Future Fort Langley jazz fests in peril
Sunday, July 19, 2026
Langley Advance
By Roxanne Hooper
Festivals, like this week's jazz fest in Fort Langley, are struggling to stay afloat in tight financial times.
Many of B.C.’s long-standing community festivals are fighting to survive with dozens of festivals closing during the last few years.
Karen Zukas, executive director of the Fort Langley Jazz & Arts Festival, is grateful their event is among those finding a way forward, but admits it’s not easy.
“We, like many festivals across British Columbia, are facing a crisis,” Zukas shared with the Langley Advance Times.
While the festival is surviving through what she calls creativity, community support, volunteers, and strong partnerships, organizers say the pressures facing B.C.’s festival sector, including the Fort Langley Jazz & Arts Festival, are “very real,” Zukas explained.
“Rising operational costs, increasingly complex event planning requirements, and growing competition for sponsorship dollars are putting tremendous pressure on the festival,” she said.
“The reality is that dozens of festivals across B.C. have shut down in recent years because the current funding model no longer works.”
Thankfully, Zukas confirmed, the local jazz fest is returning this week, July 23 to 26, for its ninth consecutive year.
The event features some of the country’s biggest names in the jazz and blues genre at ticketed and free events dispersed over the full four days.
For instance, on the weekend, thousands are expected to turn out for two full days of free performances between the main stage at the community hall, and a secondary stage at the historic train station. Plus, there are a number of special concerts through the village, starting on Thursday. See fortlangleyjazzfest.com for a comprehensive schedule.
Now, as a hybrid festival – as Zukas calls it – event organizer take “immense pride” in offering two full days of free public programming alongside their ticketed headliner performances. It helps keep the festival accessible to everyone.
However, the free programming – funded entirely through grants and sponsorships – is at risk, Zukas said.
“With a significant and steady decrease in grant funding over the past several years, coupled with increasing challenges in securing corporate sponsors and skyrocketing expenses, we face an incredibly difficult road.”
She fears the potential loss of the free festival going forward would have a ripple effect that would extend far beyond the stage.
“The Fort Langley Jazz & Arts Festival contributes approximately $1.5 million in economic benefits to our local community each year, filling hotels, supporting restaurants, and driving traffic to local businesses,” she said.
Beyond the economic infusion, the community benefits of live music, art, and culture are “immeasurable,” Zukas noted.
“We build community. We support local businesses. And, we contribute to the live music sector. Each year, we hire hundreds of professional, young, and emerging musicians, as well as production crew members, directly supporting the livelihood of the live music sector. We create a vital bridge, connecting bands to audiences and audiences to bands in a way that enriches lives.”
Without increased support from funders, sponsors, and the public, the free programming could be significantly decreased or eliminated entirely from next year’s 10th anniversary festival.
The solution, she suggests, requires a coordinated effort if the community wants to see festivals like this to continue. Zukas believes it requires federal and provincial funding to be restored to post-pandemic levels, as well as returning engagement from sponsors.
But, she added, the public’s is also key to their event’s continuation.
“We need the public to actively support the festival by purchasing tickets to our headline shows and making direct donations to continue to have the necessary resources to fund the free festival that our community knows and loves.”
She describes it as a difficult but rewarding exercise to creatively balance all factors in the equation and to keep trying to adjust to the constantly changing economic landscape.
“We are incredibly proud of this year’s festival and are excited to welcome thousands of music and arts enthusiasts to Fort Langley. But if we want these vibrant cultural traditions and economic drivers to survive into the future,” she insisted funding must change.