Check out the Wilkes-Barre Cavalcade of Jazz this weekend

A multiday jazz festival returns this weekend to Wilkes-Barre, which lays claim to the first jazz festival in the country. The headliner Saturday is 10-time Grammy winner Arturo Sandoval.

The Wilkes-Barre Cavalcade of Jazz begins with a free kickoff concert at the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts and performances at restaurants Friday night, with additional events throughout the weekend. The centerpiece will be Sandoval’s Saturday performance, backed by distinguished regional musicians, at the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts.

Sandoval, a trumpeter, pianist, composer and timbalero, defected from Cuba with the help of his mentor, Dizzy Gillespie, and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He has performed at the Super Bowl, the Academy Awards and the White House.

Area arts and downtown boosters have been trying for years to build on the heritage of the Feb. 23, 1951 “Cavalcade of Dixieland Jazz,” held in two hotels and featuring eight bands. There was a concert nearly 13 years ago and now a multiday festival that they hope to make an annual event.

“You find out about something and you say ‘they should do something about it,’ ” said Cavalcade of Jazz committee member John Maday. “You know what, if you feel that passionate about something, the ‘they’ becomes you. And so we all pulled together, we put it together and it is also a great benefit for the downtown.”

A plaque on Public Square commemorates the 1951 event as the first jazz festival in the country. It was put up by the late Mayor Lee A. Namey in 1994. His father-in-law performed at the event. Wilkes-Barre’s claim to fame was determined by the late jazz critic Leonard Feather, with documentation in the Library of Congress, Maday said.

As often happens when there is a historical honor to be claimed, there are other contenders. But the Wilkes-Barre festival preceded the famous Newport Jazz Festival by a few years. The Wilkes-Barre claim is based in part on the number of venues. There were performances at two sites, making it a festival rather than a concert. This time there are several spots.

The Wilkes-Barre Cavalcade of Jazz begins at 5 p.m. Friday at the Kirby Center, with a brief opening ceremony and a free performance by the Joe Michaels Trio. That’s followed by the Jazz Walk, with free performances for the patrons of nearby restaurants. The Jazz Walk includes: Tim Husty of the Lush Life Ensemble performing 6:15 to 8:15 p.m. at Bank + Vine, South Main and Ross streets; Bill Washer performing 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Cafe Toscana, Public Square; Mike Stevens, featuring Tony Marino, performing 7 to 9 p.m. at Rodano’s, Public Square; Erin Malloy and Jimmy Waltich performing 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Diamond City Vault Bar & Grill, West Market Street; South Side Five performing 8 to 10 p.m. at Senunas’ Bar & Grill, North Main Street, and the Brendan Brisk Band performing 9 to 11 p.m. at Franklin’s, Public Square.

On Saturday, the Williams Brothers perform free from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at Abide Coffeehouse, West Market and North Franklin streets.

On Sunday, in a ticketed event, the Jost Project and Scott Edmunds perform at a Jazz Brunch, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Mary Stegmaier Mansion on South Franklin Street. Cost is $45. Email missgina.dtwb@gmail.com for tickets.

The highlight is a ticketed concert by Sandoval and the Cavalcade of Jazz Big Band in the Chandelier Lobby of the Kirby Center at 6:30 p.m. Tickets cost $50 plus fees for seated general admission and $35 plus fees for standing room behind the seated area.

Musician Marko Marcinko will direct the Cavalcade of Jazz Big Band and play drums. Marcinko is director of music performance and artist-in-residence at Misericordia University and artistic director of the Scranton Jazz Festival. He serves on the cavalcade committee. As a teen, his father performed at the 1951 festival.

“It’s really a feel-good moment,” he said.

For tickets and information, go to wilkesbarrecavalcadeofjazz.org. Tickets for Sandoval are also available at the Kirby Center box office.