Victo On Hold

First it was the Portland Jazz Festival going under (briefly) and now word reaches me that the annual Festival International Musique Actuelle Victoriaville – known to one and all as simply 'Victo' – has suspended operations for 2009.

Anyone who has booked an airline ticket lately knows how high prices have climbed, and with the global economic crash who knows what lies ahead regarding credit, international exchange rates, etc. Likely the Canadian government's decision to cut funding for many cultural events has had an impact, too.

It seems like a prudent thing for organizer Michel Levasseur to do in the face of uncertain finances, but combined with the situation with IAJE and Portland it doesn't seem to bode well for jazz events.

I hope to see Victo back on the calendar in 2010.