Summer jazz fest salvaged with help of convention bureau

YOUNGSTOWN

The jazz festival is on.

The annual concert that is part of the Summer Festival of the Arts was in jeopardy for the past couple of months.

It was kept alive thanks to an eleventh-hour effort.

Kim Waters, a smooth jazz saxophonist, will headline the jazz fest, which will begin at 7 p.m. July 12 on Central Square downtown.

The jazz fest was in question because of the turmoil in the city’s office of downtown events. Lyndsey Hughes, who headed the department for several years, handled the jazz fest in past years.

However, Hughes was on leave pending the result of a sexual

harassment lawsuit she had filed against former city official

DeMaine Kitchen. Hughes left the post after the settlement. The position remains open.

The Mahoning County Convention and Visitors Bureau, which had been a collaborator with the Summer Festival of the Arts in past years, stepped in to make sure the jazz festival was not eliminated.

Linda Macala, executive director of the CVB, contacted Eric Ryan Productions, which was able to book Waters. The promotions company is headed by Eric Ryan, who also is the director of Covelli Centre.

“We hated to lose the event,” said Macala, noting that the Tour of the Valley bicycle race, also an annual part of the Summer Fest, had already bowed out this year.

Readf more about the events in Wednesday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.