By Kloe Palmer
The annual buskers festival is getting underway in Christchurch right now.
Usually held in the central city, it has had to take over north Hagley Park because of the earthquakes.
The annual word buskers festival has just kicked off in Christchurch.
The event is usually held throughout the central city but due to cordons still being in place 60 of the worlds best street performers are now set to take over north Hagley Park.
Burlesque dancing boys and girls are happy to be back in Christchurch rehearsing for tonight’s show.
For 19 years the World Buskers Festival has been held throughout the CBD.
So to make the street performers feel at home, Hagley Park has adopted gravel roads, bars, markets and even a bank.
Event organiser Jo Blair says the makeover has given the park a “very bright and colourful atmosphere and it's really clean”.
“We have really taken over the park.”
The Wau Wau Sisters, Adrienne Truscott and Tanya Gagne, have come all the way from New York. It is their second visit to Christchurch for the festival.
“There's a little more fencing than last time and some of our favourite places we can't get to,” they say.
On stage it is unlikely earthquakes will go unmentioned.
“Most comics have a few doozies up there sleeves that they know they shouldn't say, or you think ‘maybe we should just say them and get them out of the way’,” says the Sisters.
Ms Blair says there is a sensitivity, “buskers do not understand quite what the city's gone through, so maybe over time we might see some gags coming out”.
For the next 10 days buskers will perform from 11am until midnight, and not just in Hagley Park. There are also venues scattered around the outer CBD.
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