Incoming: The Lawrence Busker Fest, August 21-23
The Lawrence Busker Fest returns for its second year on the streets of downtown Lawrence August 21, 22, and 23. Last year’s show was one of the most fun weekends I’ve had. You get a ton of entertainment, from fire eaters to musicians to living statues to acrobatics, and all for dirt cheap. The acts perform as buskers, meaning they get what you give, and nothing more. Still, if you see five acts and stick two bucks in the hat for all of ’em, you’re still only out a Hamilton.
This year’s Fest features the return of one of my favorites from last year, Voler – Thieves of Flight, a group of female “aerial artists” who do death-defying flips and loops suspended with fabric from the roof of the Arts Center. There’s also several people who play with fire (always a big crowd favorite, especially after the sun goes down), some magicians, a strong woman who tears phone books in half (awesome), jugglers, and musicians like Lawrence’s Alferd Packer Memorial String Band and NYC’s Two Man Gentlemen Band.
View The Pitch‘s photos from last year to get an idea of what you’ll be seeing. Even they don’t really do justice to the energy you get from that many people standing in the street and cheering when a six-foot fireball blasts out of a guy’s mouth.
