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N.B. Street Fest to feature hip-hop talent as part of show

Jul 11, 2018 | 3:00 PM

The North Battleford International Street Performer Festival will see a few changes this year, including new talent.

Now in its fifth year, the street festival will be held on 101 Street, from 11th to 12th Avenues, and will run Friday, July 27 and Saturday, July 28, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on both days.

Festival co-chair Kali Weber said organizers opted to change the event to two days instead of three this year. Previously the festival also ran on Sunday.

“We decided to change it because Sunday was always our least attended day. So we decided to extend our hours on Friday,” she said. “We usually started at 4 p.m. on Friday; this year we’re starting at 11 a.m. So we’re just putting those five hours elsewhere, and seeing if that works better.”

Weber was also involved in producing and curating the talent for the event this year.

She said one of the highlights will be a performance by North Battleford hip-hop artist Calvin Wuttunee​, know as Yung-C.

Weber said the festival has had various acts that incorporate music in the past, but this will be the first time it will include a complete music performance.

“It’s excellent,” she said. “We’re so happy to have a local performer. I’m excited to see how a hip-hop artist does on the street. It’s something new.”

The festival will have 14 street performers, who range from being what’s known as circle-show performers, as well as performers called rovers who walk about and interact with the festival patrons. 

Weber said the number of performers is slightly less than in previous years, but the show will have a more local focus to put the spotlight on area talent.

There will also be some international artists as well taking part, such as a JOHNman, from Germany, who pretends to be a living statue, on which people walking by are invited to paint.

The festival will also include artisans, food vendors as well as face painters, among some of the offerings during the event.

The street performer festival is free to attend, although a small cash donation is encouraged as a tip for the artists.

“The whole objective of a street performance is that you get to decide how much you want to pay,” Weber said. “So if you attend the festival there is no admission, but performers do perform for tips.”

 

angela.brown@jpbg.ca

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