Busking in Nanaimo

[queen of the waterfront]

Love the band.

How about some famous Nanaimo buskers
Dianna Krall she busked inEurope
Elvis Costello, he was thrown in jail in New York for busking
Alison Crowe used to busk down at the waterfront when she was about 15.
At one time there were 17 buskers at the Terminal Park Liquor Store.

I plan to write a book about Nanaimo buskers one day. I have some amazing pictures and I am sure other people do too.

[RelaxedIslander]

Lots of great talent that came out of Nanaimo! I like some of the entertainment provided by these people, it's not for everyone though. Because some people are not fans, we cannot let it get out of hand and have buskers on every street or high pedestrian traffic area. Having a few downtown is nice, but let's not get carried away.
Terminal Park liquor used to be out of hand as they fought for positions at times. I've seen one occassion where it turned into physical altercation and I'm sure it scared away people and business from that location and surrounding businesses.
I LOVE some of the respectful entertainers downtown that follow the rules and understand the effects their actions can have on the people around them and businesses. Those people are great for our city and culture.

[queen of the waterfront]

I have to agree with you about what happened at Terminal Park. I was really sad to lose that busking spot as I played there for many years. A few buskers spoiled it for many. Some were actually panhandlers who were accosting people going to their cars. others were buskers who made enough for a bottle, came back after they drank it and were obnoxious.

Down on the waterfront is the same. One busker got arrested a few weeks ago for being drunk while busking. He didnt get a ticket or lose his licence. Its not his first offence.

I see busking as a public job. There are children present and drinking or drugs should automatically net the offender a total ban from busking.

The public are the people who pay us and they should get good value for their money.
I was down there the first day i got my cane and people started throwing me twenties. I felt so bad I went back home. i dont want people to give me money because they feel sorry for me , i want them to value my craft.

[Piper]

Last night while I was busking I met a family from Vancouver who sailed across last week, they were dancing and had a great time and they invited me to play in Vancouver. It's a shame that the waterfront is not as busy as it was over the last few years I know my donations have dropped by at least 80% in the last 2 years but it's not about money it is always fun to gather a crowd and meet people from all over the world. I think with the new buildings going in busking will be elliminated as people don't want buskers in front of their homes.

[TH2008]

Last night while I was busking I met a family from Vancouver who sailed across last week, they were dancing and had a great time and they invited me to play in Vancouver. It's a shame that the waterfront is not as busy as it was over the last few years I know my donations have dropped by at least 80% in the last 2 years but it's not about money it is always fun to gather a crowd and meet people from all over the world. I think with the new buildings going in busking will be elliminated as people don't want buskers in front of their homes.

Maybe the reason your donations are down is people have not recognized summer is here yet? We had a really crappy stretch of lousy weather for many months prior to this last week of sunshine. Or it could be the cost of living. It's getting bloody hard to get ahead now, with the price of gas and food increasing so much in the past year. Maybe there is not much disposable income out there, like there used to be.

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TH

[TH2008]

Terminal Park liquor used to be out of hand as they fought for positions at times. I've seen one occassion where it turned into physical altercation and I'm sure it scared away people and business from that location and surrounding businesses.

I remember this was an issue. I think that issue made the newspapers, if I remember right. I thought it was a bakery just beside the liquor store exit door who was complaining?

But it just was not the buskers being complained about. It was street people hitting up liquor store patrons for change. Some of them could be quite abrasive. Terminal park mall had a lot of problems with panhandlers for a long while. That seems to have been corrected. Even the bottle return depot is out of there now. And they are located in the industrial park just off of Northfield road.

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TH

[queen of the waterfront]

There is an article today in the Daily news about a busking issue.
i think it is hilarious. Again bylaws is blaming buskers for mayhem.
They also claim that all buskers have to have auditions and yet will not tell us when the auditions were held. I havent found a single busker this year who has taken an audition since April which is when licences are issued. Other than my partner and myself. Bylaws also will not tell us when the last workshop was held for buskers. We had to go through the freedom of information act just to learn anything.

This bylaw was not put in place to control crazed buskers. it was put in place so that the quality of entertainment would improve because merchants and residents were rightly complaining about some buskers who were annoying and repetitive.
Also as in the liquor store case some buskers were not considerate of the public or other buskers.

[titan5]

There is an article today in the Daily news about a busking issue.
i think it is hilarious. Again bylaws is blaming buskers for mayhem.
They also claim that all buskers have to have auditions and yet will not tell us when the auditions were held.

http://www.canada.com/nanaimodailyne...1-3a4fc4d15fcc

[fitz]

"We've said from the beginning these bylaws are discretionary and unenforceable"

I'm sorry, but I find that part pretty hilarious. Especially followed by this:

"I think we've got a pretty good system . . . "

That's just comedy right there.

The bylaws don't seem to be out of line, but the (fact?) that not everyone has to audition is not discretionary - it's discriminatory.

[Piper]

As I read the busking story in the Daily news today I still have concerns about discretion. As I walked the waterfront I talked to 2 new buskers this year who had done the audition but had not attended the workshop as part of the bylaw in fact 1 new busker told me he was not invited to the workshop but he was told by the bylaw officer that the workshop was not a success as many new buskers did not show up. Now this contradicts what that same bylaw officer told me in a letter I picked up yesterday, It says that 19 buskers attended this workshop. It's the same old story where they say anything to protect their reputation even if it may not be true.
I guess thats what they call discretion. As for Randy Churhill saying he would work with the buskers to deal with their concerns, I have been there and done that with no satisfaction. Again he is using his discretion to deal with the issue and the end result is the way he see's it not how it really is.
Since Randy Churchill took over for Dave Nichols at bylaws I have never seen him at the waterfront but I can tell you I have seen him many times at McDonalds resturant where 3 members of my family were managers.