(NEW ORLEANS) Celebrating 300 years in the making, New Orleans is currently busy with Mardi Gras, Jazz, and the French Quarter festivals. A visit by Busker Central reporters for a month reveals some interesting developments along with a deep history.Bourbon street in "da qwada" is traditionally known for it's late-night activities, bars, drunks, fights, and arrests. It's still a wild place but not too suitable for busking. Jackson Square mall is known for it's daytime bands, painters, and psychic readers. Now, one block off Bourbon, Royal street is really nice and becoming popular for buskers both day and night. Among the historic quaint shops, several jazz bands and others buskers have sprung up. And who can blame them? It's probably the best single street that embodies the French Quarter at it's best....

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Holland, MI — The Downtown Holland Principal Shopping District received a grant from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the Holland Area Arts Council to support its Street Performer Series.

The grant, which was awarded through the Regional Regranting Program, totaled $2,880 and will help fund the 2009 Street Performer Series.

The Street Performance Series is a 12-week series featuring regional artists who perform throughout downtown each Thursday evening in the summer.

In 2009, the Street Performer Series is June 11 through Aug. 27.

For more information, visit www.downtownholland.com or contact info@downtownholland.com

HOLLAND SENTINAL

(NYC) You won't believe this but the following is just one single week recapping some of the strangest subway behavior in NYC. It is also the first in a new NBC 4 weekly series documenting happenings in the New York City subway. It promises to be quite an interesting serial publication."We start the first week noting that 5.6 million people ride the subway each day which makes it not only a hot spot for talent scouting and people watching, but also a snow-globe of sorts for some of the strangest behavior in the city".

Busker #1 is a cigarette smoking man underneath a train (don't ask). Then he jumps up and performs balancing and dare-devil stunts in-between cars. With cigarette in hand, he finishes by tap-dancing across the platform and away from the encroaching NYPD. The busker...

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(SHANGHAI) For the first time in modern Chinese history, buskers and street-performers may be able to perform their art without being stopped. "We'll be the first city in China to open arms to street-side performers," said Luo Huaizhen, a playwright who for the last eight years has urged the Shanghai People's Congress to allow street performers.

Shanghai residents will be able to see artists and performers doing creative shows in public spaces for the first time since the World Expo in 2010 when it was temporarily allowed. China has forbidden buskers because crowds gather possibly leading to discussions concerning the government.

Busker Central noticed a few years ago when the Chinese government started draining the street-performer website with useless connections. It has since had to block China...

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(ORLANDO) Universal Orlando is hiring hundreds of energetic street performers both full and part-time for their Superstar Parade.Universal is seeking dancers, animated character performers, drummers, roller skaters, stilt walkers, and "little people" no taller than 4' 11".

The parade centers on new floats designed around four movies and TV shows. Each position comes with an array of Universal Orlando benefits such as free theme-park admission and assorted discounts.

Auditions for roles in the Universal Studios parade will debut sometime in the Spring. Some limitations apply. Stilt walkers can weigh no more than 180 pounds and that will be verified at the auditions.

Universal also wants marching-band style drummers and those candidates should have a one-minute drum solo ready (some will be...

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