Covid-19 means more Kiwi talent for Christchurch’s famous buskers festival
There were no international acts to make it a world buskers’ festival, but home-grown talent had no trouble entertaining the crowds in Christchurch on Saturday.
New Regent St was chosen for the music-backed extravaganza to launch this year’s event, marketing manager Dolan Cox saying the street was an “iconic” part of the central business district.
Cox said one of the intentions of the Bread and Circus Backyard Buskers’ Festival was to “reactivate the city centre”.
STACY SQUIRES/STUFF/Stuff
Hundreds of people packed Christchurch’s New Regent St on Saturday for to watch circus performers, opera singers, an orchestra and musicians performing songs by Split Enz to launch the Bread and Circus Backyard Buskers’ Festival.
“We are taking over the street and filling it with random joy,” he said.
READ MORE:
* Busker who lost ‘contract of a lifetime’ urges people to keep scanning QR codes
* Circus stars, opera singers and brass band will launch Christchurch buskers festival
* Home gardeners are calmer in the face of a second lockdown, but growers voice concerns
“We’ve had such excellent engagement from the local businesses that we hope it becomes an annual event.”
The street was perfectly positioned to host for the performance, with opera singers serenading the audience from windows and balconies above the terraced shops.
Stacy Squires/Stuff
Crowds standing shoulder to shoulder with performers, some of whom were brought to the stage by tram.
Christchurch’s tram also came in useful, hosting a juggler and a brass band and deftly negotiating the crowds to the performers to the stage.
Despite a lack of international artists, Cox said Covid-19 had almost been a blessing for the festival, with many Kiwi acts available who would normally have been based overseas.
“It actually turned into a real opportunity – it forced the festival to rediscover talent in our own backyard,” he said.
“Performers that would normally be in China or Germany are here because of lockdown.”
Stacy Squires/Stuff
Musicians treated the crowds to hits from the band Split Enz.
One of those is foot juggler Emma Phillips, who had been preparing for a year-long tour of Germany and Austria before the pandemic struck.
She was joined by (hand) jugglers, hula-hoopers, a string quartet, a drag queen, and music from Split Enz covers to opera.
While there was a lot of close mingling and very few face masks, there were still QR code check-in points at either end of the street, and festival director Scott Maidment said people were encouraged to sign in before performances.
Stacy Squires/Stuff
Peter Bee, from Prebbleton, using the Covid-19 scanner to ensure he stays in the habit.
Not all took that advice, but many did, including Peter Bee from Prebbleton.
“[I’m scanning] because it’s the right thing to do,” he said.
“It’s good to get into the habit in case things kick off.”
Stacy Squires/Stuff
Hundreds of people turned out for the extravaganza, including Riki Hammond and Ezra Hammond, 5, left, and Matt Kerr and Christabel Field, 3, centre.
