Vancouver Wine & Jazz Festival

What Vancouver Wine & Jazz Festival does

The Vancouver Wine & Jazz Festival is an annual three-day cultural arts festival held at Esther Short Park in Vancouver, Washington, founded in 1998 by Dr. Michael Kissinger and Dr. Maria Manzo. It is a program of Bravo! Concerts Northwest, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts organization founded in 1993, and is operated by an all-volunteer staff supported by 125+ volunteers. The festival combines GRAMMY-winning jazz, blues, gospel, and roots music performances (e.g., Paquito D'Rivera, New York Voices, David Benoit), Northwest and international wine tasting (50-70 wines), a curated fine art exhibition (20 professional artists), and a food vendor program (diverse local cuisine), all delivered at a single outdoor venue over one weekend in late August.

The business model is a multi-stream event revenue operation: ticket sales (General Admission day passes at $25-$50, multi-day passes at $80-$110, premium reserved tables at $200-$600), exhibitor and vendor booth fees ($350-$1,000 per space), and a tiered sponsorship program (Jazz Artist, Blues, Silver, Wine & Beverage, Business & Community, Hotel, and Media Sponsors) with VIP suites and advertising benefits. Distribution is primarily through online ticket sales (Square payment links), gate sales, and phone reservations for premium seating; vendor and artist participation is managed via website application forms. Marketing relies on email, the official website, discount ticket promotions, media sponsors (KINK FM, KXL, Xfinity), and earned press.

The festival draws 6,000-8,000 attendees annually, 58% of whom are out-of-town cultural tourists, with cumulative attendance exceeding 150,000 since inception across visitors from 30 U.S. states and international markets. It holds the position of the #1 Cultural Tourism event in Southwest Washington and was named 2023 Event of the Year by the Washington Festivals & Events Association. Revenue figures, headcount growth, and detailed financial performance are not disclosed.

Name

Vancouver Wine & Jazz Festival

Legal name

Vancouver Wine & Jazz Festival

Website

https://vancouverwinejazz.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Vancouver Wine & Jazz Festival is an annual three-day nonprofit cultural arts festival in Vancouver, WA, featuring GRAMMY-winning jazz musicians, Northwest wines, fine art, and food, drawing 6,000-8,000 attendees annually and operating as a program of Bravo! Concerts Northwest.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cultural Arts Festival

NAICS

Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (71), Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries (711)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Arts & Culture Community Festivals (Multidisciplinary Arts Weeks) (MPAGAEAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Concerts & Music Festivals (THAJAFAA), Food, Wine & Beverage Festivals/Expos (MPAGAFAE)

Keywords

• Jazz music festival
• Cultural arts events
• Wine tasting experience
• Arts festival programming
• Community event hosting

Headquarters

HQ city

Vancouver

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: General admission tickets sold for daily entry (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) at varying prices. Multi-day passes also available. Revenue from gate ticket sales.
2. Reserved Seating/VIP Tables: Premium reserved tables for 2-4 people with catering, wine scrip, and amenities sold at higher price points.
3. Exhibitor Booth Fees: Business exhibitors pay $600 for single space (10x10) or $1,000 for double space (10x20) to showcase products and services.
4. Food Vendor Fees: Restaurants and food vendors pay $600 vendor fee to participate and sell food at the Festival.
5. Artist Booth Fees: Fine artists pay $350 for single space (10x10) or $700 for double space (10x20) to display and sell art.
6. Sponsorship: Cash and in-kind contributions from sponsors including Jazz Artist Sponsor, Blues Sponsor, Silver Sponsors, Wine & Beverage Sponsors, Business & Community Sponsors, Hotel Sponsor, and Media Sponsors. Sponsors receive VIP Suites, Advertising, Promotion, Tickets, and other benefits.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Vancouver Wine & Jazz Festival is an annual three-day cultural arts festival held in late August at Esther Short Park in Vancouver, Washington, presenting GRAMMY-winning jazz, blues, gospel, and roots musicians alongside Northwest wine and craft beverage tasting, a curated fine art exhibition of 20 professional artists, food vendors, and business exhibitor booths. The festival generates revenue through tiered General Admission and Multi-Day ticket sales, Premium Reserved VIP Tables with full catering, sponsor packages, food vendor and fine artist booth rentals, and business exhibitor spaces.

Product overview

The Vancouver Wine & Jazz Festival is a single unified annual event product (a cultural arts festival) that bundles multiple experiential components together: three-day music performances featuring headline GRAMMY-winning artists and regional bands, General Admission and Premium Reserved Table ticketing, Northwest wine and beverage tasting, fine art exhibitions, food vendor offerings, and business exhibitor spaces. The core product is the festival itself, with ticket sales (General Admission, Multi-Day Passes, Reserved Tables) as the primary revenue modules, supplemented by wine/food/art commerce. All components are integrated into the single festival experience at Esther Short Park.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Vancouver Wine & Jazz Festival (Annual Three-Day Event) An annual three-day cultural arts festival held in late August at Esther Short Park in Vancouver, Washington, featuring GRAMMY-winning jazz, blues, gospel, and roots musicians, 50-70 Northwest and international wines, a curated fine art exhibition of 20 professional artists, food vendors, and business exhibitor booths. Open to the general public via General Admission day passes and Multi-Day Passes.
• Premium Reserved VIP Tables Reserved Saturday or Sunday premium table seating package for 2 ($350) or 4 ($600), plus single reserved seats ($200 per person) at shared tables. Includes all-day admission, bistro table, catering by Chef John Woolley (charcuterie, carving station, summer salads, desserts), 3 wine scrip per person, logo wine glass, prime location, whiskey, nonalcoholic beverages, and dedicated catering staff.
• Business Exhibitor Booth Spaces Rental of 10' x 10' ($600) or 10' x 20' ($1,000) booth spaces with electricity for businesses to showcase products and services to festival attendees. Applied for via the festival website by downloading and submitting the exhibitor application.
• Fine Artist Exhibition Booth Spaces Rental of 10' x 10' ($350) or 10' x 20' ($700) booth spaces for fine artists and crafters selected annually (approximately 20 artists) to display and sell original works including painting, sculpture, pottery, metal, mixed media, jewelry, and glass. Applied for via the festival website.
• Food Vendor Booth Spaces $600 vendor space fee for restaurants and food vendors to cook and sell diverse cuisine at the festival. Includes a separate Clark County Health Special Event Temporary Food Permit requirement. Applied for by phone with the festival.

Quantifiable outcome

• 6,000-8,000 annual attendees
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered major, minor and core.

• US BankmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerJazz Artist Sponsor - US Bank is a title sponsor for the jazz artist programming at the festival.
• Vancouver ToyotamajorGTM or Marketing PartnerBlues Sponsor - Vancouver Toyota sponsors the blues programming at the festival.
• Vancouver RVminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSilver Sponsor - Vancouver RV provides sponsorship support for the festival.
• Evergreen Home LoansminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSilver Sponsor - Evergreen Home Loans provides sponsorship support for the festival.
• Handris RealtyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSilver Sponsor - Handris Realty provides sponsorship support for the festival.
• Johnson BixbyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSilver Sponsor - Johnson Bixby provides sponsorship support for the festival.
• WA TrustminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSilver Sponsor - WA Trust provides sponsorship support for the festival.
• Maryhill WinerycoreGTM or Marketing PartnerWine & Beverage Sponsor - Official wine and beverage sponsor providing wines for tasting and sales at the festival. Maryhill Winery has a tasting room in Vancouver where volunteer meetings are held.
• The Odom CorporationcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerWine & Beverage Sponsor - Official wine and beverage sponsor providing beverages for the festival.
• Hilton Vancouver WashingtonminorGTM or Marketing PartnerHotel Sponsor - Official hotel sponsor for the festival, providing accommodation support for visiting artists and attendees.
• KINK FMminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMedia Sponsor - Portland radio station providing media coverage and promotional support for the festival.
• KXLminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMedia Sponsor - Radio station providing media coverage and promotional support for the festival.
• XfinityminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMedia Sponsor - Xfinity provides media sponsorship support for the festival.
• Beacock MusicminorGTM or Marketing PartnerBusiness & Community Sponsor - Local music retailer providing sponsorship support.
• Portland Piano CompanyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerBusiness & Community Sponsor - Piano company providing sponsorship support.
• Bravo! Concerts NorthwestcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParent Nonprofit Organization - The Festival is a program of Bravo! Concerts Northwest, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts organization. Founded in 1993, it manages the festival and provides organizational structure.
• Esther Short ParkcoreOthersEsther Short Park is the festival venue location, owned by the City of Vancouver. It is ADA compliant and provides the outdoor space for the event.
• City of VancouvercoreOthersCity of Vancouver owns Esther Short Park and provides venue access. The festival operates under City of Vancouver regulations.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Oregon Wine & Food Festival: Regional wine and culinary festival in the Pacific Northwest featuring tastings, food vendors, and entertainment. Directly comparable as a ticketed multi-vendor event combining wine, food, and cultural programming for regional audiences.
• Festival of American Folklife (Smithsonian): Multi-disciplinary cultural festival on the National Mall presenting music, crafts, and food. Comparable as a nonprofit-run community cultural festival with similar mix of performing arts, vendors, and cultural programming.
• Newport Jazz Festival: Iconic American jazz festival presenting Grammy-winning and legendary jazz artists across multiple stages. Comparable product format (multi-day ticketed jazz event) and audience demographic of jazz enthusiasts and cultural tourists.
• Monterey Jazz Festival: Long-running annual jazz festival on the U.S. West Coast featuring world-class artists. Directly comparable as a ticketed, multi-day jazz festival with wine/cultural programming elements and a similar nonprofit/community-driven operating model.
• PDX Jazz Festival (Portland Jazz Festival): Pacific Northwest jazz festival based in nearby Portland, OR. Directly competes for the same regional jazz audience, sponsor pool, and out-of-town cultural tourists traveling to the Vancouver/Portland metro area.
• Telluride Jazz Festival: Multi-day destination jazz festival in a small mountain town, featuring nationally recognized jazz artists and combining music with food/wine programming. Closely comparable as a destination cultural tourism event with VIP and ticket-driven revenue.
• MusicfestNW: Portland-based multi-genre music festival with ticketed multi-day format. Comparable as a Pacific Northwest ticketed music festival competing for overlapping audience, sponsor base, and headline artist talent.

Broad incumbents

• Oregon Shakespeare Festival: Large-scale nonprofit performing arts festival in the Pacific Northwest. Comparable as a regional nonprofit arts organization driving cultural tourism to Oregon, with similar reliance on ticket sales, sponsorships, and donor support.
• Bumbershoot (Seattle): Large Seattle-based multi-disciplinary arts and music festival. Comparable as a Pacific Northwest cultural tourism event combining live music with food, art, and community programming, though at significantly larger scale.

Regional players

• Maryhill Winery Winery Events: Festival's official wine sponsor and a Pacific Northwest winery that hosts its own tasting events and concerts. Comparable as a regional player pairing wine with live entertainment experiences in the Southwest WA/Northwest wine corridor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Vancouver Wine & Jazz Festival