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What happens when you pair up two loud, colourful and popular festivals in Saskatoon’s downtown? The chair of the Saskatoon Pride Festival, Danny Papadatos says you get one explosive day of entertainment. “If we can pull this off, it’ll be magic!”

This year, the Saskatoon Pride Festival and the SaskTel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival are pooling their resources to do a joint party in Kiwanis Park North. It’s a partnership that’s been in the works for a couple of years now. The idea started as the Pride Festival was nearing its 25th anniversary. “This year we are really shaking things up,” says Papadatos. “The Pride Festival has expanded to two weeks and there was one day of overlap with the jazz festival. We jumped at the opportunity.”

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Kevin Tobin, Artistic Director of the jazz festival, says the idea of melding the two celebrations is a tricky one because of capacity. “When Danny approached us my initial reaction was one of panic,” he says. “We were already in the process of moving the free stage, because of bridge construction, and I didn’t know how we’d accommodate the crowd. But the pros far outweighed the challenges.”