Pembroke – Nearly two-dozen street vendors and buskers took over Downtown Pembroke last Saturday for the grand debut of Buskerfest, showcasing talent from far and wide while uniting the community for an unforgettable experience.
Over 1,000 visitors had the chance to experience live musical performances, art installations, and dance acts, as well as a car show and sidewalk sales ,” on August 10. Pembroke Business Improvement Area (PBIA) Planning Committee Board Chair Joanna Els said the event was created with the community in mind.
“In the first hour, we already had a thousand people,” she said. “There’s lots of volunteers getting good data on how many people are attending. We’ve had a great turnout.
“We have a very dedicated, hardworking team of volunteers helping us put this on. We have 10 volunteers on our committee. We could have had 100 with the amount of work it took us to put this on,” she continued.
“This is what’s great about being in a smaller community. People are always excited to help out and get involved,” she added. “We knew we were in over our heads when we were starting to plan talent. We went with the professionals and they did an amazing job getting a diverse lineup as well as local acts peppered in.”
The festival had hired Orbital Talent, the same agency used by the Buskerfest in Downtown Ottawa and Kemptville.
“It seemed like everyone really enjoyed themselves and that’s all we can ask for,” Ms. Els said. “It was just about bringing the community together and having another cool event Downtown. We’re hoping this will be an annual event and if anybody wants to come on and help next year, we’ll be looking for volunteers and sponsors.”
Bethea Summers, executive director for the PBIA, said they had been planning the special occasion since February.
“It’s been going off really well,” she said. “Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves. There’s lots of food, shopping and entertainment, so there’s something for everyone.
The event saw attendance from incredibly talented acts like acrobat Hannah Coyle, all the way from Australia, entertainment from stilt walker Luciano Lu, Montreal-based breakdancing team the Break City All-Stars and other acts like trampoline artists, jugglers and magicians showcasing various other tricks.
Buskerfest kicked off at the Pembroke Amphitheatre on Friday, August 9 before moving to Pembroke Street West for 11 a.m. the following morning to get the street party started.
The organizing committee of Ms. Els, Callee and Andrew Kuiack, Bethea Summers, Maegan Adams, Stephanie Lemay, Alana Chaput, Aimee, Greene, Brittany Berenbeck and Marianne Minns were joined by over 60 volunteers dedicated to helping things run smoothly.
