THE PLACE
The Ethnographic Park, popularly known as the “Village Museum” in Cluj-Napoca, was founded in 1929 by Romulus Vuia and is the first park of its kind in the country. And the place seems to be torn from fairy tales. It is located semi-centrally, in the Grigorescu neighborhood, a 15-minute drive or bike ride from the city center. It covers over 12 hectares and houses over 200 exhibits that can be admired by the public.
During the festival, every house, every yard, every corner comes to life. Whether we set up stages, restaurants, recreational activities, or simply relaxation areas, the entire village is part of the celebration.
The festival is limited to 7,000 participants per day and will host approximately 40 concerts spread across 4 stages. Additionally, we will have 6 restaurants, music workshops, relaxation areas, craft fairs, and who knows what other wonders we will come up with!
The Story
For us, the organizing team, Jazz in the Park is the way we would like to see the world: more attentive, more caring, happier, more relaxed. The mission of the festival is to promote positive values in the community, using music and art in general. We strongly believe that the festival has the power of setting an example and, through that, we add value to the places where we stop with the festival.
We started in 2013, in the Central Park, at a time when it was not allowed to step on the grass or walk your dog in the park. Right after the first edition, we contributed to changing these rules.
Since 2020, we have moved to the Ethnographic Park, where we discovered a fairytale place that was not even known by the residents of this city. In 2022, the park recorded a record number of visitors, which we will surpass again in 2023.
We chose Jazz as our ambassador because it is a music that encourages introspection. Never trendy, never outdated. That’s Jazz. And we strongly believe that it makes you think, makes you be with yourself. And if it doesn’t do that, it is at least a splash of color in the city’s cultural agenda.
We love this festival and we invite you to discover it too!
FULFILMENTS
We have returned Central Park to the community of Cluj.
Before the first edition of our festival in 2013, Central Park was more of a transit space, a place where you could enjoy sitting on benches in designated areas or just walking through it. People were not allowed to sit on the grass or hang a hammock in the trees. Jazz in the Park was the first public event to take place in Cluj’s Central Park in decades. This is because the local authorities trusted us, and we passed that trust on to our community. It was worth it.
We introduced reusable cups.
In 2018, we were the first event in the country to introduce reusable cups. For a fee of 3 lei, you received a reusable cup that you could fill as many times as you needed. You could even take it home and bring it back the next day. If you returned the cup to the bar with the receipt, you would get your cup fee back. Simple, right? and super eco-friendly.
We have undertaken projects for the community in Pata Rât
We really wanted to build a bridge between the community living near the Pata landfill today and the people in Cluj-Napoca. We knew it was important for the two communities to meet, and Jazz in the Park seemed like the perfect connecting tool, which is why:
- In 2017 and 2018, we had a day at the festival in Pata with free concerts for everyone. And to facilitate access for all, we provided free transportation from Cluj and back through a network of buses;
- Also in 2017, we launched a non-formal education project, a summer school for children in Pata Rât, and offered a one-year sports scholarship to one of the community’s teenagers.
We held Jazz in the Park – Bogata Edition
After Snoop Dogg checked in to Bogata village in Mures county (instead of Bogota, Colombia), we thought it would be a good opportunity to showcase the tourist potential of Bogata and help the community in some way. So, in one day, we turned a football field into a festival space and managed to raise 3000 euros with the help of the community, which were donated to the residents of Bogata to be invested as needed.
Our activities have been recognized and awarded:
Jazz in the Park has evolved greatly in the eight years and we must acknowledge that we are truly proud of our work and honored by the continued positive reactions from the public. So far, we have:
- Won the title of Europe’s Best Small Festival at the European Festival Awards for the 2019 edition;
- Been nominated at the AFCN Awards Gala in the Cultural Entrepreneurship category;
- Reached the final of the European Festival Awards in the Best Small Festival category (2015, 2016);
- Received three Silver Awards at the Romanian PR Award (2016, 2019);
- Been nominated for the Romanian Hospitality Award (2018);
- Reached the final of the European Festival Awards in the “The A Stand” Award category (2018);
- Won the Event & Manager of the Year awards at the Jazz Awards Gala (2016);
- We became members of the Europe Jazz Network (2018);
- Joined the European Festival Association, Yourope (2020);
- Been shortlisted for Best Small European Festival Awards (2022);
ABOUT US
Our organization is called Fapte.
Founded in Cluj-Napoca in 2012, Fapte organizes cultural events with an impact on the community. Our objectives are to promote art – especially music – to a wide audience, to redefine public spaces or spaces of significance within a city and, last but not least, to promote positive values around us. We strongly believe in the power of events to shape a community, and we greatly cherish the power of music to unite people, no matter how different they may be.
Our flagship project is Jazz in the Park.
In addition to this, we also organize Music Gallery and Pop-up Jazz Club. Furthermore, we sometimes collaborate with external clients. We know how to do anything in the field of events, and we confidently engage in below-the-line projects, activations within festivals, presentation materials, attracting sponsorships, crowdfunding strategies, and much more.
Challenge us with an email at: [email protected]!
Below, you will find some links to our projects:
