Provincetown Jazz Festival gets set to swing into its 20th anniversary.

The Provincetown Jazz Festival is poised and readied to celebrate its 20th anniversary this August. This means celebrating 20 years of amazing performances featuring local artists, as well as 20 years of raising funds for local organizations. What Bart Weisman had in mind when he founded the Provincetown Jazz Festival was a twofold intention: provide incredible jazz performances and give back to the community. Weisman was inspired to establish the festival when he moved to Cape Cod from Washington, D.C. and discovered there were no jazz festivals in operation on the Cape. He felt that he needed to remedy that and make jazz music more accessible to the community. Reflecting on the past 20 years of running the festival Weisman says, “I have to thank all the fabulous musicians who have come to Cape Cod to perform, all of the sponsors we’ve had throughout the years who have been very supportive, and the venues who just want to keep jazz alive and presented at the top level.”

Donating funds raised by the festival to local organizations is just as important to Weisman as the performances themselves. He views the festival as a way to give back to the community that supports his passion. A portion of the proceeds raised from the festival are donated to various nonprofits on Cape Cod, including Jazz in the Schools.

Bringing jazz to the schools is an endeavor Weisman is passionate about. He says, “For the last 10 years, the Provincetown Jazz Festival has funded the Jazz in the Schools program. We perform usually 20 to 30 concerts a year—we perform at elementary schools and middle schools around Cape Cod.” By providing young people with access to jazz...