Calgary Fest Canceled

The Calgary Jazz Festival was canceled at the last second because of financial constraints.

The decision came June 19, two days before the Alberta event was to start. The decision came after a six-hour board meeting.

“For several months, the board had been asking the [Calgary Jazz Festival] executive director for a detailed rundown of expenses and cash flow required for the 2010 festival,” interim C-Jazz president Richard Sherry said in a statement, according to CBC News.

“It wasn’t until … two days before the festival that we finally got a look. We were surprised that our wishes to scale down the festival following the difficult 2009 festival were, for the most part, disregarded.”

Sherry said the board thought “less pain would be inflicted” on the artists, volunteers and jazz fans if the event was called off before it started, rather than during it.

This year’s June 21-27 event was to include Ben E. King, Chick Corea and Pancho Sanchez.