What is the rain plan for the Steel City Smooth Jazz Fest?

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) – Organizers are getting ready for the thousands of people who will be in Linn Park for the 11th annual Steel City Smooth Jazz Festival, and some of those preps include making sure they’re ready for any weather that rolls through. Since we are weather aware this weekend, organizers of the festival say there is a weather plan in place in an effort to keep festivalgoers safe.

“Anytime you have an outdoors event and it’s live like this, you have to try to plan for just about anything and everything, which we have, because most of the things we do are repetitious anyway,” said Cedric Allen, President of Empowerment Inc. “Therefore, it’s not new to us, so we know what to do at what time. Like I said, we’re always monitoring the weather, so it helps us to control and make sure everything happens in a decent order.”

The Steel City Smooth Jazz Festival is no stranger to intense weather during the event. From heat advisories last year to expected thunderstorms this year, Allen knows a weather plan has to be taken into consideration.

“Festivalgoers know it’s possible. So, in that case, we would go to our designated spots, which is the Boutwell, and which is over here to my left, the parking deck [by city hall],” Allen said. “So, we would shelter in place there, and when we get the go ahead from the powers that be and the sound company, then what will happen is we’ll come back out and the music starts back to playing.”

Umbrellas are allowed only when there are no artists on stage. Allen says a rain jacket or poncho are the best items to keep with you so you can stay dry even when the performances are happening. He says he expects the rain to be a welcome addition to the lineup this weekend.

“When it rains, it brings in a nice subtleness because of the trees and the ambiance here, it settles everything down as it dries up, and man, it’s an amazing day,” he said.

The Steel City Smooth Jazz Fest starts at Legion Field Thursday with a line dancing soiree. The music will be Friday through Sunday at Linn Park. You can find a link to tickets, this year’s lineup and everything else you need to know here or on the Steel City Smooth Jazz Fest app.