HARTFORD --The 27th Annual Jazz Festival kicked off Friday night and it is a weekend-long event that draws in thousands of people at Bushnell Park.
"The food! The vendors! The music! The people!" said Glory Bibb of Hartford.
Bibb is a native of Hartford and she said it is her second time attending the Jazz Festival, a way for her to spend some quality time with her friends and family. Bibb said she is no stranger to jazz music.
"The music is nice, I used to go to a jazz club ... the penguin club," added Bibb.
The Vice President of the Hartford Jazz Festival said up to 55-thousand music lovers throughout the weekend gather at Bushnell Park for world-class entertainment and the 14 food trucks offering food ranging from Korean to smoothies in a freshly cut pineapple.
"We sell fried goods - fried dough, funnel cakes, fried snickers, fried twinkies, anything you can ask for that’s all fried," said Michael Klug who works at the fried dough food truck.
If the food and music is not quite your taste, there is also shopping at the vendors where they sell everything from handmade crafts to souvenirs.
"We’re very proud of the diversity that the festival brings ... doesn’t matter who you are, where you’re from, we encourage you to grab a chair, come on down and listen to music," said Ric Casciano, Jazz Festival Vice President.
"We try to come every year, people having fun! I love to see people enjoy themselves - no controversies or anything," said Darnell Latimer of East Hartford.