Narooma’s Regional Busking Festival and Competition this Saturday promises to be ‘sensational’ and it is free for spectators.
‘Fifty-five busker registrations, that’s over 200 people from Victoria, Canberra, Sydney, out to Cowra and Gundagai will fill Narooma throughout Saturday with all kinds of wonderful music and other performance acts,’ said excited Festival co-ordinator Sandra Doyle.
‘That will be topped off with a concert from 4pm at the Golf Club from a variety of performers who have busked through the day. Narooma will certainly be buzzing.
‘Each act will play at four or five of the 35 busker hot spots around town that are sponsored by the adjacent businesses, with music ranging from country, blues, jazz and rock, to Scottish bagpipes, dancers, poets and circus acts.
‘Extra busker hot spots this year are around the Kinema (where the River of Art Festival Art Prize exhibition is still on display at the SoART Gallery and School of Arts’ Studios), on NATA Oval and near Quarterdeck.’
The Festival is hosted by Narooma Rotary Club, partnered with River of Art, and is part of the Australian National Busking Championships (ANBC). It is the last major event in the 2018 River of Art Festival.
A programme listing each busking act and the timetable for each hot spot (9am-3pm) is available online and in hard copy on the day from the Busking Information Stall opposite the Ice Creamery, from the Visitors’ Centre and from the yellow Rotary-vested Busker Vote sellers. Profiles of some of the registered buskers are on the website and on Facebook.
‘Not all buskers will be competing. For those that are, every spectator can vote for their favourite busker for the People’s Choice prize of $1,000 by buying a special busker vote from our sellers, each vote costs $1,’ said Festival committee member Lynda Ord.
‘We count up votes for each busker to determine the winner. Of each $1 vote, the busker gets 10 cents. If the purchaser writes their name on the back of each vote, they enter a lucky draw. Each busker keeps any coin they collect.’
Narooma’s four judges will roam around listening to all competitors throughout the day, with the overall winner’s prize also $1,000.
‘We’re absolutely thrilled at how this festival has been embraced by our community,’ Mrs Ord said.
‘Symons will operate a free bus through the day to ferry people between busking hot spots which extend from the Plaza to the Flat.’
Narooma Lions, Quota, CWA and VIEW Clubs will help Rotary on the day, as well as many other volunteers.
A display on NATA Oval (behind the Visitors’ Centre) will also feature between 30 and 60 classic cars from the Quattro Giornate Auto Classiche, the Classic and Vintage Motor Club of Eurobodalla and the Southern Motor Association, as well as new cars from the AMH Motor Group from Moruya.
The ANBC is a national event with Narooma hosting one of the regional competitions. Winners from Narooma, as well as the three other regional events, will be invited to compete in the National Grand Final in Cooma in November.
For more information, please check the website www.busking.naroomarotary.org.au or facebook.com/ANBC Narooma.
Above:Narooma Busking Festival Coordinator Sandra Doyle, second from right, with River of Art committee members Di Jay, left, Lynne Griffiths and Robin Scott-Charlton at the River of Art launch in Narooma’s SoART Gallery last Thursday. Photo by Rosie Williams
Above: Queanbeyan Pipies and Drums enjoyed last year’s Busking Festival so much, they are back again this year performing at Quarterdeck, Club Narooma, Easts Park and Narooma Visitors Centre.
