Second Annual Jazz and Folk Festival
To Benefit Banneker Restoration Project
Parkville, Missouri at English Landing Park on June 7 from 5pm-10pm
Last year the Banneker School Foundation revived Parkville’s annual Jazz and Blues festival to the delight of the Parkville community and many of the attendees. This year the Banneker School Foundation will gather Jazz and Folk musicians to honor Juneteenth and celebrate the 140th year of the firing of the bricks that built the historic Banneker School in 1885.
McKeon Stage in beautiful English Landing Park overlooking the Missouri River below the beautiful campus of Park University is the setting of this year’s festival. Jazz artist Vanessa Thomas and the Ernest James Zydeco Band will perform along with folk musicians Jill Westra & the KC Boys and folk singer Dustin Hammond.
Event Details
This concert is a fundraiser for the continued restoration of the Historic Banneker School. The concert is free to the public. The Foundation requests that you bring your own chair. There will be food, beverages and spirits served by Rochester Brewing Company. As you enjoy the evening you may want to donate or purchase a brick in your name that will go towards the Capital Campaign fund.
About the Area
Along the Missouri river in the 1800’s Parkville was a small midwestern town with a train and steamboat stop along the same route as Lewis and Clark. Parkville was home to Park College, as it was known at the time. The college was educating children of the formerly enslaved in the basement of the school and decided they needed their own building and donated the land and bricks created and fired in the college kilns in 1885.
The school was built with great pride and care by the parents of these young scholars and still stands in its original spot today. The school held classes from 1885 to 1905, when a larger school was needed. It is the oldest one room schoolhouse west of the Mississippi in its original location and is on the National Historic Registry.
Parkville’s Parks Director Brittinie Propes stated,
“We are thrilled that the Banneker School Foundation is once again bringing the Jazz Festival to Parkville this summer! This year promises to be even bigger and better with the exciting addition of Folk music, creating a truly dynamic celebration of the arts. Parkville has a rich history of hosting an annual Jazz Festival in the park, and we hope to see this beloved tradition revived through the Foundation’s incredible efforts. We encourage everyone to come out, enjoy the music, and support this great cause in our beautiful park.”
— Brittanie Propes, Parks and Recreation Director!
See You There!
Join the Parkville Community and the Banneker School Foundation for an evening of music and spirits in the beautiful English Landing Park and support this important restoration work, and who knows you could leave with a brick assigned to you or your family in honor of the families that were supported and educated in this wonderful little jewel, The Banneker School!