Restaurant overlooking Lake Geneva

The Cully Jazz Festival starts off the Jazz season in Europeand thousands of jazz enthusiasts enjoy quality music free of charge. The“caveaux” (vinter’s cellars), restaurants and cafés throughout the village open their doors to guests and fill their establishments with music. A Festival wine is selected by the “Vignerons” (vinters cellars) of the village and sold ineach local. Buy a bottle of wine and go from one venue to another in an electric atmosphere. It is crowded and finding a seat can be difficult, but there are about 9 locations and if you don’t find a seat in one, move on to the next. The event has grown each year with about 40,000 people attending. Each night different “caveaux” offers a variety of groups, local and international. If you miss a group one evening, you probably can catch them in another location sometime during the festival. There is no lack of talent. Swiss and international musicians perform in this intimate atmosphere. Jazz lovers enjoy blues, Latin-groove, funk, disco, acid-jazz, samba, gospel and Afro rhythms.

Jazz events are also offered for a fee in the Chapiteau at the “Place d’Armes”, in the NextStep and in the Temple of Cully. The program and tickets can be purchasedthrough the Cully Jazz web page www.cullyjazz.ch.

There is a restaurant tent and a few outdoor stands as well as local restaurants where you can pick up something to eat between performances. The restaurants offer limited menus with local specialties. After all this is not about the food but about having fun, listening to music and enjoying the event with friends. It is a neighborhood festival gone International. The region also hosts the Montraux Jazz Festival, Cully's neighbor. But I can happily say The Cully Jazz Festival still has tha tneighborhood feeling.

Having lived in Cully for a number of years, I enjoyed this event, but also got a lot of sleepless nights for a few weeks. The village becomes a stage for performers and home for its guests. Visiting the charming villages and enjoying walks with panoramic views of Lake Geneva are just what is needed after a night of music and wine. That is if you can stay awake after listening to Jazz into the wee hours of the morning.