as central christchurch was still off limits after the earthquakes, the world buskers festival was happening in hagley park this year. which took away the street feeling of the performances but had the advantage that the audience could easily switch between the different stages. the shows included comedy, theater, stunts, acrobatics, music and more.
one of the highlights was peter mielniczek. his show being to spin plates on sticks on a rack while he tries to run a big loop around the audience before returning on stage and catching the plates before they’re falling to the ground. the stunt itself was a nice finish but it was the built-up which was hilarious.
hilby the skinny german juggling boy won the critics’ choice award while he proved to the world that you can be german and funny. here while he’s not only balancing one sword on top of the other but also spins the one on top.
there were a couple a venues besides the buskers park for some evening entertainment. one was the comedy hour at the casino with javier jarquin, the card ninja who won the critics’ choice award for best act from new zealand. the grand finale of his show was the card meets watermelon trick. he was throwing a card that hard at the fruit that he managed to make a card stick in it. he needed about twenty tries and as we were sitting to the side of the stage, some of his misses came flying towards us at incredible speed and i could understand why he asked his volunteers to wear safety glasses on stage.
there was another show on at midnight and we had an hour to kill before that. shouldn’t be too difficult in a casino, eh? well, casinos are not what i once expected. there is little entertainment in gambling, especially if you watch other people gamble and there is for sure no glamour. we managed to win a small sum at a one-armed bandit. but this machine didn’t even have a lever which was one disappointment too many. by then it was still half an hour before the show and we rather went to the bar.
asher treleaven was a good host for the midnight carnivale, which included a stunt show, a contortionist and by the time gypsy wood entered the stage with her burlesque show, the grand cafe of the casino went mad.
i am writing from wanaka and had a wonderful week travelling with four other cyclist over lake pukaki and the lindis pass. four weeks from now i’ll fly to paris and will cycle from there to berlin where i probably arrive in time for my birthday. i hope to see you there, in paris or somewhere in between!