Main Street Buskerfest returns to Abingdon
Labor Day weekend
Abingdon, VA –
Abingon’s popular festival Main Street Busker Fest returns Saturday September
2, 2017 with a lineup of brand new acts, including sword swallowers, yo-yo
artists, psychics and musicians. The
free street festival aims to bring totally unique performers to downtown
Abingdon, for a weird and wonderful experience for all ages. After the daytime
festival, select acts will return for Buskers After Dark, a 21+ event to
benefit Abingdon Main Street.
“Busking” is an
age-old tradition in which artists perform on street corners and play publicly
for tips. Musicians, jugglers, aerialists, acrobats, and more – street
artists add character and fun to their communities.
Now in its third year,
Main Street Busker Fest has grown, offering more artists in more locations.
Thanks to support from the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the
Virginia Tourism Corporation, AMS has scheduled over 30 acts, including 11 new
performers from as far away as Colorado, Kansas City, Asheville, and NYC as
well as home-grown talent from the Tri Cities area.
Schedule: The fun
starts at 11a.m. for the youth and the young at heart with the Imagination
Station on the Barter green, sponsored by Paper Moon Studio. From noon until 5
p.m., entertainment can be found all along Main Street. When the sun goes down,
adults 21+ are invited to the Abingdon Market Pavilion for Buskers After Dark
at 8p.m., a fundraiser featuring roving performances from the best of the
buskers (photo ID required to enter, no exceptions). In keeping with the
traditions of the festival, attendees are encouraged to bring a “tip” for
Abingdon Main Street, aka a donation at the door.
The 2017 festival
features performers like Imagine Circus Aerialists, A Great Distraction
(sidewalk chalk art), Nerdy Noah (comedy variety show), Justin Weber Yo-Yo,
Jonathan Austin (juggling and magic show) and Rob and Miss Jane (comedy variety
show), in addition to musicians, jugglers, clowns, circus performers and psychics.
Busker Fest will also feature fantastic local musicians including JP Parsons,
Ian Feathers, Pointer Brothers and even students from the high school marching
band.
Three anchor stages
will offer space for larger acts, with additional performers located along Main
Street in downtown Abingdon. Food trucks
will be available, and Abingdon’s downtown restaurants will be open for lunch
and dinner. Downtown merchants are
participating in the festival with sidewalk sales and giveaways, turning all of
downtown Abingdon into a carnival atmosphere for the day.
The festival is free,
but visitors should plan to bring change so they can show appreciation to their
favorite artists with a tip. Volunteers will be available to help make
change, and several ATMs are located on Main Street.
Festival maps will be
provided at the event; for a sneak peek at some of the artists performing,
visit www.mainstreetbuskerfest.com.
This event is
sponsored by the Virginia Tourism Corporation, Virginia Commission of the Arts,
Holston Medical Group, and
Virginia Highlands Community College. Media
sponsors include Bristol Herald Courier, The Loafer, and 99.3 The
X.
Photos available for
download here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/hddxlk5l4ynjfmb/AADXY9o5Dt-GKwUSljJSQDWWa?dl=0
For more information,
visit www.mainstreetbuskerfest.com or contact Event Coordinator Sara Saavedra at (276)
676-2282 or ssaavedra@abingdon-va.gov.
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