Are you a busker?

flickr Melvin Schlubman

Busker is a funny word.  If ranks right up there with farrier and kegler that I covered in earlier posts.

A busker is defined in general terms as a person who performs in public for donations of money.

This covers a wide array of activities, including but not limited to:

•        street or traveling performers
•        circus acts such as acrobats, jugglers and unicyclist
•       street actors
•       contortionists
•       mimes
•       fire-eaters
•      minstrels and
•      bards.

One of my favorite places to view buskers is on the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder, Colorado.  (Sometimes known as the People’s Republic of Boulder) and the home of the University of Colorado, This wonderful multi-block walking mall is a Mecca for busker.
On any given summer evening, any variety of busking may be observed and enjoyed.  In addition to the types of acts mentioned above, one may see may others that are, well, distinctive and unique.

On some evenings, it is possible to see someone playing a full-sized harp or an upright piano.  Since most walking malls don’t have a piano, one has to assume the pianist had it delivered just for the evening.

One of the most amazing buskers I have ever seen in Boulder is David Rosdeitcher.  He is better known as “Zip Code Guy” or the “Mighty Zip Code Man.”

Members of the audience yell out a zip code, and he tells what city they are from.  It is truly amazing to watch.  In many cases, he mentions something about the town too.

As a side note, I had lunch at a National Speakers Assn. meeting in Denver where he sat next to me during lunch.  Just one of my brushes with greatness. I think I saw him at the most recent Ignite Fort Collins event, but did not get to talk to him.
Sooo, if a busker is from Nebraska, would that make them a husker busker?

What buskers have you seen?