Delaware Water Gap Jazz Festival
Places to Stay
September 2009

Because of its peacefulness and beauty, combined with relatively easy access to major metropolitan centers, “The Gap” and the neighboring Pocono Mountain region has become home to a community of artistic and creative people including a significant number of jazz musicians. Since 1978, the village of Delaware Water Gap, Pennsylvania (population 775) has been the site of an annual Celebration of the Arts (COTA), held the weekend after Labor Day. This festival showcases the work of local artists, performers and craftsmen with a strong emphasis on jazz and its relationship to other artistic disciplines.

The Delaware Water Gap Celebration of the Arts is a non-profit organization founded by Phil Woods, Rick Chamberlain and Ed Joubert in 1978 to foster an appreciation of jazz and its relationship to other artistic disciplines. COTA's major focus is its outdoor arts Festival held annually the weekend after Labor Day. Participating musicians, artists, and vendors are from the area of the Pocono Mountains. Besides showcasing many nationally recognized musicians and artists who have chosen to live in this scenic area, the COTA Festival also provides an opportunity for talented, though lesser-known, musicians to be recognized.

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Over a period of twenty-one years, the Festival has witnessed dramatic growth. A budget of only $300 in 1978 has grown to exceed $50,000; attendance of hundreds has increased to thousands. Yet the spirit and sense of community which has been the Festival's greatest asset, and perhaps its greatest gift, has not changed. A major thrust of COTA has been to encourage and support the teaching of jazz music in area schools. A stage band call the COTA Cats, composed of area high school musicians, performs annually under the direction of Patrick Dorian, Associate Professor of Music, East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania.

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The Festival commissions arrangements and original compositions from nationally known composers and students which are performed by the COTA Cats each year. Moreover, COTA awards scholarships to help aspiring musicians underwrite the cost of college. An initial objective of the Festival - to provide the local population the opportunity to experience the creative endeavors of local artists and musicians - has been attained, and ancillary benefits have accrued.

A sense of community pride relative to the quality of the event has grown. Literally hundreds of volunteers give of their time. Service organizations participate and benefit. Musicians find that the Festival motivates them to create and to perform at their highest levels. Progress is made and measured each year. Artists in all disciplines petition regularly to become part of an event which has gained yearly in reputation and stature. What began as a local happening has become a festival attracting people from all over the country. After 1980, the first year that income exceeded expenses, proceeds have been distributed to various community enterprises: the Borough of Delaware Water Gap for refurbishing the local park, the Dutot Museum, the Presbyterian Church of the Mountain Community Music Fund and the local volunteer fire company. COTA's broad based mission - to improve the quality of life in Delaware Water Gap - appears to have been accomplished, if attendance and a spirit of generosity are determining criteria.

The Delaware Water Gap, a spectacular example of the Creator’s handiwork, is an “S” shaped gorge in the Kittatinny Ridge, separating Mount Tammany on the New Jersey side and Mount Minsi on the Pennsylvania side. In the early nineteenth century, “The Gap” and the surrounding territory became a busy resort, catering to businessmen and their families seeking to escape the heat and the fast pace of city life. Large luxurious hotels sprang up where clients frequently resided for weeks or sometimes even months. Most of these hotels are now gone, replaced by chain motels, but the area continues to attract sightseers, sportsmen and outdoorsmen. Since 1965, the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area encompassing nearly 70,000 acres, has been a part of the National Park System.

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