JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After hours of delays, the Jacksonville Jazz Festival finally opened its gates to visitors late Sunday.
It was scheduled to open at 3 p.m., but people weren’t allowed in until after 7:30 due to bad weather.
That led to one of the day’s performances being cancelled.
News4JAX spoke with nearly a dozen people about the weather delay and the majority of them did not mind it at all. A few said it allowed them the chance to meet new people as they stood around waiting for the rain to stop. However, one woman I spoke to felt the complete opposite.
“I actually liked it,” Arkila Campbell said. “Sitting out here getting to know the lay of the land as they say has been really good.”
“That doesn’t bother me at all because I’d rather be safe than sorry, so it’s free, I’m fine, I’m outside and enjoying the weather,” Cheryl Bridges said.
“It’s fun hanging out here watching people listening to music, we got a nice breeze,” Aaron said.
And though the majority of people I spoke to didn’t mind the delay, one woman who didn’t want to give her name, did.
“It has been a troubling experience. We’ve been standing in line since 2 p.m. So they told us to leave because it was a thunderstorm coming so we stood up under the bridge...It’s just been horrific,” she said.
Right before 7:40, the gates opened and you could see people smiling once they got past the metal detectors.
A lot of the people News4JAX spoke told us even though they had these delays, that doesn’t ruin the weekend they had coming out to the jazz fest.
Sunday Schedule
- UNF Jazz Ensemble I — 3:15-3:45 p.m.
- Connie Han Trio — Cancelled
- Branford Marsalis Quartet — 5:45-6:45 p.m.
- Boney James — 7:15-8:30 p.m.
- The Roots — 9-10:30 p.m.
