For many downtowns, post-pandemic summertime schedules are filling up with outdoor busker festivals.
The events feature a variety of performers — musicians, magicians, jugglers, fire-eaters, stilt-walkers, acrobats, and specialty cyclists among others. They hold strong appeal for audiences — there’s no cover charge, the entertainment options are broad, and tipping is optional.
The August issue of Downtown Idea Exchange newsletter looks at three busker festivals that are bringing crowds to their downtowns.
In St. Catharines, Ontario, a new Downtown Busker Festival is scheduled for August 9-10.
The schedule includes a performance by an escape artist and a show by an entertainer who juggles chainsaws while perched atop a 12-foot unicycle.
St. Catharines hasn’t hosted a busker festival since 2013, when downtown leaders asked the event to leave town. The culprit wasn’t the liability posed by death-defying escape artists and high-risk jugglers. Rather, downtown merchants griped about the event blocking traffic and the organizers’ poor communication.
After a decade’s absence, the event is coming back. Jay Henderson, organizer of the revived busker festival, says he wants to bring back the event annually, so he has made sure to include downtown merchants. In one example, he’s working with downtown eateries to create a festival menu with takeout options.
Rachel Braithwaite, executive director of St. Catharines Downtown Association, says her organization is extending partial funding for the event but that Henderson’s company, will cover most costs through sponsorships and fundraising.
Braithwaite said the busker festival aims to woo visitors, then give them a “wow” experience that brings them back.
More on downtown busker festivals appears in the pages of Downtown Idea Exchange newsletter. Click to learn more about Downtown Idea Exchange and other resources for revitalizing downtowns and commercial corridors.