Local buskers are enough
Bringing in a “worldclass group” for a full week, but excluding our own talented buskers feels very much like the effective killing of Folkfest here in Victoria. For years we had a viable Folkfest on Centennial Square, drawing on the vast number of local groups and talents for free entertainment while feeding the onlookers from kiosks staffed by local groups. Then the Intercultural association decided to bring in paid “world class” talents, move Folkfest to the inner harbour AND charge admission.Well, Folkfest is dead — though in Seattle after 40 years they still manage to keep their Folklife Festival free. The question is, why do we need to invite outside buskers to entertain us when there is such a pool of talent in Victoria? We now face the same scenario of “annually” inviting outsiders to perform instead of locals, but in this case also depriving locals of their livelihood.
Anne Forester,Victoria