Satchmo Summer Fest 2012 Weekend Outlook

This weekend, the grounds of the Old US Mint hosts the 12th annual Satchmo Summerfest. Music begins at noon on Saturday and Sunday and continue until 8:00pm each evening. But the festival’s two music stages are only one aspect of what this homegrown celebration of all things Satch offers.

Tomorrow night (Thursday, August 2) Satchmo Summerfest officially gets underway at the Hotel Monteleone at 7:00pm where Michael Cogswell, Director of the Louis Armstrong House Museum, will deliver the keynote address. On Friday and throughout the weekend seminars are presented in the newly renovated, third floor performance area of the Old US Mint. There are four free seminars each day. Topics range from Armstrong’s early days to his later life, from his magical stage presence to his comical television persona, and from his most primitive recordings to the latest reissues.

From noon to 5:00pm on Saturday and Sunday, the second floor of the Mint is home to a number of family activities including a Zulu coconut decorating class along with an umbrella decoration and celebration second line. For those who have their cameras handy, remember to submit your best shots into Satchmo Summerfest’s photo contest. Here’s the entry form.

Below is the weekend’s full schedule.

But first, don’t forget to celebrate Satch’s birthday on Friday at 10:00am in Armstrong Park. Crowds will be gathered around his statue.