Even though the measures announced by the authorities on May 14 did not help cultural operators at all and did not define a predictable framework in which outdoor events could take place this year, the organizers of Jazz in the Park have decided to continue preparations for this year's edition of the festival, which will take place in Cluj-Napoca between September 2^nd-5^th, 2021.

"It's important for us to move forward with organizing Jazz in the Park. The festival is more than a job, it has become our lifestyle, something that defines us and, if we stop, it is as if we stop being ourselves. Everything that has happened lately has put a negative pressure on us and the organization of the festival, even in its adapted form, is a way to heal us, to come back.

Jazz in the Park being an event with free access and many participants, it was clear to us since last year that we will not be able to return to the format that consecrated it until there will be no restrictions. For this reason we completely reorganized and we were lucky to do this in parallel with the evolution of restrictions, trying to anticipate a new festival format, on which to build a different story, but in the same spirit in which we accustomed our audience. We were inspired and lucky, but from this point of view, this does not make our situation less difficult. Returning to the festival, we are very confident that we will have a good event. Even if the place will not be the same, we are the same people behind us, the positive energy will be just as good '', explained AlinVaida, executive director of Jazz in the Park and organizer of the festival.

An important part of the preparations for the festival was to establish the places where the public will meet with jazz, given that the pandemic situation no longer allows the festival to take place in the Central Park of Cluj-Napoca, as it happened for seven years. Thus, the organizers have established that Jazz in the Park will have this year as its main venues the Ethnographic Park, Iulius Park and the USAMV Campus. These nuclei will be joined by a fourth, to be elected soon.

During the festival, every courtyard in the Ethnographic Park will be a celebration. Each household will host a story, told either through music or through the relaxing activities that the Jazz in the Park team will prepare for the public. The moments of the day will act as a catalyst for the big concert of each evening.

Iulius Parc will be a stage dedicated to Romanian jazz bands and artists, specially designed to support the local music industry and also to support artists from all over the country. In fact, in addition to concerts, there will be several activities in the festival in which Romanian jazz artists will be directly involved.

The USAMV campus will host a picnic like never before! Hundreds of blankets lying on the grass, a large artisan market, vinyl music and relaxing concerts - all of which will be enjoyed by festival-goers coming to the Campus.

There will also be a stage dedicated to the piano - Piano Stage, where you can listen to different musical genres, from classical to the most eccentric, but which will have as a common element the warmest instrument, the piano.

In addition to all of the above, the festival will host children's events, a craft fair, musical equipment presentations, a vinyl fair, and concerts at other special venues in the city. Moreover, this year the festival will open for other organizers who will be able to make their own events under the tutelage of Jazz in the Park.

An essential chapter in the preparation of the preparations is the sale of tickets for the festival. Thus, passionate jazz lovers and festival supporters have the opportunity today to purchase Early Bird tickets and season tickets, which will ensure their access to Jazz in the Park events throughout the city. Early Bird tickets, whose price starts from 30 lei / day, are available, between May 19^th-26^th, 2021, on the Entertix and MyTicket platforms.

"We assure the public that we will automatically return the money on tickets in the event of changes in the festival due to government restrictions or other causes not related to the participants in the festival. We take this measure to encourage people to buy in advance. It also helps us to know what number of people we expect, and it gives the public confidence to buy tickets to an event organized in a pandemic, '' Alin Vaida added.

Jazz in the Park is a contemporary jazz festival that takes place in Cluj-Napoca. In its eight years of existence, Jazz in the Park has brought to Cluj over 300 jazz concerts with artists from almost all continents, quickly becoming one of the most important European festivals of its kind. Artists such as Marcus Miller, Judith Hill, Ghost Note, Richard Bona, Bill Laurance, Dhafer Youssef, Robert Glasper, Nouvelle Vague or Hindi Zahra performed on its stages.

Founded in 2013 by Facts, Jazz in the Park has positioned itself from the beginning as a community event, based on mutual support and trust. This relationship was strengthened through various initiatives, the most representative being the Jazz in the Park Fund, which managed to return to the community, for various socio-cultural projects, over 70,000 euros raised through non-binding tickets.

In 2019, Jazz in the Park won the trophy of the category '' Best Small European Festival '' at the 11th edition of the prestigious European Festival Awards competition, thus becoming the first jazz festival in Romania to obtain a distinction at this event. Since 2018, the Jazz in the Park festival is a member of the European Jazz Network.

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