Ali Howat, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter | [email protected]
Habitat for the Arts has opened busking applications for musicians to perform in Jasper this summer.
Every year, buskers hit the streets of Jasper, eager to share their creativity.
“Music and Art in the streets only adds to the persona of a creative community,” said Marianne Garrah, director of Habitat for the Arts.
“We are eager to see and hear this creativity return, safely, without public concerns.”
With COVID restrictions still in place, there was some concern for the artists.
“Asking people to move along, should more than nine people gather in one spot, is just not something any artists want to do,” Garrah said, referring to the restrictions back in May.
Considering AHS and Bylaw rules, a decision was made that buskers should follow simple COVID restrictions for safe performances.
As of June 10, the limit on outdoor social gatherings increased to 20 people with two metres of distancing between individuals from different households.
As artists may not be able to count the number of people around them all the time and they were not expected to police spectators, it was recommended that they have COVID awareness signs posted at the location to remind the audiences of health rules.
With phase 2 of reopening underway, the restrictions are rapidly changing and can be found on the AHS website.
There are five busking locations around the town of Jasper, and buskers can only be in one spot for 1.5 hours but can then switch to another location.
The busking locations are provided in the application that must be filled out prior to being able to perform.
For the application, contact [email protected]
