The Celebration of the Arts festival (COTA), is an annual event held in Delaware Water Gap, Pennsylvania. The event is held in September.
The event is presented in cooperation with the Borough of Delaware Water Gap, Castle Hill Development, Inc., and the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission.
Phil Woods, Rick Chamberlain and Ed Joubert founded the organization Celebration of the Arts in 1978 late one night in the bar at the Deer Head Inn in Delaware Water Gap.[1] The organization would eventually become the Delaware Water Gap Celebration of the Arts. Their initial goal was to help foster an appreciation of jazz and its relationship to other artistic disciplines.
The first festival was staged later that year, on a shoe-string budget. The sponsors for the event included the Delaware Water Gap Chamber of Commerce, the Lions Club, and the Antoine Dutot Museum. Participating musicians, artists, and vendors were all drawn from the northeastern Pennsylvania area, thus establishing a festival precedent - in addition to showcasing the many nationally known musicians and artists residing in the Pocono area, the annual festival is also designed to provide an opportunity for many talented, though lesser-known, musicians to be heard.
Festival one raised $300 for the Borough of Delaware Water Gap. At the first Celebration of the arts festival admission was one dollar per attendee. Bands play on a makeshift stage in the street, where there is theatre as well. As of 2021 admission for adults is $30.00 per day (a two-day ticket is $50.00) for 8 hours of music per day.
Throughout the years, many things have changed to make the festival what it is today, including:
A non-denominational mass that blends music and spirituality, the Jazz Mass is a very large draw for the COTA festival weekend and is performed on Sunday morning. The first Jazz Mass was said and sung at the Presbyterian Church of the Mountain in Delaware Water Gap. The Music is performed by the Delaware Water Gap COTA Festival Orchestra. The Jazz Mass was first made available on CD in 1995. A remastered edition was released in 2014 and sold by COTA at a booth during the festival and online.
In 1981, The COTA Cats were introduced. The Cats come together through the continued efforts of Pat Dorian and Phil Woods, and are a major feature of each festival.
The COTA Cats were the brainchild of Phil Woods, when he sent a letter to twenty-six high school band directors in May about creating a band of high school students for that year's festival. Pat Dorian, a trumpet player and local music educator, was the only one to respond. Dorian has been the band leader since the COTA cats began and continues to recruit some of the best young musicians within a 25-mile radius. The big band is considered by many to be the most significant change to the COTA festival in its history. It symbolizes everything that the festival means to those involved.
Festival thirteen, in 1990, marked the tenth anniversary of the COTA Cats, who played that year before a festival crowd of well over 4,000. The Cats have continued to send their alumni to such institutions as Indiana University, the Berklee College of Music in Boston, the Juilliard School in New York, the Eastman School of Music in Rochester and the University of North Texas.
The ensemble is now directed by Tim Reiche.
In 2007, Campjazz began. A one-week program focused on studying improvisation, theory, ear-training, and history in relation to jazz for age 12 and up. Applicants can apply at the beginner, intermediate, or advanced level. Recording takes place at the Red Rock Recording Studio. Performances take place at the Castle Inn in the Delaware Water Gap.
Over the years, thousands of bands and solo musicians have played for the crowds including:
Phil Woods, Al Cohn, Urbie Green and Kathy Green, George Young, Jesse Green, Nancy and Spencer Reed, Hal Galper, Bob Dorough, Tom Harrell, Jim McNeely, Dave Liebman, Joe LaBarbera, Glenn Davis, Bill Charlap, Jamey Haddad, Steve Turre, Billy Hart, Jerry Dodgion, Nelson Hill, Lew DelGatto, Bill Goodwin, Paul Rostock, Hal Crook, Caris Visentin, Vic Juris, Eric Doney, John Swana, Bill Mays, Stephanie Nakasian, Hod O'Brien, Veronica Swift, Adam Nussbaum, Teddy Charles, Jerry Harris, Michele Bautier, Kenny Werner, Dave Leonhardt, Alex Watkins, Phil Markowitz, Bob Grauso, Kim Parker, Alan Gaumer, Craig Kastelnik, Janet Lawson, John Coates, Jr., Kate & Richie Roche, Steve Gilmore (musician), Tony Marino, Len Mooney, Neil Braunstein, Jim Daniels, Bobby Davis, Bud Nealy, Joe Locke, Eric Mintel, Martin Wind, Matt Wilson, Clarice Assad, Jon Ballantyne, Billy Test, Kirk Reese, Tom Kozik, Jay Rattman, Bobby Avey, Jim Ridl, Jay Anderson, Davey Lantz, Bill Washer, Jay Leonhart, Carolyn Leonhart, Lara Bello, Chico Huff, Richard Burton, Johnny DeFrancesco, Adam Niewood, Joe Lovano, Sue Terry, Roseanna Vitro, Tomoko Ohno, Jackie Warren, Amy Shook, Mitchell Cheng, Luke Carlos O’Reilly, Tyler Dempsey, Joe Micheals, Matt Vashlishan, Adrain Moring, Connor Koch, Najwa Parkins, Evan Gregor, Glenn Ferracone, Skip Wilkins, Dan Wilkins, Terrell Stafford, Alex Ritz, Esteban Castro, Cole Davis, Jon Gordon, Rich Jenkins, Tim Carbone, Ron Oswanski, Marko Marcinko, Bobby Velez, Vicki Doney, Marianne Solivan, Patrick McGee, Larry McKenna, Gene Perla, Ryan Devlin, Steve Kortyka, Mike Bond, Nicole Glover, Roxy Coss, Nic Cacioppo, Oscar Williams II, plus many more.
More recently Nellie McKay, Simone, and Sherrie Miracle and Fiveplay have been appearing along with younger groups that consist of COTA CAT alumni.
Asparagus Sunshine, Chris Solliday Trio, Butch Tucker Quartet, Jazzberries, Steve Gilmore/Steve Brown Quintet, Steamin' Jimmies with Sugar Cone Horns, George Young and Low Profile, Lee Katzman's Bebop Six, Jimmy Tigue Trio, Ralph Hughes Jazz Reunion, Grandma's Soup, Dave Liebman's Quintet, The Pocono Jazz Quintet, The Eric Doney Trio, The Drewes-Haddad Band, The Lee Katzman Quintet, The Pete Veltri Quintet, the Robert D'Aversa Band, Jerry Harris & Jazz Renaissance, Baroque Wind Ensemble, Water Gap Players, Sankofa African Drum & Dance Ensemble, the Alex Watkins Quartet, Jesse Heckman's Quartet, Active Ingredients, the Jesse Green Trio, the Donna Antonow Trio, David Leonhardt Jazz Group, The Absolute Trio, Swing 'N Dixie, Alex Watkins' Bayou Band, Bill Goodwin Trio, The Jazz Farmers, Funk Ed, The Dixie Gents, Co-op Bop,
Peter Coyote, Peter Dennis, Jim Connors