Visitors to Stephen Avenue will have likely noticed that over the last few weeks, the Calgary Downtown Association has gone to great lengths to snare in the right kind of treble.
Across the 8 Avenue SW pedestrian zone, the CDA has painted large music symbols at key locations, with the goal of formalizing places where buskers can play music and perform without interfering with restaurant and pub patios.
In return, the new locations mean that Calgarians looking for live outdoor music and entertainment know exactly where to find it.
“What’s happening is we have some buskers that are performing right in front of a patio with over-amplified music as an example. So, we wanted to bring more curation to it, to allow more facilitation, and say, ‘here’s a good spot to perform,” said CDA Executive Director Mark Garner.
In effect, he said, the CDA is creaking “busk stops” that are aimed at getting the right kind of attention and interest to buskers.
The goal for more curated busking, he said, included more theatre in the round which involves bringing more types of acts beyond just music to Stephen Avenue.
Jugglers, magicians, and theatrical performances were all staples of the pedestrian street before the pandemic, and Garner said that he wants to see that kind of art return to Stephen Avenue in addition to music.
