Jazz festivals in Toronto and Vancouver have wrapped up, but the duMaurier Atlantic Jazz Festival in Halifax is still rolling until Saturday night. The big hit of all the fests was Cuban jazz, and many of those artists have moved down east to give Haligonians some of their musical warmth, including Jane Bunnett and the Spirits of Havana.

While Jane has left the building there's still time to hear the Michael Kasehammer Trio on Saturday. A former child prodigy in the classical music piano category at age 6, Kaeshammer caught onto R&B and boogie-woogie at the age of 13. Now, 10 years later, he's one of the world's most renowned artists in this field. Catch him if you can.

Oh, and anyone in Canada who wants to see what all the fuss is about Jane Bunnett & the Cuban Piano Masters? Bravo TV is running her Montreal Jazz Festival, Saturday at 6 p.m. ET.

duMaurier Atlantic Jazz Festival
Various locations
Halifax, Nova Scotia
To Jul 15 2000

Bard Under the Sky
Shakespeare summer festivals are always popular in Canada, but Edmonton's River City Shakespeare Festival is pulling in big crowds with alternating productions of King Lear and Much Ado About Nothing. Now in its third season, the festival is also offering day camps for kids with special education sessions. It's running until July 22, so check out the sked at:

River City Shakespeare Festival

Celebrating the Canadian Word
Book lovers will want to head up to Lakefield (home of the posh boys school Randy Prince Andy attended in the 1980s), for a two-day celebration of the printed word. The village is famous for more than the school. It counts authors Susanna Moodie and Margaret Laurence as one-time residents. Wayne Johnston, Charlotte Gray, Charles Foran and Roy MacGregor will be joined by CBC Radio Two dude Tom Allen to celebrate the power of language.

Lakefield Literary Festival
July 15-16
$10-$25
Venues around Lakefield
(705)652-0370

Drop me a line.

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