starting a busking permit system

[Uncle Yodie]

I'm in the beginning stages of trying to help my town (Lancaster, PA, USA) in setting up a system that allows busking. I can't ever remember seeing a busker in town, although I've been told it used to happen in the past - like ten years ago. Occasionally there are street performances, but they are all scheduled and paid for by a city agency.

I'd be very happy to hear your ideas of what such a permit would look like that would be fair to buskers while at the same time addressing the concerns of the police, shop owners, and of the city. For those of you who travel from city to city, what could you live with in terms of permits and restrictions and still want to come to Lancaster? My guess is that Lancaster is not on the "busking map" at this point.

What I am hearing from the local people that I've talked to (city officials, police, and shopkeepers) is that "We don't allow busking because how would you keep out the druggies and the winos if you did?"

I haven't gotten in to talk to the mayor and the chief of police yet. When I do get in, I'd like to have ideas that would answer their concerns.

My bottom line is that I think buskers would enrich the life of Lancaster's downtown. I'd like ideas on how to sell that idea to those who see busking as just another hassle for law enforcement.

If you can also give me links to the ordinances of other cities, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks for any ideas you have,
Uncle Yodie

[Uncle Yodie]

information I've found

The following website has lots of great information on the type I'm looking for. I'd still like to hear your ideas from personal experience.

http://communityartsadvocates.org/saahistoryBoston.html

Uncle Yodie

[gav]

I'm interested in this info also. We've just started a festival and event orginising company here in Croatia and are looking to promote the concept of street performance.we're looking to lobby local councils and the national cultural board to have at least some basic guidlines which will allow these kinds of things to happen without running into too much red tape. Currently the only law that is relevant requires you to have 6 crowd controllers if you intend to gather a large crowd of people. Mostly I've not been made to do this, but it has happened in at least 1 town so far.
Also last summer several 'feral' fire performers with unproffesional standards managed to get performance banned in several prime locations. We have some damage to undo.

[harmonicakev]

Steve Baird's web site

Here is one page you colud start looking at:

http://communityartsadvocates.org/saalinks.html#GovLinks

lots of info and links at this site; Steve has been fighting the good fight for over 30 years! -Ciao - Kev

[GlassHarper]

Opening up new venues

Hey, Uncle Yodie --

Thanks for your note on trying to encourage street entertainment in Lancaster, PA. I'm sorry I can't spend more time on a thoughtful essay at this point, but I am trying to get off on a three-month tour and its raining, and I've got to load the van and --- so what's new? A traveling busker's life is filled with hassles, not the least of which is finding friendly places in which to perform.

You have already found the number one resource for information and support with references to legal opinions, sample street performance ordinances and advocacy for this strange profession of ours that is always in flux: Community Arts Advocates.

Of equal importance is performers.net, a website that has hundreds of members from all over the world. Its primary purpose is to give a forum to individual performers to ask questions and comment on other's questions and comments (and comments and comments). Urge others to join it. Its free. And we all owe Jim in Boston a great debt of gratitude for the hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars he has invested in this incredibly useful tool.

The first thing you (and the authorities) should understand is this is a profession; and the best street entertainers are professional about what they do. Street performance has thrived for hundreds, if not thousands, of years and may have been the very origins of theater itself.

The economy of the free market sorts out the good performers from the bad ones: the good ones will be supported with tips in the hat, the bad ones won't be able to make a living and will either learn how to do it right, or move on to other pursuits.

Secondly, the good Mennonites and Quakers of Central Pennsylvania have got to understand that a varied and interesting street life in our great cities will always draw an eclectic conglomeration of characters --- without whom the economic life of downtown will wither and die. Some of those characters are likely to be lowlifes -- the way you deal with "druggies and winos" in a street-performance venue is the same way you deal with them anywhere else: you don't tolerate their disruption.

A traveling busker is going to look for a venue that is already developed. He/she is not in a position to challenge local authorities -- that is a political campaign that can only be waged by people who live in and are known by the community, who understand the economic value of street theater and who have the will and the skill to take on a political project and see it through to its conclusion.

Clearwater Beach on the West Coast of Florida is a recent good example. One dedicated person, an excellent entertainer and canny politician, took it upon himself to coordinate street performance at the municipal pier there. It took a couple of years (perhaps more) to develop the venue, to encourage local talent and convince other performers to include the venue on their tours. Their "Sunset Celebration" has become a successful draw for thousands of tourists and locals as well as street entertainers from all over.

And remember: we have the First Amendment of our wonderfully successful Constitution to rely upon. What we do has time and again been designated "free speech" by the Federal Courts. One of the first things you must do is find a local attorney who values the First Amendment and who will be willing and able to help you to do what's necessary to defend the free speech rights of all of the citizens of Lancaster, PA, and the rest of our wonderful country.

Rules and regulations? The fewer the better. Again, the free market will sort out the good from the bad. If I have to hassle with a road-block bureaucracy to get permission to perform on your streets I'll by-pass your town and go to one that welcomes my show. If I have to pay an unreasonably high fee for a permit (particularly in a venue that has not proven itself economically viable) I'll by-pass your town. If the regulations are so complex and onerous I can't figure them out I'll by-pass your town.

I pay a fair fee to the Arts Council of Cambridge, MA, every year for the privilege of playing Harvard Square for a couple of weeks while I'm in New England. I know that fee will be repaid in the hat and I know it is being used to provide supervision that makes the venue safe, clean and enticing for tourists and locals to stop and be entertained (and then go on to patronize local stores and cafes). I also know that obtaining the permit is not going to be a hassle -- the folks in the office are courteous and efficient.

The same holds true of the Church Street Mall in Burlington, VT, although some of their rules (such as the one that says you have to move every hour -- mine is a complex setup that makes moving difficult) come close to discouraging me from working there. It is a beatutiful place, however, filled with genuinely nice people and I look forward to going back there.

Good luck with your project. As the number of professional street entertainers grows, so must their market, and small town, tourist friendly America is where that market will be found. Let me know how you are doing and perhaps soon you will see the Glassharper entertaining children and adults on your downtown streets.



Peter (The Glassharper) Bennett
website: www.glassharper.com
email: glassharper@hotmail.com
New Orleans, LA

[caricatureguy]

lawyer help

the ACLU is always willing to help as well to protect your first amendment rights to free speech. Free of charge. Learn what your rights are. For instance it is actually unconstitutional to require a busker to obtain a permit but most often it is as Peter says, worthwhile as far as where the money goes (security, cleanliness, safety, etc...) It also tells people walking by that you are a "legitimate" performer and are "allowed" to be there. People worry you know... This clearly will visually set you apart from the panhandlers as well, if there are any. They will not have a permit, (or an instrument for that matter either).

The other thing is that panhandlers are clearly different than buskers. We are not asking for change. We are performing a service and are being tipped accordingly. Panhandlers are merely asking for money. Most often they are also harassing passersby and are not entertaining them also. Druggies are more likely to just take the money than ask for it anyways and that is a problem for the police.

By the way, Peter, Harmonica Dave says hello.

[harmonicakev]

Re: lawyer help

Originally posted by caricatureguy
the ACLU is always willing to help as well to protect your first amendment rights to free speech. Free of charge.

Okay, but these things take time. It took Steve Baird years to find a lawyer willing to work the case against the City of Boston; my understanding is that the local ACLU was too busy helping other folks who are getting their rights trampled...I'm not 100% sure if that is correct....
the suit was file in Boston July 31,2004...went to court in December of 2004....case is still open, City of Boston has agreed to not enforce the old statutes, in fact some of the old (19th century) statutes have been voted off the books by the Boston City Council...Uncle Yody gave the link to Community Arts Advocates...good luck in PA! - Ciao - Kevin M.