Jazz Right In YOUR Backyard!

Moving to East Lansing in the fall of 2016 I found myself in a whole new world of new environments, newfound independence, new experiences and new friends. With all this new in my life I felt confined to what was offered on Michigan State Universities campus and found that I really had no idea what the East Lansing and Lansing areas had to offer. It wasn’t until March of my sophomore year when I started to work for the City of East Lansing as the Jazz Festival and Community Events Intern where I started to research different community events in the area and learned that I had been missing out on so many great community events that were happening literally right in my backyard.

As part of being the Jazz Festival and Community Events Intern I have the opportunity to help put on various community events in East Lansing such as the East Lansing Farmers Market, Play in the Park, Summer Concert Series, Moonlight Film Festival and last but not least the next big event I have had the pleasure of working with is the 22nd Annual Summer Solstice Jazz Festival occurring in downtown East Lansing on Friday, June 22nd and Saturday, June 23rd.  The Summer Solstice Jazz Festival (SSJF) is a celebration of jazz music featuring nationally recognized and regional jazz artists, as well as youth and community education for residents and visitors of East Lansing. The SSJF salutes jazz one of the truly American art forms, and offers this free two-day event in a lively outdoor setting. With performances from Benny Bennack lll, the Gathering Orchestra with Rene Marie and Steve Wilson, Sunny Wilkinson, Orquestra Rtimo and many more, to the Children’s area with entertainment provided by the East Lansing Public Library, a face painter and Impression 5 Science Center, to various food vendors, there is sure to be something to please everyone!

​With all this being said don’t’ be like the naïve, sheltered person I was when I first came to East Lansing, but instead try something new, explore the area and go to community events such as the Summer Solstice Jazz Festival in a couple weeks. So, grab your friends, family, children, neighbors, or even your dog and come on out to the Summer Solstice Jazz Festival on June 22nd and 23rd for 15 hours of the best jazz in the heart of downtown East Lansing for free! 

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Emily Malak

Growing up in Byron Center, MI a small town right outside of Grand Rapids, Emily Malak now resides in East Lansing and is currently going into her junior year at Michigan State University. In pursuing a major in Jazz Studies and a minor in Entrepreneurship and Innovation she has the goal of pursuing a career in Arts Administration/Management upon graduation. In her free time Emily enjoys being outdoors, traveling, camping, photography, hiking, hammocking, painting and spending time with friends and family.