the full Boquete Jazz & Blues festival 2014 program click here.

To find out more about the festival and foundation, or to buy tickets to the main events online visit: http://www.boquetejazzandbluesfestival.com/