Last chance to see buskers
Two more days of the buskers
The World Buskers Festival opened to still blue skies.
But the next day a storm hit Christchurch, blowing over a massive tree on Rolleston Ave near the festival’s Hagley Park base and causing havoc.
Then it rained and rained and rained. For four days. In January.
Outdoor busking was cancelled, with limited shows held first at Northlands mall and then in large marquees erected in Hagley Park for evening shows.
Buskers flown in from around the world to entertain Christchurch crowds just had to wait it out.
The weather finally cleared and the sun came out on Wednesday. The unusual downpour meant the festival lost five of its 10 days of outdoor busking.
This mini monsoon will undoubtedly have a financial impact on the festival.
Food stalls in Hagley Park, which pay the festival a fee for every day they trade, were closed during the rain and wind. The festival’s coffee stalls, ice-cream stands and bars also saw little trade.
The poor weather could not have come at a more fragile moment in the World Buskers Festival’s 22-year history.
The festival has returned to a cluster of temporary venues in Hagley Park because the recovering city centre is still not ready for street busking and many venues used in previous years were out of action.
Hosting it in Hagley Park is an expensive business at a time when the Christchurch City Council is examining spending very closely. It will face another financial challenge next year, when main sponsor Scirt could be winding down.
It is worth noting that the festival has generated a total surplus for council of $121,000 from 2011 to 2015, despite a $34,000 deficit in 2014. It made nearly $50,000 in 2015, despite a drop in city council funding from $230,000 to $195,000.
This was the first year that shows and buskers were chosen by new director Glen Pickering and producer Tim Bain. Former director and festival founder Jodi Wright programmed last year’s
festival before bowing out. This year, there was a refreshing feel to Le Tigre Bleu’s line-up of experimental shows like Moira’s Wheel of Fortune, while other venues had a fringe theatre vibe with shows like Hamish Parkinson’s Fly or Die, the sublime Miss Behave’s Gameshow, the outrageous EastEnd Cabaret and Jon Bennett’s storytelling treat
Pretending Things are a C*ck.
There was also a nicely balanced line-up for youngsters, with Ongals silent clowning, and David Ladderman and Lizzie Tollemache’s delightful Messy Magic Show.
Another highlight was the return of the Philip Carter Family Auditorium in the reopened Christchurch Art Gallery.
It was a little victory to have that neat little venue back. As we have discovered, the Christchurch recovery comes in baby steps that must be celebrated.
Once the weather cleared, Hagley Park once again worked well for busker daytime shows, with good crowds, infectious laughter and a summertime feel.
With such a thrilling line-up, there is an easy way that we can all help support the World Buskers Festival this year.
Vote with your feet and your wallet over the festival’s final weekend. Go to Hagley Park to watch a busker, buy a burrito and enjoy an ice cream. Send a message that this is a valued and cherished part of Christchurch’s cultural calendar that deserves our support.