The organisers of Australia’s largest busking festival, which has just been named a national finalist at the 2020 Australian Event Awards, have made the difficult decision to cancel their Sunshine Coast festival this October.
Joel and Cindy Jensen are well known for their ‘never give up’ attitude and as the success of their recent ‘Airwaves’ drive-in music festival proves, they aren’t shy of tackling an event during the current Covid climate. However, after months of deliberating and refusing to downsize or alter their ‘Buskers by the Lake’ event program to cater to covid restrictions, it was a call that both deemed as ‘obvious’.
“We could’ve cut the number of performers in half, fenced the area and limited visitor numbers, but it’s all or nothing for us. If we can’t run the event true to form and give the best experience to all involved, we won’t run at all,” Joel said.
Applications to be a part of the event opened in January this year, with hundreds of performers signing up to be a part of the ‘desert digs’ themed event. If it wasn’t hula hoopers or break dancers, it was musicians, theatre groups and contortionists and with a growing reputation as being one of the world’s best busking events, performers from as far as England, Italy, London and Argentina were quick to throw their hats in the ring.
“The talent pool from this year’s application process would have made for an extraordinary first festival at our new Sunshine Coast location and it’s extremely disappointing for everyone involved, including our suppliers and fans.”
Despite the main event cancellation the duo are determined to roll-out a string of their smaller ‘side street’ events from early 2021, including an exhibition featuring works and performances by Australia’s prolific sideshow performer, Space Cowboy, aka Chayne Hultgren.
The 55 time Guinness World Record holder has wowed crowds globally for decades with death defying stunts including swallowing 27 swords at once, shooting lightning from his body and swallowing swords underwater in a shark tank. Due to Covid, for the first time in his life Chayne found himself in a position where he needed to explore new artistic avenues and it wasn’t long before his obsession with painting took over. Apart from Chayne’s style, what makes his visual art unique is the inspiration which stems from his phenomenal abilities and achievements and the exposure to sights unseen by many.
“I’ve got a collection of preserved strange animals including Daisy and Maisy the two headed calf and Dido the double bodied duckling, all of which I’ve acquired during my days as a freakshow performer,” Chayne said.
Due to popular demand, “Airwaves Festival” will also be making a comeback early new year, but not as the drive-in experience as we know it. Punters will land on the spaceship deck and blast off to a string of well known Australian talent, with the finer details being kept under wraps until the official launch.
‘Buskers by the Lake’ will be next held in 2021, from October 29 to 31. For future event information including side street events, visit www.buskersbythelake.com.au
