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[[Image – logo of Festival on the River, showing water with a ferryboat on it and a black jazz trumpeter in the background]] 

WITH "FESTIVAL ON THE RIVER" NEW YORK is a SUMMER FESTIVAL

Festival-on-the-River is a non-profit organization, established in 1973, to present weekly jazz festivals aboard a Staten Island ferry from June through September. Fifteen sailings were made during the 1973 season. Each sailing leaves from South Ferry on Wednesday evening at 8:00 p.m. and returns at 11:00 p.m. Box suppers, beer, soda, and sangria are sold aboard the boat. Two or three prominent jazz groups are featured on each sailing. Among those that performed during 1973 were some of the finest artists in America: Earl "Fatha" Hines, the JPJ Quartet, Wild Bill Davis, Joes Newman, Dave Brubeck, Machito, Chico Hamilton, Robin Kenyatta, Thad Jones/Mel Lewis, Bobbie Rosengarten, Ellis Larkins, and many others. These artists and  others will perform during 1974.

The Staten Island ferry is a unique institution and is one of the most popular tourist attractions in New York city. It is an ideal setting for floating jazz festivals and many charities, non-profit groups, and organizations in the city utilize Festival-on-the-River for their own fund raising activities by reselling the tickets at higher prices.

More than 19,000 people were on the 15 sailings during 1973, an average of about 1,275 per sailing. A minimum of 100 tickets were given away free to each sailing to neighborhood block associations and other New York City organizations.

Festival-on-the-River brings to average New Yorkers very fine musice in a beautiful atmosphere at a low price. The ferry cruises around New York Harbor, the East River, the Statue of Liberty, and the Hudson providing patrons with magnificent views of the city on a pleasant summer evening. There is dancing in the aisles and on the decks and a very unique atmosphere is created which combines the "togetherness" of a music festival plus racial and cultural interaction that is a very positive experience for all patrons. The United Nations refers many foreign visitors to Festival-on-the-River for the experience of seeing New York and New Yorkers in the best possible way.


[[image - black and white photograph of a woman attending Jazz-on-the-River]]
[[images - three black and white photographs of musicians playing at Jazz-on-the-River]]

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