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Permalink Reply by Jane "Electric Blue" on June 17, 2010 at 5:02am

I busk with hoops though i do not do walk by stuff i do circle street shows Here are some photos of my show.
http://www.hoopcity.ca/photo/national-folk-festival-1?context=user
http://www.hoopcity.ca/photo/multicultural-festival-6?context=user
http://www.hoopcity.ca/photo/national-folk-festival?context=user


I mix up hoops with china plate spinning and a bit of acrobatics. I generally do stage type performances and have been only doing street for a little while, but i have learned so much about what works and what does not for me. Street performing is really about trying every thing and finding out what works for you in your area.

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Permalink Reply by MaisieHoops of *HulaHoopers.ca* on June 17, 2010 at 8:17am

Your pics are amazing. Do you have any vids of your plate spinning? That looks awesome!

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Permalink Reply by Jane "Electric Blue" on June 17, 2010 at 8:26pm

Not Yet, but soon hopefully.

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Permalink Reply by Harlow [Hulacination Hoops] on June 18, 2010 at 5:55pm

I'd love to do street shows like that! but I don't think they permit it in my town ):

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Permalink Reply by Kelsey Taylor Nelson on July 12, 2010 at 1:09am

I really want to try this :D my mom keeps telling me to get a summer job....this would be perfect! I could just go when i wanted and make some extra cash. yay:) how would i find out if i need a permit or not?

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Permalink Reply by Harlow [Hulacination Hoops] on July 12, 2010 at 3:49am

If your city council has a website, usually rules and regulations about street performing are on there (:

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Permalink Reply by Kelsey Taylor Nelson on July 16, 2010 at 11:04pm

I did it! Today me and my best friend had my hoops and we were heading to boulder creek through the 16th street mall and it was so shady and there was a guy singing a beautiful song so we stopped and i took off my hat because it was getting in the way and i made $15 in 20 min :D i have a vid if anyone would like to see, I just keep doing mainly the same tricks, but i thought it turned out good ;)

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Permalink Reply by Martika* of MartikasMysticDesign on July 17, 2010 at 5:22pm

went out my first time today at city market in Kansas city mo, didn't make any money due to the fact a small marching band was standing next to me half the time i was there. They had cute little kids doing back flips and some holding buckets to collect money, i couldn't beat that... :( However, i ran into some members of Ziggy's troupe and hooped a little with them. Hope to see them in the future.

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Permalink Reply by Kelsey Taylor Nelson on July 21, 2010 at 9:57pm

So apparently my hoop is considered a projectile? I checked with Boulder and the permit is free but I need insurance of $150,000 to $600,000! When I asked why, I was told my hoop is a projectile.

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Permalink Reply by Jane "Electric Blue" on July 21, 2010 at 11:16pm

Yeah unfortunately it is pretty much standard in most places that to busk as a variety performer you need tio have some kind of performers insurance.

Basically so if you accidently cause injury you and the town are protected.

There are actually heaps of places that you can you can buy performers insurance from and they are fairly affordable. It is still money but if you are looking to perform even not as a busker it is well worth having firstly to protect yourself if something does go wrong and secondly, i noticed that i got heaps more bookings when people know that i am insured. A lot of events and venues flat out wont book you if you don't have it.

This is the company that i use
http://www.duckforcover.com.au/minigen/ but that is only for Australia

I have heard that a lot of US circus, fire and variety performers use these guys but i don't know much about them.
http://www.specialtyinsuranceagency.com/

it is also worth checking directly with your council or what not, Police and store owners often like to make up rules to get rid if buskers but a lot of the time they are just making stuff up to suit them selfs.

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Permalink Reply by Jane "Electric Blue" on July 21, 2010 at 11:36pm

Also another suggestion for all up and coming buskers is to have a read around on this site:
http://www.performers.net

It is a forum for performers and a lot of street performers post there. You can learn a lot about pitch etiquette, this is very important if you want to busk, because a lot of others rely on the pitch for their lively hood and you don't want to unknowingly stuff any thing up for them(this applys more to circle shows but is still a good idea). This site also has heaps of great info about how to really work a street show for best success it there is a lot to read but i recommend reading as much as you can (forums and the library), try some of the suggestions and see what works for you there is a real wealth of knowledge over there and contributions from some of the best street performers from around the world.

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Permalink Reply by Harlow [Hulacination Hoops] on July 22, 2010 at 6:33am

Thanks for the link! I'll have a read of the site tomorrow. My friends and I just moved into a bigger city where the main square is a free street performing area and we're looking to do some in the near future (:

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