The American South is generally characterized as the place you want to go if you want to partake of good blues and jazz music, while you would only head to the Greater Toronto Area if you wanted to rent Oakville banquet halls or see the CN Tower. So you may be surprised to learn that there's a huge blues and jazz festival held every year in Mississauga, Ontario. If you're a blues or jazz fan, you might want to book your vacation to Mississauga this year instead of the south. If you're a resident of Mississauga already, you should come out and take a look, even if you're not sure if you like blues or jazz.

Mississauga's blues and jazz festival is called the Southside Shuffle and is held every year in Port Credit, one of Mississauga's lakeside residential neighborhoods. 2010 will be the Southside Shuffle's 12th year, so by now the organizers have everything down pat. They know when to hire the Ottawa pet photographer, how to set up the audio equipment, and they've got their sponsors all lined up. The festival's main sponsor is donut and coffee retailer Tim Horton's, but the Port Credit Business Association, the Canadian Heritage Council, Scotiabank, and others have also pitched in to make things happen.

The festival brings together more than 140 bands from across the world. Some of them are amateurs where the members continue to work day jobs at a factory that makes dental implants in Toronto, while others are professional musicians. Some of the bands that are taking part in this year's festival include Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawks, Watermelon Slim, Bill Howl' n' Madd Perry and Alphonso Sanders, the Top Hat Marching Band, Eden Brent, and Jerome Godboo.

The entire festival takes place over a single weekend in September (the dates for 2010 are September 10-12) so naturally there are several stages all over the area going at once. The large World Stage is by the waterfront. Seating is on the grass, so if your Toronto naturopathic doctor recommended you sit in a chair, you could take in some of the club shows instead. Some participating bars and restaurants include Natty's Bar and Grill, the Royal Canadian Legion, the Crooked Cue, and Aeilli Ristorante. There are also special events like a banquet, a junior jam, a harmonica workshop, an open air dance called the street shuffle, and an ice hockey game.

Many of the events, especially the ones that take place outdoors, are free to attend. However if you're making good money as a Mississauga real estate agent and you can afford to splurge on nicer tickets, you can buy VIP weekend passes to the different stages for $55-$150. You pay admission to club shows at the door.