By Margaret Maccoll
Soloists, groups and musicians young and old will for the third year take their positions along Noosa’s riverside on Saturday 8 June to perform their way into the finals of the Australian National Busking Championships.
The championships now in its ninth year began in Cooma and travels as a series of busking festivals across regional towns around the country including Stanthorpe, Ballarat, Narooma, Peak Hill and Gundagai and culminates in a national championship in Cooma in November.
Tony Oxley of the Rotary Club of Noosa discovered the event in Cooma and set about bringing it to Noosa where it has been embraced by the community.
Last year almost 50 acts entered the competition and brought a wide variety of talent to the event. Popular Noosa performers including the Dennis Sisters and The Sandflys joined school groups as they took up their half hour slots to strut their stuff while roaming judges and audience members selected their favourites.Finalists in the competition will perform at a concert held on Sunday 9 June as part of the Come Together Festival.
Last year the overall winner of the Noosa busking championships was Danny Horne who went on to gain third place in the national championships.
The busking championships is presented by the Rotary Club of Noosa Heads and the Noosa Come Together Festival with profits to be distributed to local disability sporting charities including the Noosa Yacht and Rowing Club’s Sailability program.
To participate in this year’s event register by 2 June at www.noosabuskingchampionship.com
Winners from regional competitions will compete in the grand final of the National Busking Competition to be held in Cooma, NSW, in November.
