Another festival is coming to downtown Belleville this weekend.
Saturday is the city’s first Buskerfest promising an array of performances from local talents to world-class entertainers.
The Downtown District’s Kassandra Bateman says they’re excited to have three internationally renowned artists headlining the event including escape artist Rob Roy Collins.
“He has done some crazy, crazy cool stuff. One of them including actually attaching himself to a helicopter while all chained up. That’s not gonna happen this weekend, because obviously that’s a whole whack of licensing and stuff that we just can’t do but he’s just incredible.”
The other headliners are Kobbler Jay whose act includes juggling and fire manipulation and pro beatboxer Scott Jackson.
The event will also feature several vendors.
Bateman says they decided to add Buskerfest to the growing number of downtown events because busking festivals have had great success in other communities.
They envision this one getting bigger.
“Our hope is that eventually we have the full street closure from Bridge to Victoria all closed off and it’s just an array of juggling and magicians and buskers all over the street.”
With the Downtown District now hosting several popular events every year, Bateman attributes their success to the BIA’s hardworking team and the contributions and support of local businesses.
If attending the event on Saturday and posting to social media, you can tag @downtownbelleville or use the hashtag #bellevillebuskerfest.
Buskerfest runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Front Street will be closed between Campbell St. and Victoria Ave.
