Source: Radio New Zealand
Comedy duo Garaghty & Thom will be performing as part of the annual event. HERMANN ERBER / SUPPLIED
Acrobats, juggling and flying trapeze artists will fill Christchurch’s CBD for the next ten days as the World Buskers Festival returns to town.
From circus acts to street theatre and comedy, performers from 12 countries would converge on the city’s streets for the 33rd year of the festival.
Festival co-director Drew James said the annual event on Otautahi’s Summer calendar always brought in crowds, and about 100,000 attendees were expected over the ten days.
“All of these buskers are fantastic entertainers, they’re world class. We were just looking for variety, we’d really like to highlight and showcase a whole range of different acts. There’s something for everybody in that programme,” he said.
While most events were free and along the street, ticketed events included circus cabaret, dance, drag, comedy, and theatre.
Co-director Pitsch Leiser said the line-up of more than 100 artists included comedians from Switzerland and the UK and acrobats from Argentina and Canada.
“We’ve got about 15 buskers that are street theatre buskers then we have a whole range of busking shows that range from kapa haka to theatre shows happening on the busking stages in the CBD,” he said.
“It’s essentially accessible to everyone because it happens in the streets but we do encourage people to come and bring some cash and tip the hat and support the artists because that’s what they do for a living”.
The glittering Canadian duo The Silver Starlets were performing their aerial acrobatic show at the Buskers Festival for the first time.
The Silver Starlets will be performing their aerial acrobatic show at the Buskers Festival. SUPPLIED
Molly Keczan said their busking act began with setting up a 20-foot high aerial acrobatic rig.
“It looks much like a big swing set, but much safer. We perform aerial acrobatic acts off it of. A lot of the time when people find out we perform on the street they ask if we use a net, and we do, except I hang from it,” she said.
“We’re on our 11th year now as a show we started in 2015. It’s always been a big goal and dream of ours to get down to Christchurch because it’s a very world renowned festival.”
The festival was also collaborating with Gap Filler for “Eight Days of Play”, which was a series of interactive games for the public ranging from rock painting and chalk art storytelling to hobby horse racing.
Gap Filler urban play co-ordinator Kate Finnerty said she loved how the festival was all about people engaging in play right in the city centre.
“We need brightness, colour and play in our lives. The Buskers Festival just sums up everything I think a city should be,” she said.
“Most people can kind of remember back to a time when they were surprised or delighted by something on the street. When the Buskers Festival happens it’s around every corner.”
The festival runs from January 23 until February 1.
The full timetable of events can be found on the festival’s website.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
