It was Day 7 of the fifth annual Victoria International Buskers Festival, and Basketball Jones was on a roll.
After warming up the dinner-hour crowd on a sun-drenched stage on Ship Point, the New Zealand entertainer recruited some spectators to give him a hand.
While the globe-trotting performer demonstrated some amazing feats, including twirling a basketball on his nose and juggling others, even while riding a towering unicycle, he also had a sense of humour.
鈥淢y hotel is so nice, I聽can鈥檛 afford to eat breakfast there,鈥� joked the Kiwi street performer while expressing gratitude to one of the festival鈥檚 hotel sponsors.
Sean Kaata Dwen, his real name, is one of two dozen international performers participating in the 10-day festival that ends today on several stages downtown.
The colourful lineup, selected from hundreds of applications, includes flamethrowers, acrobats, hula-hoopers, mimes, musicians and magicians from Australia, Sweden, the U.K. and beyond. It includes an act whose presence is a coup, says actor and comedian Sharon Mahoney 鈥� the world-renowned English Gents.
Hamish McCann and Denis Lock are the bowler-hatted gentlemen who perform amazing acrobatic acts while sipping tea, reading the newspaper and unleashing dollops of droll humour.
鈥淭hey tried to get them the first year when I was helping out [executive director John Vickers] as artistic director,鈥� said Mahoney, who is reprising her own act, Tallulah and the Ladder of Men, this year.
Another plus, she says, are the improved audio conditions. She described the improvements as 鈥渞eally respectful鈥� to local buskers who aren鈥檛 permitted to use amplification on the Causeway year-round.
鈥淭hey鈥檝e been able to contain the sound in this one area, so when people come here they can feel the amplification is for the audience, not the whole Inner Harbour,鈥� she said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a really awesome thing. With certain events that take place on the [legislature] lawn, you鈥檙e drowned out everywhere. They really got it right this year.鈥�
Vickers, sporting his signature sunhat and a blue-and-white striped shirt beneath his bright safety vest, appeared exhausted but upbeat.
鈥淭he Buskers festival is a bit of a marathon because you鈥檙e in here in the morning and it鈥檚 a lot of hours and a lot of shows, right into the night, but the feedback鈥檚 been great,鈥� he said.
He said he was grateful to sponsors, including the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority 鈥渇or giving us half the pier for 12 days in summer,鈥� and his army of volunteers.
鈥淚 enjoy the atmosphere and getting to watch all the different shows and meet the performers and different people,鈥� said stage-management team lead Matthew Shaw, 23.
When she wasn鈥檛 handing out complimentary towels at the red Goodlife Fitness tent, marketing representative Shay Klassen said she loved getting to see so many shows from her vantage point.
鈥淚t鈥檚 good to be a sponsor because people are seeing these things and saying, 鈥極h, maybe I could do that,鈥欌�� she said as crowds behind a Wharf Street railing cheered at the action below.
鈥淧eople want to have good conversations about fitness because they鈥檙e seeing a lot of very active people doing their thing.鈥�
For the Prazak family, visiting from the Czech Republic, the buskers festival was an unexpected bonus.
鈥淲e came to see the [Butchart] Gardens, which were really nice, but this is really cool,鈥� said Patricia Prazak, 15.
Vickers said he was heartened by comments from performers about the reception they鈥檝e been getting.
鈥淥f all their world travels, they think Victoria has some of the most financially generous audiences,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his bodes well for Victoria, and for us getting them to come back.鈥�
