Oregon Public Broadcasting

Organizers of the Portland Jazz Festival say a “miracle” brought Alaska Airlines to their aid.  As Kristian Foden-Vencil reports, the airline pledged Wednesday to spend $100,000 to keep the festival running for the next two years.

Organizers said last month that the festival wouldn’t happen next year, because underwriter Qwest withdrew its support.

But festival director, Bill Royston, says things changed quickly once he made the announcement.

Bill Royston: "We're here today to celebrate a miracle. To think that three weeks ago we were announcing that we were ceasing operations, and that this coalition has been formed this effectively and this quickly I think says a lot about this community and a lot about Portland."

The festival is very popular with downtown hotels, bars and restaurants -- especially as it runs in February, one of the slowest times of the year for the tourist trade.

Several music events and institutions have had to close their doors or shrink recently, including: the Mt. Hood Jazz Festival; the Cascade Festival of Music in Bend; and the International Association of Jazz Educators.