Curtain falls on 2010 World Buskers' Festival
02 Feb 2010
The curtain has fallen on another successful World Buskers’ Festival in Christchurch.
The 10-day 2010 festival ended last night (1.02.10) with the naming of talented local juggler Nathan "Mulletman’’ Bonner as the best New Zealand act, and US husband and wife duo The Daredevil Chicken Club as the best international act in The Press Critics’ Choice Award.
Festival director Jodi Wright said she was thrilled with how the festival had gone and with the calibre of the acts. This is the first year the festival has been run under the stewardship of the Christchurch City Council.
"The performers have loved every moment of the festival and can’t believe how supportive and animated the Christchurch crowds are. They’ve gotten a real buzz out of performing here and can’t wait to come back next year,’’ Jodi Wright said.
"In return, they’ve treated the crowds to some fantastic performances - I don’t think people could believe what they were seeing at times. There’s certainly been some eye-popping moments over the last 10 days.’’
World’s best
Daredevil Chicken Club duo Anne Goldmann and Jonathan Taylor said they were thrilled to be coming back again in 2011, for what would be their fifth year in Christchurch.
"Of all the performances we do worldwide, Christchurch is the one we love the most. It’s hard to get selected for Christchurch because it is the world’s best and the bar is set very high."
Ms Wright said the crowds had increased steadily in size as the festival had progressed and the weather had improved.
"The last few days of the festival the city was just heaving with people enjoying the sunshine and the chance to watch the buskers in action. You could feel the whole mood of the city lift - everybody had big smiles on their faces and were really getting into the spirit of the festival,’’
Musical acts
The addition of musical acts to the festival for the first time had proved very popular with the crowds, and was likely to be repeated again in the future, Wright said.
"Each year we try and bring new elements to the festival and to treat the audiences to something they haven’t seen or heard before.
"The challenge of doing that becomes harder and harder as the festival ages - it’s now in its 17th year - but each year the festival seems to get bigger and better and already we’re thinking of what we can do in 2011 to ensure audiences get a good laugh,’’ Wright said.
More information:
Busking fests keep New Zealand entertained
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