Remember the last time you watched an amazing, talented street performer playing the guitar and you threw some pocket change in his bucket? Now, add magic, jugglers, and a fiery finale, and you have the 13th installment of Downtown Fort Wayne’s BuskerFest.

This quirky festival returns to the streets of the Summit City from 3-9 p.m. on Saturday, May 18. 

Pros and Joes

This edition of BuskerFest marks the first major community event hosted by Downtown Fort Wayne since the introduction of the area’s Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area, which was introduced this month. 

However, instead of celebrating the fact you will be able to have an adult beverage in your hand, purchased at approved sites and in a DORA cup, BuskerFest is a “celebration of the street performer,” according to Tamara Cummins, Downtown Fort Wayne’s events and programs manager.

Centered at the intersection of Wayne and Calhoun streets, the festival will feature a variety of buskers, both “organic” and professional, performing music and acrobatic spectacles for an expected audience of 8,000-10,000 people throughout the day.

Cummins said in addition to what she calls “organic buskers” — those who consider themselves buskers and play only for tips at the festival — the organization has also invited professionals to perform.

Cincinnati Circus will dazzle festivalgoers with stilt walkers, jugglers, and unicycle aerialists, in addition to comics, magicians, and balloon artists at Busker Central Pitch, near the I&M Plaza. To top it all off, Cummins said the circus will perform a spectacle called the “Wheel of Death,” where entertainers will be lifted by a massive contraption into the air while performing intricate, death-defying aerobatic feats. 

To close out the night once again, the fire-bending performers from Pyroscope will light up the night at 8:30 p.m.

Strike up the bands

BuskerFest will also feature three local musical acts who will be performing intermittently throughout the day. 

The Farmland Jazz Band will offer two half-hour performances at 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. Describing themselves as a “taste of New Orleans in the Midwest,” the band focuses on 1920s improvisational jazz styles and boasts a repertoire of both well-known and original pieces.

The alternative rock/funk band Kangaroo Kourt, fresh off releasing their debut album Sunday Best in January, will also offer two half-hour sessions at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. The band describes their lyrical artwork as “introspective and thought-provoking, touching on themes of love, loss, and the human experience.”

Another local band, Randara, will round out the night with their half-hour sets at 7 p.m. and 8 p.m.

New additions

Cummins said that in addition to the festivals proximity to several restaurants, food trucks will be on site. 

New to BuskerFest will be an alley set aside for those with sensory needs to participate in the fun of the festival, as well as an after party for the adult crowd.

“We have an extended portion of the event that’s taking place in the alley,” Cummins said in an interview with Whatzup. “It’s an after party, if you will, where we’re going to have a DJ and kind of some late-night activations for our young adults.”

With back-to-back performances of spectacular musical and acrobatic feats, this year’s installment of BuskerFest is sure to impress once again — just remember to tip your buskers.