Best Local Event/Festival
Monterey Jazz Festival
Monterey County Fair & Event Center, 2004 Fairground Road, Monterey
(831) 373-3366, montereyjazz.org
Circuses are famous for shows “under the big top,” but sometimes they were performed “under the stars,” meaning without a tent. The Monterey Jazz Festival has been performing under the stars since it was created in 1958, hosting some of the biggest jazz stars of the day, including Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong and Dizzy Gillespie. The festival became one of the most prestigious jazz festivals in the country, a place for all the greats and up-and-coming greats to perform for grateful jazz fans. MJF Managing Director Bobbie Young says one reason the festival is beloved is because it’s a chance for many patrons to reunite with friends they’ve made at the annual festival. “We’re family and people love that,” she says.