Jazz to hit Tauranga streets this April

Auckland funk and soul band Hipstamatics (pictured in 2018) will once again rock Tauranga’s The Strand at this year’s Downtown Tauranga Carnival - part of the 2019 National Jazz Festival Tauranga.

Dust off those straw boaters, floaty florals and parasols, wind back the clock and party like it's the 1940s or 50s this Easter.

Get some friends together and join a weekend of carnival ritz and glam at the Downtown Tauranga Carnival on April 20-21, as part of the 57th National Jazz Festival Tauranga.

The fun begins with the Vintage Parade in true New Orleans style along Willow Street on Saturday, April 20, with the BOP Vintage Car Club's collection on show and Tauranga's favourite band, Bay Dixie, playing authentic Dixieland jazz.

From noon on both days, The Strand will come alive with jazz, swing, blues and funk from New Zealand's best across four stages.

This year's bands include the ever-popular Hipstamatics, Shaken Not Stirred, Superhero Second Line and the Bay's very own Kokomo.

There will also be a Family Fun Zone with rides for the kids, and the Little Big Markets will set up on the waterfront on the Sunday.

'The Downtown Carnival is Tauranga's biggest day of the year, with a carnival vibe like no other,” says festival general manager Mandy Ryan.

'We encourage everyone to dress up in 20s, 30s, 40s or 50s style and join in the fun. Think spiffing sportswear and straw boaters, floaty florals and parasols.”

This year's National Jazz Festival Tauranga - the longest running of its type in the Southern Hemisphere - sees more than 55 acts performing at eight venues across four days.

The festival runs from April 18-21. For more information, visit: www.jazz.org.nz or get your tickets from Ticketek or Baycourt Community and Arts Centre Box Office.

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