Halifax Jazz Festival not stopping for Hurricane Arthur

The Halifax Jazz Festival expects the show to go on Saturday, despite a tropical storm heading forNova Scotia.

Arthur became a hurricane early Thursday and the U.S. National Hurricane Center predicted it would swipe the coast early Friday with winds of up to 136 km/h. It's expected to be a tropical storm by the time it hits the Maritimes on the weekend.

Executive Director Heather Gibson said crews are getting venues ready for the nine-day festival. It starts Friday.

Several shows are scheduled for Saturday, when tropical storm Arthur is expected to hit the city.

"It may impact the event. We've been wet before,"she said. If it stays rain, even heavy rain, the show will go on.

"There are only two things that will shut the site down: lightning or high winds," she added.

They'll make a final decision at noon Saturday and post it to their Twitter, Facebook and website.

Gibson doesn't expect to cancel any shows, but will hand out refunds if that happens. And hey, it's the jazz festival: they can always improvise.