Busker Festival on the Port Credit Lakeshore in Mississauga Ontario

• Update August 2011 Buskerfest 6 Port Credit ON August 19, 20 21.
• See also August 2010 Buskerfest 5 Pictures.

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• update: August 21, 22, 23, 2009
• BuskerFest 4 Aug 2009 Volunteers needed to run Information Tent at each of six Busker staging areas (see 2008 post below for locations). Volunteers may bring along a friend for company. Shifts are 3-4 hours beginning Friday 21 evening, Saturday 22 at 1:30 pm and 6pm, and Sunday 23 at 2pm. Contact Ellen Timms at info[at]portcredit.com Buskerfest times for general public are Friday 7-11 p.m., Saturday 2-11 p.m., and Sunday 2-7 p.m.
• Sidewalk Sale and Hours for Buskerfest 4 Aug 2009
• Port Credit shops will be celebrating Busker Fest 4 with a giant sidewalk sale Friday and Saturday, August 21, 22, with many stores open late Friday night.

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The 2008 Third edition of the Port Credit Busker Fest is on this weekend in Mississauga. There are four main performance areas along Lakeshore Road (locations graph at bottom). After days of rain, Saturday proved a perfect day for being outdoors, and being entertained by the various buskers.

Matt James featuring didgeridoos

Australian Matt James, seen here performing at Memorial Park, will also perform at Toronto's Busker Fest next weekend (August 21-24 See torontobuskerfest.com).

Kobbler Jay at Memorial Park

Still at Memorial Park along the Credit River, Kobbler Jay entertained a packed commons with various juggling tricks. In the above photo, he prepares to walk on glass shards in his bare feet, while juggling flaming torches. The Port Credit lighthouse is a good landmark if you're not sure just where it is located.

Sublimit at Village Square

Village Square is located on the south side of Lakeshore Road, west of Hurontario. Use TEN Restaurant and Wine Bar as a landmark. Sublimit (fellow in black hat and outfit) was juggling with help from an audience member. There are several patios here to stake your seat, or pull up a piece of the rolling lawns to see the Buskers here.

Dubbike at Memorial Park

Dubbike performs acrobatic style tricks on (what else?) his bike at Memorial Park. While many of his stunts bring to mind those performed by many teens a few years ago, when stunt bikes were all the rage, Dubbike's steady patter with the crowd makes his show particularly entertaining.

Performance Areas Sign : Elizabeth Street and Lakeshore

Elizabeth Street south of Lakeshore Road (No Frills corner) is closed as it becomes one of the four main performance areas shown in the picture. At the time I was here, stilt walkers were still setting up for their show.

The fourth performance area is at Elmwood and Lakeshore, several blocks east of Hurontario (Highway 10), with Elmwood closed as half performance venue and half parking lot.

Today (Sunday), busker performances at all venues begin at 2:00 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. (Note - the last show of the day at Memorial Park is Kobbler Jay at 5 p.m.)

After the 5:45 p.m. shows, all buskers move to the Elizabeth Street venue to take part in the 'Grandest Finale' at 6:30 p.m., with proceeds being donated to charity.

Buskers are performing for tips only, and are (necessarily) not shy about asking for them. Each of the venues has an information center where you can get a brochure and schedule outlining all the acts and locations, as well as get change to toss into the buskers' hats, guitar cases, etc.

A chalk artist is also scheduled, but with the wet weather we've had, likely this 'show' has been rained out.

Though the audiences were a good size, and appreciative, it appeared that a number of people must have forgotten their wallets at home :-) Remember these performers are NOT being paid -- they live by their tips and wits!

See this post on how to get to Port Credit by GO train from Union Station.

For a downloadable PDF of today's full schedule by time and venue, see Port Credit BIA .