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’Cats on top of world Victoria HarbourCats and their fans pitch their way into the Guiness Book of World Records
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Here come …
THe BUsKeRs
Ten-day street performer festival kicks off Friday with more than 100 international and local acts ready to perform Kevin Laird
Akron works eight months of the year full-time as a busker and then takes some downtime. Last year he also performed on Pier 39 in San Franciso. “The show has evolved over the last 18 years. I’ll keep some things, take away things and add new things.” For Gregg, a Fernwood resident, his busking tricks are a door to comedy. “The tricks are an excuse to tell jokes,” he said. Gregg has been a busker for 15 years. He taught himself how to juggle while attending Saanich’s Mt. Doug High School.
News staff
Kevin Laird/News staff
Victoria busker Akron performs one of his unique balancing tricks. He performs through the summer along the Inner Harbour.
Akron and Aaron Gregg are street workers. For the two Victoria professional street performers, more commonly known as buskers, the Victoria International Buskers Festival opens a door of opportunity. Both Gregg and Akron work regularly along the Inner Harbour in a rotation with other street performers through the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority. With more people in town for the festival, the two expect their donation caps to be brimming with Please see: money over the next 10 days. All buskers welcome, Page A4 More than 100 professional street performers are expected to attend this year’s festival from July 18 to 27. The free festival includes worldclass break dancers, acrobatic spectacles, stage plays and mimes on seven stages throughout the downtown core, said executive director John Vickers. “We’re presenting more than 1,000 hours of programming. It really is a spectacular amount of busker talent.” Akron, 39, has been busking for more than 18 years, the last four in Victoria. His act is full of comedy, juggling and fire. “What I really like (about juggling) is the ability to pull people off the street and give them a theatre performance,” he said. “A lot of what I do in Victoria is discovering what appeals to Kevin Laird/News staff audiences.” Juggler Aaron Gregg has been a busker for more than 15 years.
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