EDMONTON- The Edmonton Street Performers Festival has once again taken over Sir Winston Churchill Square.
About 60 street artists have come together to perform their craft over the course of the 10-day festival.
Here’s a closer look at some of this year’s performers.
Gareth Jones
Gareth Jones is an escape artist from London, England. 20 years ago, a friend convinced Jones to give street performing a try, and he never stopped.
To date, he has performed in Hollywood films, Japanese TV, and in front of British royalty. He is known for his unorthodox approach to escape routines – passing over the straitjacket and wrapping himself in 100 metres of plastic wrap instead. Jones said the idea for his plastic wrap escape came after he became bored with traditional escape acts, and was tired of carrying around heavy equipment.
Jones gets wrapped head-to-toe, including his face, but says danger of suffocating adds excitement to his show.
“It is one of those things where you always say: don’t ever wrap your face in plastic,” he said. “That is exactly what I’m doing. I kind of like that edgy moment when the audience doesn’t quite know either.”
Mike Wood
Mike Wood is a comedian from London, England, and catches cabbage on his head – on purpose.
Wood started his career as a means of paying for college, but didn’t feel like giving it up after graduation. He now spends about half of his time performing at festivals around the word, and the other half working as a mining engineer.
Wood said the cabbage-catching idea was the result of experimentation.
“I used to have a routine where I had a partner, and we would juggle bowling balls,” he said. “So that’s how I wound up with a catapult; and then my partner left, and I had a catapult. So I went out onto the front lawn with my sister and bought a whole bunch of vegetables. I had a hard hat with one wobbly nail in it. We had a lot of fun, and cabbages were the best.”
Ron Pearson
Ron Pearson is a world renowned magician from Edmonton, and has over 25 years of professional experience under his belt. He is not sure why he first decided to perform professionally, but believes that performance art is in his family’s blood.
Pearson is unveiling a new show this year. He remains silent during the entire performance and only interacts with the audience through gestures and expressions.
A husband and father, Pearson has also developed an entire act with his family. They are not joining him on-stage this year, but Pearson plans to take them on the road with him in the near future.
“We are going to get that up and going again, and then we can travel together and perform together,” he said. “My kids are also involved in theatre and the arts. We are either cursed or blessed; I’m not sure which one.”
Edward Stander
Edward Stander is a musician, composer, and university professor from Albany, New York. Stander spends his summers playing an instrument anyone can find in their kitchen cabinet: wine glasses.
Stander calls the instrument a glass harmonica. The glasses are filled with water, and Stander plays the instrument by rubbing his fingers across the top of the glass. He has performed at festivals all over the world, and this year marks his sixth time in Alberta.
Both Mozart and Beethoven have composed music for the glass harmonica, which was first invented in the 1700s.
“But of the lot, I am the only one still playing,” said Stander. “In fact, I’m the only one still composing; the rest are decomposing.”
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