Bix 7 Road Race and Memorial Jazz Festival
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Bix 7 Road Race | |
|---|---|
 The race and festival commemorate Bix Beiderbecke |
|
| Date and location | Late July Davenport, Iowa |
| Race type | road race |
| Distance | 7 miles |
| Established | 1975 |
| Official site | http://www.bix7.com |
The Bix 7 Road Race and Memorial Jazz Festival is a road race and music festival held annually in Davenport, Iowa. The race and festival commemorate Davenport native and jazz musician Bix Beiderbecke.
Contents |
[edit] Race
The Bix 7 road race is a 7 miles (11 km) long race held in late July in Davenport, Iowa. The course is known for its hills. [1] The race was founded in 1975 by a resident of Bettendorf, Iowa who wanted to bring some of the excitement he felt when he ran his first Boston Marathon to the Quad Cities.[2] The first race was run by eighty-four runners.[2] Today the race is often run by 12,000 to 18,000 runners.[3][4]
In the mid-1970's it affiliated with the festival, and slowly began to grow. It is the largest non-marathon race in the Midwest,[5] and draws runners from all over the country and the world.[6]
[edit] Jazz Festival
| Bix Jazz Memorial Festival | |
|---|---|
| Location(s) | Davenport, Iowa |
| Years active | 1971-present |
| Founded by | Bill Donohue |
| Date(s) | Late July |
| Genre | Jazz |
| Website | http://www.bixsociety.org/ |
The Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival is a three-day music festival with many traditional jazz bands. It is held in tribute to jazz cornetist, pianist, composer, and Davenport native Bix Beiderbecke. In addition to the Bix Fest, the Wells Fargo Street Fest features live music, food, and vendors. It is a four day festival held simultaneously in four different venues in Davenport, Iowa. The main venue is LeClaire Park on the Mississippi River. It is held on Thursday through Sunday, during a week in late July.
The festival was started in 1971 when Bill Donahue's Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Band of New Jersey traveled to Davenport, Iowa to play music at Bix's grave at the 40th anniversary of his death.[7] The Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Society was founded in 1972, to help keep alive the memory and musical accomplishments of Beiderbecke alive.[7]
[edit] Notes
- ^ Remy, Mark (2009-07-27). "Bix 7: A Weekend of Ups and Downs". Runner's World. http://dailyviews.runnersworld.com/2009/07/the-bix-7-a-race-report.html. Retrieved 2009-09-22.
- ^ a b "Q-C race has grown from a humble beginning into one of the nation's most spectacular events". Quad-City Times. 1994-07-31. http://www.qctimes.com/sports/running/bix7/article_59ed56e0-06cf-5e3d-9f7d-931fb4fd9127.html. Retrieved 2009-09-22.
- ^ "Q-C area entries lagging Of the 10,000 signed up, 1/3 are from the area". Quad-City Times. 2007-06-26. http://www.qctimes.com/sports/running/bix7/article_4260b52b-7468-5a5c-bc49-cd54ab237f1a.html. Retrieved 2008-11-10.
- ^ "Viewpoint: Quality of Bix 7 isn't measured in size". Quad-City Times. 2008-07-27. http://www.qctimes.com/sports/running/bix7/article_0cd79c67-d52c-5a2c-b588-07e0a591d56e.html. Retrieved 2008-11-10.
- ^ "Officials unveil new plans for road race". Quad-City Times. 2009-04-08. http://www.qctimes.com/sports/running/bix7/article_3cb7f788-24a5-11de-bc94-001cc4c002e0.html. Retrieved 2009-09-22.
- ^ "Costumes abound during Bix 7 race, festivities". Quad-City Times. 2009-07-25. http://www.qctimes.com/news/local/article_fa2a8ab8-795c-11de-866a-001cc4c002e0.html. Retrieved 2009-09-22.
- ^ a b "Festival History". Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Society. http://www.bixsociety.org/fest-history.htm. Retrieved 2009-09-23.
