Artists have been invited to fill downtown Okotoks with music and spectacle.
BuskersFest returns June 24 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. with over 20 live acts spread out along McRae and North Railway streets.
“What we love about BuskersFest is how it can showcase so much of our local talent,” said Connie Drake, community events specialist with the Town of Okotoks.
Open to applications from all over, the event still showcases primarily Okotoks performers, in past years delivering everything from music to dancing to juggling.
“We have an awesome dance tribe that’s going to be there, and there’s some stilt walkers coming,” Drake said.
Okotoks Culture and Heritage specialist Andrea Spiers explained the public will get to vote on their favourite acts. The event was reduced, in past years, due to COVID.
“We did a couple of virtual ones during COVID with past buskers,” Spiers said.
The model is a bit shaken up from past years, Drake explained, where the event was largely decentralized, and acts performed wherever they found space.
“We’ve made some changes to the format for the entertainers, so we can highlight them within the event a bit more," Drake said.
“So we’re going to have a couple of main stages where we’re rotating acts, and in addition to that we’re going to have ‘Busk Stops’, and if there’s an open Busk Stop, they can perform there.”
Also taking place in conjunction with BuskersFest is the Artisan Market by MarketSquare, with over 65 local artisans, makers, creators and businesses offering up their wares.
As part of BuskersFest, road closures will be in place from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Elizabeth Street, McRae Street, and North Railway Street from Veterans Way to Lineham Avenue.
For more information, visit okotoks.ca.
