(MELBOURNE) Locals were treated to a musical feast when 10 very different performers competed for the title of Melbourne’s best busker.Sounds ranging from a homemade flute to the Tibetan guitar flooded City Square rousing smiles, applause, and dancing from passersby.

The public voted with their wallets donating to the bucket of their favourite busker.

Guitarist and singer Jenny Biddle (shown above) raised the most money and took home the mantle of the city’s best busker and a cheque for $1000.

The event - Street Change - was held as part of the Melbourne Music festival to raise money for homelessness charities - the Lighthouse Foundation and Home Ground Services.

The event was organised by the Rotary Club of Melbourne Park.

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Is anybody as addicted to their magic table as I am? I don't seem to be able to operate without it. I've gone out a couple times without it and sucked. I ususally do 3 shell game and a Benson Bowl type routine with the table. I don't seem to have the same confidence without it. I do sharpshooter and the misers dream and a signed bill into a nest of dolls which doesn't need a table, but my show isn't as good without what I do with the table. Anybody have any similar experiences??? I would like to ditch the table and stand and just work out of a Dr. bag which would be great if the quality of show was as high. Suggestions please!!!!

blackbeltmagic@gmail.com
http://blackbeltmagician.com

(from the You've got-to-be-kidding-me Department)
One of the themes of 2009 was that collection societies around the world went nuts trying to charge for anything they possibly could while also trying to increase the rates they could charge. Even banks went wild with their hidden charges.

Remember how one collection society wanted to charge a woman because she put on music in public for her horses? Or how about the woman who worked in a grocery store who was told to stop singing while stocking the shelves or the store would have to pay a performance fee? And, of course, we had ASCAP trying to claim that ringtones were public performances, and mobile operators needed to pay up -- beyond the license fee that was already paid on the recording.

SOCAN, the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada, has been no exception pushing for drastically increased rates...

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Hello Buskercentral people and all of the other Busker-lovers,

I'm a mid 30's Belgian magician from Antwerp. I'm studying magic since I was about 15 years old, and perform now for already 12 years. I always were more interested in close-up magic, but through meetings with other magicians, I started doing kids-magic on birthday parties, schools, etc...
Because I performed for children, I tried to start performing as a clown-dressed magician. Yet, some years later, I stopped doing those children shows, and I'm focusing pure on sleight of hand magic for the use in close-up and/or parlor magic. Because I have a busy day-job as a European International Courier Driver, I didn't liked the hassle anymore when working with contracts.
For that reason, I will start out Busking here in Belgium as soon as the spring is in the country. I studied a lot of other street performers, as well magic as other arts, and I really want to go out now to Hit the Bricks!!!

The name Mik-Kado is the only thing...

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(WWW) From his first card trick at age 6 through his tightrope walk between Manhatten's Twin Trade Towers, high-wire artist Philippe Petit takes you on an intimate journey as a death-defying magician.Petit has reportedly been arrested over 500 times. Surprisingly, a majority of those 500 arrests occurred while he was juggling on the street in Paris, according to the performer himself. Many of his larger stunts have been done within the confines of the law, however, including a tightrope walk over the Seine from the Palais de Chaillot to the Eiffel Tower.

His first documentary "Man on Wire" has recently been reprised with Hollywood's movie version "The Walk". In both, he is introduced to his love interest because of his dedication to wire walking. Petit still practices walking the wire for hours...

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