The Festival achieved instant artistic success, despite its initial attendance of only 350 people. Wein's vision was straightforward: he wanted a large daytime fair with multiple stages featuring a diverse range of locally produced music styles, Louisiana cuisine food booths, and arts and crafts booths, as well as an evening concert series that would appeal to everyone. Wein also sought to develop a new perspective that would add a level of excitement to the festival presentation, and appeal to both The Crescent City culture and those who simply wanted to learn more about the city's unique way of life. In addition to local customs, he emphasized African, Caribbean, and French culture, and was able to present the music, cuisine and crafts of various cultures to the world through Jazz Fest in a way that was enjoyable and exciting. The first Jazz Fest took place in 1970 outside the French Quarter in a park "that was once the site of Congo Square – the space where, during the 18th century, enslaved people gathered to trade, dance, and play music from their countries of origin." In 1972, after relocating to the infield of the Fair Grounds Race Course, Jazz Fest expanded by utilizing the entire site. By 1975, the inaugural year of the Festival's limited-edition, silkscreen poster series, attendance was expected to reach 80,000. From 1976 to 1978, Jazz Fest expanded to two full weekends in conjunction with the Heritage Fair, and in 1979, the Festival expanded to three weekends to celebrate its tenth anniversary. By the early 1980s, the Festival continued growing in popularity, earning widespread recognition as one of the world's cultural celebrations. From the 1970s to the 1980s, Jazz Fest contributed to an unprecedented boom in tourism that earned Crescent City the moniker "Creole Disneyland". In 2017, total attendance for Jazz Fest was about 425,000 over seven days, exceeding the total population of Orleans Parish per prior census estimates. Pre-COVID-19, the attendance had grown to nearly 500,000. Over the years, the Festival has had its share of financial difficulties, as well as an identity crisis on stage and in the tents. Local African-American activists accused the Festival of exploiting its performers and under-representing the communities that made Jazz Fest possible. Internal conflicts also arose which left the 1982 Festival temporarily without board member Quint Davis, who handled the Festival's production. In 1983, Davis returned and has produced it ever