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Java ‘N Jive, hosted by Flat Iron Jazz, coming up this month

On April 29th at 7 p.m., the event kicks off, and will feature a silent auction in support of the C4 Initiative.
77396lacombeexpressJavaNJive

BY KALISHA MENDONSA

What could be better than a night of big band sound, refreshments and dancing? Only enjoying these delights for a cause, of course.

The annual Java ‘N Jive Dance, hosted by Flat Iron Jazz Band, will take place on April 29th, with doors opening at 7 p.m. The semi-formal affair will be held at the Lacombe Memorial Centre. Tickets are $25 each and are available in person at And Everything Nice Antiques, Royal LePage Lifestyle Realty and Sunny 94.

Proceeds from the event will go to support the Cranna Community Cultural Centre (C4) Initiative, a project in the works by the Lacombe Performing Arts Centre Foundation. A silent auction will be held at the event in an effort to support C4 as well.

Ellen Corea, treasurer of the Lacombe Performing Arts Centre Foundation, said the event is always a fun-filled evening which in turn supports the growth of arts in the community.

“Flat Iron Jazz has been donating parts of their proceeds to the C4 Initiative, through Java ‘N Jive, for a number of years now. They also give us the opportunity to host our silent auction, and it’s just a really fun night overall,” she said.

Corea added that Flat Iron Jazz always puts on a wonderful event, and is glad the two groups can work together.

“We really love our relationship with the Flat Iron Jazz Band. They have been helping us with fundraising, but we’ve also had the opportunity to feature them each year in Music in the Park. They’re a very special concert for us each year. It’s a very symbiotic relationship we have with them. They’re supportive of us, and we’re supportive of them,” she said.

“We really love what [Flat Iron Jazz] is doing in the community, and how community minded that group of people are. It’s a very close relationship we have with them.”

Flat Iron Jazz is a seventeen piece Big Band group, made of musicians from Lacombe and the surrounding area. They will be performing a variety of musical genres, from the classic ‘big band swing sound’ to Latin, rock, waltz and even polka.

The event is truly a unique experience to both support local artists and local art initiatives in Lacombe.

“For people that haven’t gone to the Java ‘N Jive event before, the evening is just great,” Corea said.

“The music is fantastic, the dancing is lots of fun - it’s really just a wonderful evening overall.”

Currently, the C4 Initiative group is putting in work to help establish the project within the City’s 10 Year Capitol Plan. Corea said the Initiative has been working for a number of years to build a conceptual design, raise awareness of the group, and along the way, has been working with community partners to support local arts.

“We’ve done a lot of groundwork for designing the new arts centre, doing feasibility studies and creating our budget for the building. The City has a number of larger infrastructure projects they’re going to be doing, so in the meantime we are looking to support and build other partnerships in the city,” she explained.

The C4 Initiative operates Music in the Park as a way to celebrate local talent, and look forward to expanding that program. As well, they have been working to support grassroots drama troupes as well as hosting concerts for upcoming city events.

Flat Iron Jazz will be kicking off this year’s Music in the Park concert series, but Lacombians can check out the Java ‘N Jive event this month if they need their jazz fix sooner than summer.

kmendonsa@lacombeexpress.com