Busking Owen Sound? Absolutely!

I've been corresponding with Doug Cleverley over at the Owen Sound Special events office on the topic of their plans for a late summer busking festival, and in my bid to have this folded in to make Summerfolk Weekend a really-folk festive occasion for the whole of the town (which apparently would not please the GB'f'S, so they won't) I made the comment that I thought we should have buskers all the time in Owen Sound. And guess what ...

"there is absolutely no reason - including municipal bylaws - why buskers could not play downtown during Summerfolk, even if it's just a spontaneous, saloon-clearing kind of activity. In fact, few people realize that Owen Sound has a virtually open door policy on busking. It's allowed in any public area, as long as the busker isn't interfering with any business or impeding traffic, doesn't use offensive language, and isn't aggressively trying to get money (i.e. panhandling).

You might enjoy talking with Irwin Seidman, the DIA's new general manager - he's hoping the Busker Festival will help launch a new program that actively encourages busking downtown, if he can get support for it."

if you want to get involved and/or show some support, you can contact Doug at dcleverley (at) city.owen-sound.on.ca