Father-son activities usually involve some sort of sport: fishing, hunting, or playing catch on a Saturday afternoon.

Organizing a jazz festival is not a normal family event.

Just ask Jim and Kurt Bowermaster. Father and son, respectively, they have been planning the Greater Des Moines Good Times Jazz Festival for over a year.

The desire to stage a local Dixieland jazz festival has been around for over 20 years, according to festival executive vice president Jim Bowermaster.

Working with son and festival president Kurt Bowermaster made it possible to stage this weekend’s first annual festival at Living History Farms in Urbandale.

“This has been a father-son project,” Jim Bowermaster said.

Their extensive efforts are obvious with a look at the concert lineup. Bands from all over the Midwest will be playing for more than 20 hours of jazz performances.

Bands were picked that “will showcase the best in Dixieland jazz, including New Orleans, Chicago, and west coast styles as well as well as ragtime,” Kurt Bowermaster said in a press release.

“We picked a large number of Midwestern bands due to our budget, but they are all world famous jazz bands,” Jim Bowermaster said.

The lineup includes Jean Kittrell and the St. Louis Rivermen from St. Louis, Mo.; The Cakewalkin’ Jass Band from Toledo, Ohio; The New Red Onion Jazz Babies from Kansas City, Mo.; The Saints Dixieland Jazz Band from Cedar Falls and the Red Sneaker Jazz Band from Des Moines.

Each band is scheduled to play numerous times throughout the festival.

“Anyone can come in the middle of the day and still hear their favorite band,” Jim Bowermaster said.

Ragtime pianist Bob Milne will also be performing in between jazz bands.

The festival has been modeled after the Davenport festival honoring legendary cornet player Bix Beiderbecke. The festival’s special guest is 93-year- old trombonist Spiegle Willcox.

Willcox, who is the last living musician to have played with Beiderbecke, has performed at Carnegie Hall and was a guest on the “Tonight Show” with Johnny Carson.

The Good Times Jazz Festival will get underway Saturday at 11 a.m. and continue until midnight. On Sunday, the festival will be from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m.

Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the gate. Children under 12 are admitted free with a paid adult. Tickets are available at the Ingersoll Dinner Theater and at Des Moines area Dahl’s Foods stores.

For more information call 1-800-798-7469.