Celebrating self-expression as a basic human right essential for the

healthy growth of youth, individuals and communities

COMMUNITY ARTS ADVOCATES, INC.

Stephen H. Baird, Founder and Executive Director

PO Box 300112, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130-0030

Email: info@buskersadvocates.org

www.BuskersAdvocates.org


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(Detailed site index at bottom of page)

The History and Cultural Impact

of Street Performing in America

by Stephen Baird © Stephen Baird 2023
PERFORMANCE LOCATIONS

Hello Folks! This newsletter is an update on performing locations throughout the world. Pass this letter around and share the information. Please forward comments, corrections, and ideas back this way. The information is only as good as you share and provide it. Suggested donation of $10 for use Make checks payable to Community Arts Advoocates and send to the Street Arts Advocates, P.O. Box 300112, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130-0030. (Outside U.S. please send cash in dollars or postal money order in US funds only, there is a $15.00 bank charge to cash foreign checks). Donations can also be made by credit card through Community Arts Advocates at the on line secure site of PayPal.

Legal Status: The most important court cases are Goldstein v. Town of Nantucket, 477 F. Supp., 606, (1979); Davenport v Alexandria, VA 683 F2d 853 (1983), 710 F2d 148 (1983), 748 F2d 208 (1984); and Friedrich v. Chicago 619 F. Supp., 1129. (D.C. Ill 1985) (The last case concerning the Chicago ordinance time and place restrictions were recently vacated). Two new cases Turley vs NYC was favorably decided in May 1997, including a substantial financial settlement 988 F.Supp, 667 & 675 (1997). See Turley vs NYC, US 2nd Cir Appeal 98-7114 (1999) web site decision: http://www.tourolaw.edu/2ndCircuit/January99/98-71141.html. Court case decided in December 2001 with ACLU support protects street performances on Kalakaua Ave. in Waikiki, Hawaii (Decision still not published Williams, and all vs City and County of Honolulu, First Cir. Ct. of the State of Hawaii, civ No. 00-1-2039-06 VLC). I urge street artists to go to the public library and obtain copies for themselves. All these cases give First Amendment protection to street performances, including passing the hat.

The Perry v. LAPD, US 9th Cir Appeals 96-55545 (1997) gave First Amendment protection for street artists, Harry Perry and Robert Newman aka "Jingles," to sell cds, banners, t-shirts and pins on the Venice Beach boardwalk. Read the decision at this web site: http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/ca9/newopinions.nsf/04485f8dcbd4e1ea882569520074e698/371d371ea81d067e8825695800725c9d?OpenDocument&ExpandView Hopefully, if a few more cases are won in other states the words "move on" will not be heard as frequently.

New court case decisions about subway performances have been mixed. Performances can happen, but severely restricted including total bans on amplification.

Street performer festivals are popping up all over the world from Europe to Canada to Australia. The level of production varies significantly. Be sure to get commitments in writing. Also, do not undersell you talents. If a street artists is being auditioned and scheduled then appropriate fees should be charged. Additional festivals are listed under locations. The best street performers festival in my opinion is the Edmonton festival started by Dick Finkel.

South Seaport (New York City), Bayside Marketplace (Miami, FL), Harbor Marketplace (Baltimore, MD) and Faneuil Hall Market Places (Boston, MA), Rouse Company-owned malls schedule performances and festivals (www.therousecompany.com). Addresses: Seaport Marketplace, 19 Fulton Street, New York, NY 10038, 212/732-7678 www.southseaport.com; Harbor Marketplace, 200 East Pratt St., Baltimore, MD 21202 301/332-4191 www.harborpalce.com; and Faneuil Hall Marketplace, 4 South Market, 5th Floor, Boston, MA 02109, 617/523-1300 www.faneuilhallmarketplace.com; Bayside Marketplace Suite R106, 401 Biscayne Blvd, Miami, Florida 33132-1924 Phone: 305-577-3344 http://baysidemarketplace.com

In July, in Edmonton, Alberta, there is a week long Street Performers Festival. Travel, living and performing fees are given. Contact: Summer Fest, 7 Sir Winston Churchill Sq, Suite #650, Edmonton, Alberta T5J 2V4, Canada, 403/425-5162 street@connect.ab.ca. Web site: www.discoveredmonton.com/streetperformers This Festival receives the best reviews from street artists.

First Night programs are held in many cities and are looking for street artists. Contact:  First Night Worcester, PO Box 351, Worcester, MA 01614 508/799-4909 www.firstnightworcester.org; are just a two. First Night International, WEB: www.firstnite.org publishes a list of all the First Night Festivals world-wide.

Northwest Folklife Festival on Memorial Day Weekend in Seattle also welcomes street artists. See web site for guidelines. 305 Harrison St., Seattle, WA 98109-4695, 206/684-7300 WEB: http://www.nwfolklife.org/folklife/.

Halifax International Street Performers Festival, 5151 George St. Suite 803, Nova Scotia, Canada B3J 1T1 902-429-3910 WEB: buskers.ns.sympatico.ca/ It is a competition with prize money, artists are not paid, good reports of crowds and hat money. Held in early August.

Alternative Arts, Top Studio, Bethnal Green Training Centre, Deal Street, London E1 5HZ; Tel: 020 7375 0441; WEB: http://www.alternativearts.co.uk/ Email: info@alternativearts.co.uk for information and bookings at Soho, Tragalgar Sq. by Saint Martins Church and The Annual International Festival of Street Entertainers (usually held in July) Street Performers Assoc., Unit F, Croftdown Road, London NW5 1HB Telephone: 020 7272 1176 fax 0208 681 0141 WEB site: http://www.streetperformance.co.uk/; Email: mail@streetperformance.co.uk for info on Covent Gardens, Street Festivals and pitches. Covent Garden in London, England web site. http://www.coventgardenlife.com/streetentertainers/default.htm

Celebration Barn Theater, 190 Stock Farm Rd., South Paris ME 04281 207-743-8452 WEB: www.celebrationbarn.com conducts a series of workshops by Fred Garbo; Leland Faulkner; Benny Reehle and others for the serious street and new vaudeville performers.

Other WEB sites to review. See links page for more extensive list of artists, organizations and festivals here.

http://www.performers.net Stories by Rex Boyd on performing in Europe, plus David Cassel on performances in Australia and tips on how to start out. Also has extensive performer and festival directories.

http://www.openair.org/opair/strprfrm.html Street Festivals, Street Vendors, Street Performers, Maxwell Street in Chicago, etc.

http://www.westland.net/venice/performers.htm Venice Beach, California performers site includes Tony Vera, Robert Gruenberg and others.

http://www.dom.zip.com.au/sb/index.html Australia info site. Includes performer directory

http://www.montefeltro.net/artistiinpiazza/index.html Pennabilli, Italy

This newsletters has been published for over three decade now. Many copies are sent to national news organizations, libraries, arts councils and legal clinics free of charge as part of the advocacy to expand the public support of the street arts. Donations are always welcome. Many thanks.

Stephen Baird, Street Arts Advocates

 

Babes Stovall in New Orleans 1972

NORTH AMERICA STREET PERFORMANCE LOCATIONS

Locations: Here is a breakdown of North America. The information is hard to keep up-to-date and I've had many conflicting reports. Please send back corrections and any new information that is available.  Updated laws and permit requirements can be obtained by visiting or accessing the web sites of City and Town Clerk offices.  Clerk offices are the information centers for laws and permits and should be able to inform you of current requirements.  I also visit local music shops, galleries and ask area artists to find out about best locations and busker traditions on performance rotation and time sharing.

Key: L=license; M=mall, auditioned and scheduled, at least one month wait; SP=generally open on streets and parks; SUB=subways, F= festival.

IMPORTANT: Please consider sendng in a $10 donation for this information. It takes time and money ($500 year) to keeep it posted and updated. Make checks payable to COMMUNITY ARTS ADVOCATES in US Dollars International Postal Money Orders and send to:Street Arts Advocates, P.O. Box 300112, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130-0030 USA. Donations can also be made by credit card through PayPal at Community Arts Advocates

WEST COAST U.S.A.

Tony Vera on Venice Beach

Photo by Jeffery Stanton

 WESTERN U.S.

Reports are improving from the west-central area of the US in 2003-2005, low level of acceptance and activity in towns like Phoenix and Dallas. Johnny Hahn, a traveling street piano player tried a few college towns, street fairs and festivals with some success.

 MIDWESTERN U.S.

Jerry Rau in Dinky Town

www.folkrocks.com/JerryRau.html

 

Stephen Baird on State Street Mall in Madison, Wisconsin 1986.

Video clips of PBS documentary on Stephen Baird's performances in Madison are HERE

SOUTHERN U.S.

Will Soto on the tight rope "Sunset in Key West"

 

David & Roslyn in New Orleans

EASTERN U.S.

Mary Lou Lord in Harvard Square Cambridge (Photo Stephen Baird)

 

One man band on Church Street in Burlington, Vermont

 

CANADA

Scene just starting to open up more. Street performers festival scheduled in Edmonton and Halifax. Best contact is Edmonton Festival: Edmonton International Street Performers Festival, Suite #650, 7 Sir Winston Churchill Square, Edmonton, Alberta T5J 2V5 Phone: (780) 425-5162 Email: streetfest@telusplanet.net Web site: http://www.edmontonstreetfest.com or FaceBook https://www.facebook.com/EdmontonStreetFest StreetFest 2015 date: July 3 to 12, 2015

Overview of Toronto and Canadian street performance history:

Traditions, Stereotypes, and Tactics: A History of Musical Buskers in Toronto (Canada), Canadian Journal for Traditional Music (1996) by Murray Smith Scholarly article on history of buskers, street entertainers and subway performers in Toronto. Traces performance history from 1830s to 1996. Includes documentation of the Northern Italian immigration of violin and barrel organ players, both families and children, to Toronto in the 1860s plus the revival of street performances in the 1960s. http://cjtm.icaap.org/content/24/v24art3.html
 

Glenn Singer "Elderado" www.horseguy.com at

Edmonton International Street Performers Festival

 

MEXICO and CENTRAL AMERICA

SOUTH AMERICA STREET PERFORMANCE LOCATIONS

ARGENTINA

http://www.onemanband.net

Pete and Andrea, Anderson Briefcase performing in Argentina

BRAZIL

 

EUROPE STREET PERFORMANCE LOCATIONS

Here is a breakdown of Europe. The information comes from many different sources including travelers, writers, artists and residents, so reports vary accordingly. People who want to remain in one area are more likely to be confronted by various authorities and competition from other artists. The street community can be supportive, depending on each individual's approach.

http://eurobuskers.free.fr/whatsa.html Visit this web site for on-going reviews of street pitches in Europe. Great page on impact of euro on donations in various countries.

http://www.vocalist.org.uk/busking.html Article for street performers with information and links to licensing, festivals and other resources.

http://www.circostrada.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Langue&langue=ENG HorsLesMurs, 68, rue de la Folie-Méricourt 75011 Paris, FRANCE, Tél. : (33) 01 55 28 10 10, fax : (33) 01 55 28 10 11 French circus and sreet performers site with links to over 500 festivals and organiztions.

We, as Federazione Nazionale Arte di Strada of Italy (National Federation for Street Arts), being the sole offcial federation for Italy, associating  artists, companies and art operators, will now try to give our contribution in this matter, thanks to the project "OPEN Street", funded by Culture Commission of European Community (http://www.open.street.eu) and where we act as Italia Co-organizer. For us here in Italy, some positive USA Courts decisions in favour of artists (we read something from your site) are simply amazing...and this demonstrates us how much we still have to work in Europe to obtain such results..... One thing more, we want to ask you if it is possible to insert a link of Italian Federation. in your Links, Festivals and References webpage.  The website http://www.fnas.org is in Italian.
http://www.fnas.org/protectweb/rass_fest.asp - through this search engine you can find abt 200 Italian street show festivals and events, including all contacts of festival organizers and art directors http://www.fnas.org/registrazione/ordini_en.asp - instruction (in English) to order and receive the yearbook "Kermesse" the only complete guide on street performing art,  printed every (in Italian) by the F.N.A.S. Also, keep in mind that the Federation can be contacted, in English,  for any info you may need regarding street performing/hat passing laws, rules and procedures in Italy: staff@fnas.org

Patty Campbell, author of Passing the Hat, wanted me to pass this note along: "Please limit each show to one hour in any one location. It is an unwritten courtesy. It is the way Europeans share the space and opportunities.

Many towns and cities have farmers markets, street festivals, historic festivals, theater festivals and fringe festivals. A web serach of country, regional and city tourist bureaus will lead you to many places.

Key: SP = generally open on streets and parks; SUB = subways open; M = malls open; L = license required.

IMPORTANT: Please consider sendng in a $10 donation for this information. It takes time and money ($500 year) to keeep it posted and updated. Make checks payable to COMMUNITY ARTS ADVOCATES in US Dollars International Postal Money Orders and send to:Street Arts Advocates, P.O. Box 300112, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130-0030 USA. Donations can also be made by credit card through Community Arts Advocates at the on line secure site of PayPal.

ENGLAND

Site on United Kingdom busking http://www.vocalist.org.uk/busking_licensing.html

Covent Gardens, London England

IRELAND

Report by Larry Meyeshoff, a traditional music hammered ducimer player, that tourist seasons are good in smaller towns and Dublin was a tough town (Oct 2002) Dublin Street Performers are fighting new restrictions in 2015 see Dublin Street Performers web site: http://www.dublinstreetperformers.com/.

SCOTLAND

WEB Site: http://www.biginfalkirk.com/bif_general_info.html This is a week long street festival and competiton in Falkirk, Scotland

NORWAY

SWEDEN

DENMARK

GERMANY:

City Square, Hamburg, Germany

NETHERLANDS

FRANCE

http://www.circostrada.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Langue&langue=ENG HorsLesMurs, 68, rue de la Folie-Méricourt 75011 Paris, FRANCE, Tél. : (33) 01 55 28 10 10, fax : (33) 01 55 28 10 11 French circus and sreet performers site with links to over 500 festivals and organiztions.

AUSTRIA

CEZCH REPUBLIC

http://www.onemanband.net

Pete and Andrea, Anderson Briefcase performing in Prague

SPAIN

SWITZERLAND

ITALY

Italian Federazione Nazionale Arte di Strada (National Street Art Federation) http://www.fnas.org In Italy an amazing, innovative, and revolutionary web service is now ready to start (from April 2013) in the ambit of the free street show: a brand new web system will consent street artist to visit,select and book show venues in Milan and, in next future, also in other Italian cities, thus avoiding local presentation of documents, requests, fee payments etc.. The system, created and implemented by the Italian Federazione Nazionale Arte di Strada (National Street Art Federation http://www.fnas.org), in cooperation with the City Administration of Milano, will manage more than 200 venues in city center. The system will create a network of Italian cities (after the testing phase in Milan the FNAS will extend the system also in other big Italian cities such as Venezia, Roma, Napoli, Genova, Trieste, Bologna...). The final aim will be to join biggest cities in a single network. In this way, after one single subscription, the artist will be able to have access to all cities just booking venues online. The system is completely free for artists: they can insert brief descriptions of their shows, photos, contacts, and meantime the city administrations will be able to manage spaces and artists distribution in quick and simple way. Also, the city administration will have the advantage to use a simple and efficient way to distribute pitches, to coordinate timetables and calendars, to verify immediately the presence of artists on site, to close temporarily the sites involved in street works, other activities, events etc., and to inform citizens about where and when the shows, shared by typology, are going to be performed. The long term goal of this system will be to involve as many European cities as possible, but needless to say that the system can be used also by USA artists will to hat perform in EU and adopted with no problem by USA city administrations as well.

In this way an artist willing to tour in Europe or Italy for whole summer will simply join online, and through one single web platform will be able to select cities, visit and choose the show venues available, to program dates and timetables and to start touring avoiding presentation of documents city by city, paper requests, payments, queues and waste of time.

For the moment you can visit the beta version of web site http://www.stradaperta.it. The subscription of artists will be allowed once whole system will be fully tested and verified (mid April 2013) USA Artists and city administrations interested can request more info at staff@fnas.org

We, as Federazione Nazionale Arte di Strada of Italy (National Federation for Street Arts), being the sole offcial federation for Italy, associating  artists, companies and art operators, will now try to give our contribution in this matter, thanks to the project "OPEN Street", funded by Culture Commission of European Community (http://www.open.street.eu) and where we act as Italia Co-organizer. For us here in Italy, some positive USA Courts decisions in favour of artists (we read something from your site) are simply amazing...and this demonstrates us how much we still have to work in Europe to obtain such results..... One thing more, we want to ask you if it is possible to insert a link of Italian Federation. in your Links, Festivals and References webpage.  The website http://www.fnas.org is in Italian. http://www.fnas.org/protectweb/rass_fest.asp - through this search engine you can find abt 200 Italian street show festivals and events, including all contacts of festival organizers and art directors http://www.fnas.org/registrazione/ordini_en.asp - instruction (in English) to order and receive the yearbook "Kermesse" the only complete guide on street performing art,  printed every (in Italian) by the F.N.A.S. Also, keep in mind that the Federation can be contacted, in English,  for any info you may need regarding street performing/hat passing laws, rules and procedures in Italy: staff@fnas.org

See WEB sites:

GREECE

PORTUGAL

 

AUSTRALIA, ASIA & AFRICA STREET PERFORMANCE LOCATIONS

IMPORTANT: Please consider sendng in a $10 donation for this information. It takes time and money ($500 year) to keeep it posted and updated. Make checks payable to COMMUNITY ARTS ADVOCATES in US Dollars International Postal Money Orders and send to:Street Arts Advocates, P.O. Box 300112, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130-0030 USA. Donations can also be made by credit card through PayPal at Community Arts Advocates

AUSTRALIA

Lee Ross passed along some great information on Australia. See WEB: http://www.dom.zip.com.au/sb/index.html Australia info site. Includes performer directory

NEW ZEALAND

Check out these web sites for festivals and information: http://www.waimate.org.nz/busking/ Seddon Square, Queen Street, Waimate, South Canterbury, New Zealand held in February http://www.worldbuskersfestival.com/World Busker Festival, PO Box 845, Christchurch, New Zealand. Tel: 011-64-3-377-2365 Email: festpro@clear.net.nz

ASIA

JAPAN

KOREA

RUSSIA

INDIA

INDONESIA

THAILAND

Marrakech Market

AFRICA

http://www.onemanband.net

Pete and Andrea, Anderson Briefcase performing in Cape Town

 

Street Arts and Buskers Advocates

For translations into different languages -- Arabic, Chinese, Italian, French, German, Russian, Spanish or others visit the web site: http://babel.altavista.com

Copyright © 1999-2023 by Stephen Baird