Where Belonging is Built
Erin’s connection to the TD Halifax Jazz Festival began early. In 1995, when she was just eleven years old, she volunteered for the first time after her band teacher suggested she move from attending free daytime shows to helping make the festival happen.
“My first volunteer position was in Information Services,” Erin recalls. “Everyone was so warm and welcoming, and the peek behind the scenes was so exhilarating that I knew sitting in the audience was a thing of the past”
Thirty years later, Erin still returns each summer.
“What has kept me coming back year after year is the amazing community of volunteers, staff, musicians, and community members,” she says. “it is a place of positivity, acceptancce, and a celebration of the joy of music and our community”
Erin taking on the phones at the Jazz Fest with a smile!
For Erin, returning to the festival feels familiar in the best way.
“Every year returning to the festival feels like coming home,” she says. “There are dear friends, some I have known for thirty years, and every July we come together to do something we love with the people we love.”
Over time, that sense of belonging extended beyond the festival site itself.
“Being a volunteer with the festival has absolutely shaped my sense of community and my connection to Halifax,” Erin says. “The festival inspired me to explore downtown in a way I hadn’t before. I discovered new food and restaurants, art installations and murals, learned road names, and tried unfamiliar bus routes.”
Erin at the 2001 Jazz Festival Stage.
That same sense of exploration came for Lisa when she came out to volunteer for the first time in 2024. After that first year, she shared the experience with her family. Her seven year old son had a question.
Could he volunteer too?
In 2025, Lisa and her son Lucky volunteered together.
“The people are what kept me coming back,” Lisa says. “The Halifax Jazz Festival team really makes this festival what it is. It is a place for everyone.”
What stood out most was not just the work, but how the community responded to Lucky being there.
“The way everyone made my son feel welcome was heartwarming,” Lisa says. “Other volunteers and workers went out of their way to make his first volunteering experience so special.”
Lisa and Lucky at the 2025 TD Halifax Jazz Festival.
Watching Lucky step into the festival community reminded Erin why showing up continues to matter.
“There is a place for everyone here,” Erin says. “People of different ages, different cultures, and different life experiences all unite to help make the festival happen.”
Across decades and across generations, the Halifax Jazz Festival volunteer community is built by people who come back not out of habit, but out of care.
Help keep the Halifax Jazz Festival a place people return to and where belonging is built together. Donate today and keep the volunteers behind the music.