The festival takes place at multiple locations throughout the town of Lancelin on the King's Birthday long weekend. This year it will be the Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th of September 2023.
Buskers will play half-hour sessions on a rotating schedule at 9 Busking venues throughout town from 9 am – 3:00pm. Pick a venue or several throughout the day and enjoy the entertainment!
The full program and festival map will be uploaded closer to the event.
Spectators can purchase “Busking Tokens” for $1 each & drop them into their favourite Buskers voting tubs. The busker with the most Busking Tokens wins the People’s Choice Award.
Awards are announced on Sunday afternoon from 4.00pm at the Endeavour Tavern. The overall winner will perform a 30-minute set. The evening progresses into the Finale Party where buskers can perform on stage and collaborate with fellow performers. You are welcome to join us and dance the night away!
Markets stalls and food trucks will be set up at Wangaree Park in Lancelin on both days of the festival. There will be a free kid’s zone and live music from our buskers between 9am and 3pm.
Well behaved dogs are welcome, they must remain on a leash at all times.
Buskers and Street Performers are passionate people who work tirelessly at their craft. They invest time and money in their art for you to enjoy for FREE. We encourage you to stop and enjoy their performances - no one likes performing to nobody! Bring your spare change and drop them into their hat or case. Nothing is more rewarding than being shown appreciation - especially if the busker is new. Encouragement and involvement goes a long way.
At the festival you can also support your favourite busker with "Busker Tokens" for their chance to win the annual People's Choice Award.
Anyone can be a busker – beginners to professionals. All you need is a desire to perform. Solo singers, duos, groups, musicians and instrumentalists of any genre, and non-musical street entertainers and performers, are welcome. There is no age limit!
Please remember the festival is a public event, and all performances need to be family friendly.
Absolutely! We encourage you to put your hat or guitar case out for collections and promote yourself as an artist. You’ll be collecting busker tokens throughout the day also, for spectator voting and prizes.
Performances are typically 30-minute sets, with up to 3 performances each day. To be eligible to win prizes and to ensure fair competition, Buskers must perform on both days of the festival. Competition judging takes place over 2 days. The overall winner will be invited to play a 30-minute set live on stage on Sunday evening at the Finale Party - held at the Endeavour Tavern!
There is over $3,000 in prize money and vouchers to be won. The Awards evening starts from 4.00pm on the Sunday. It’s a good idea to be at the finale in case you win something!
Busker tokens will be sold to spectators to vote for the ‘People’s Choice Award’. Spectators may give you their ‘Busker Tokens’ to vote for your act. It is your responsibility to hand these into the information tent Wangaree Park after you’ve finished performing each day. The Busker Tokens will then be counted to determine the winner for the ‘People’s Choice Award’.
Competition is free.
Registration starts from 8:00am at the information tent in Wangaree Park. Busking starts from 8:40am and last performances finish at 3.pm.
Collect your Busker Pack:
Busker Packs will include; name tags, ‘Busker Tokens’ collection tub, program, and venue map. This must be collected from the information tent at registration and prior to moving to your first venue.. Busker Name Tags must be worn throughout the festival. At the end of the last day, the lanyard and plastic cover, and token collection tub are to be returned to the Information Tent.
As all good entertainers know – the show must go on! Clearly, safety is paramount, and the organisers will be monitoring conditions. In the event of extreme weather we may have to change the schedule.
Space is limited at some venues, please feel free to bring what you need. We will strive to provide an undercover venue (marquee 3m x 3m or building/veranda) with a power cord to plug into or a generator for power.
Arrive and finish on time at each of your venues. If you have heavy equipment, we recommend a trolley with large wheels and remind buskers that many of the busking venues are on uneven ground or turf.
Each set is 30 minutes long with a 10-minute change over. Be kind to your fellow buskers and ensure a fair and smooth transition.
Ensure you know where your venues are located, which will be clearly marked and numbered – if unsure, ask at the information tent.
Buskers under the age of 18, must be always accompanied by a parent or guardian while participating in the Lancelin Buskers Festival. Some busking venues are licensed premises.
Support one another! You’ll have time to stop and watch other buskers perform. Jump on social media and promote each other. Many wonderful collaborations, friendships and opportunities have been created at the Lancelin Buskers Festival.
We would love some helpers for the following tasks:
Market Set Up & Pack Down Assistance
Shuttle Bus Drivers
Event Information Personnel
Information Tent Attendees
Competition Judges
Official Event Photographers
We are always on the look out for locals to come on board throughout the year to help the committee with planning and decision making.
If you would love to get involved in this fantastic local event, please reach out to us here.
Volunteering to help at community events is so rewarding and so much fun! We'd love to have more helpers to keep this event running smoothly. You can volunteer for a whole day, both days, or just a few hours.
Register your interest in helping on the day by emailing us here.
