I had the privilege, along with heaps of other people, of being able to attend a busking entertainment morning organised by our local government - the Armidale Regional Council. It was staged from mid-morning to lunchtime on the 1st of October during school holidays, and this explains why there were so many kids in the audience, Altogether, 5 international acts were hired, of which I saw only 4 because I had to assist Dot in recovering from her occupation. All four were riveting. And the kids had other attractions to keep them occupied between the various shows.
These included an inflatable slippery dip, an excellent face painting studio, instructions on wiggling hoops around your waist, the usual play area, and a castle to explore.
While most of the special acts lasted about half an hour each, there was a curious gentleman from Chile attached somehow to a pole and perhaps suspended by balloons. I'll put this another way. He seemed to be able to wiggle his feet freely in the air but his attachment to the pole seemed to be only slight, so perhaps helium in the balloons kept him aloft. Note that both feet are way off the ground. He attracted an eager audience.
The first of the main acts I saw was a contortionist who could twist himself into some strange positions. Here he is bending over backwards until his head hovered just above the ground
At one point in the show he took hold of a metal frame and then juggled in the around himself for maybe 5 minutes to great applause.
It was a really classy performance and I was not surprised to learn that he's a star in the famous Cirque du Soleil, which I once had the privilege of seeing live in Canberra. The applause went on for a long time!
The next act was a cowboy from a place I've long wanted to visit buy never quite reached - Portland in Oregon. This guy could certainly crack a whip, pedal a mono-cycle, and work wonders with a lasso.
This what I saw. He could spin buckets on his fingers, work with poles, and twist lasso around himself.
He could also spin a cushion on his fingers.
The he lassoed himself and a young volunteer from the audience.
He could certainly crack whips and tie them in knots.
And then, finally, he showed us how to lasso objects while riding a mono-cycle. The whole exhibition brought great applause.
The next act was performed by an American from Blaine, Minnesota. Wow! About a couple of months ago, I was on a bus that drove past Blaine en route to see farming in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Alas, I didn't get the opportunity to say how much I liked his home turf.
Here's the guy in action.
He started off on another mono-cycle. At first it was a conventional ride (left), but then he showed how do it with the left foot on the right pedal and vice versa!
For another trick he rode his bike hands free and jumped over the feet of a little boy who had volunteered for the task. Fortunately, the little kid still has his feet intact.
Then he lit some torches and proceeded to juggle them, fortunately without any burns!
Not content with this, he invited several blokes hold and prevent from moving the world's highest mono-cycle. It took quite some effort to climb to the top and achieve an unaided balance.
A long pole helped him remain upright and stationary. And then, to the audience's great surprise he was handed a sharp sword, another flaming torch and metal bar, which he then proceeded to juggle from the great height of his saddle with, as you can see, a horse's head on it. This was a huge act!
It bought the show to the end, but the crowd was delighted.
let's hope it happens again next year! Great things can happen in small country towns!
AS
These included an inflatable slippery dip, an excellent face painting studio, instructions on wiggling hoops around your waist, the usual play area, and a castle to explore.
While most of the special acts lasted about half an hour each, there was a curious gentleman from Chile attached somehow to a pole and perhaps suspended by balloons. I'll put this another way. He seemed to be able to wiggle his feet freely in the air but his attachment to the pole seemed to be only slight, so perhaps helium in the balloons kept him aloft. Note that both feet are way off the ground. He attracted an eager audience.
The first of the main acts I saw was a contortionist who could twist himself into some strange positions. Here he is bending over backwards until his head hovered just above the ground
At one point in the show he took hold of a metal frame and then juggled in the around himself for maybe 5 minutes to great applause.
It was a really classy performance and I was not surprised to learn that he's a star in the famous Cirque du Soleil, which I once had the privilege of seeing live in Canberra. The applause went on for a long time!
The next act was a cowboy from a place I've long wanted to visit buy never quite reached - Portland in Oregon. This guy could certainly crack a whip, pedal a mono-cycle, and work wonders with a lasso.
This what I saw. He could spin buckets on his fingers, work with poles, and twist lasso around himself.
He could also spin a cushion on his fingers.
The he lassoed himself and a young volunteer from the audience.
He could certainly crack whips and tie them in knots.
And then, finally, he showed us how to lasso objects while riding a mono-cycle. The whole exhibition brought great applause.
The next act was performed by an American from Blaine, Minnesota. Wow! About a couple of months ago, I was on a bus that drove past Blaine en route to see farming in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Alas, I didn't get the opportunity to say how much I liked his home turf.
Here's the guy in action.
He started off on another mono-cycle. At first it was a conventional ride (left), but then he showed how do it with the left foot on the right pedal and vice versa!
For another trick he rode his bike hands free and jumped over the feet of a little boy who had volunteered for the task. Fortunately, the little kid still has his feet intact.
Then he lit some torches and proceeded to juggle them, fortunately without any burns!
Not content with this, he invited several blokes hold and prevent from moving the world's highest mono-cycle. It took quite some effort to climb to the top and achieve an unaided balance.
A long pole helped him remain upright and stationary. And then, to the audience's great surprise he was handed a sharp sword, another flaming torch and metal bar, which he then proceeded to juggle from the great height of his saddle with, as you can see, a horse's head on it. This was a huge act!It bought the show to the end, but the crowd was delighted.
let's hope it happens again next year! Great things can happen in small country towns!
AS
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