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click to enlarge - FILE PHOTO
- Trombone Shorty performs at the Rochester International Jazz Festival.
Rochester International Jazz Festival
rochesterjazz.com
For nine days in June, this international event draws an estimated 200,000 people to downtown Rochester. And yes, music is the draw. Is it any wonder that this staple of the city’s festival scene clinched a second “Best of Rochester” honor for “Best Music Festival”? But an argument can be made that there’s more to this event than meets the ear. Downtown restaurants reap the benefits that the food trucks don’t capture. Kids draw chalk art on the closed-off streets. The Eastman School of Music plays host to music workshops.
Finalists: Clothesline Festival | Corn Hill Arts Festival | Rochester Fringe Festival
Then again, there is . . .
click to enlarge - A performance in the Spiegeltent at the Rochester Fringe Festival.
Rochester Fringe Festival
rochesterfringe.com
Yes, this is all subjective. If you like beer, then arguably The Flower City Brewers Fest is your “Best Arts Event.” But there’s a strong argument to be made in this category on behalf of the Rochester Fringe Festival, which has exhibited spectacular growth since it launched in 2012. It is entertainment diversity — 12 days in September for sampling music, dance, comedy, movies, food trucks, puppets, drag queens, and the odd disembowelment of a Shakespeare classic. And the huge scale of some of the productions can be seen throughout the city center. For instance, the California vertical dance group Bandaloop last year glided across the side of the 21-story Five Star Plaza building suspended from cables. — JEFF SPEVAK
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