Witness award-winning performers, dancers, musicians and artists in downtown Roanoke on Mother’s Day weekend.
The local non-profit organization, Busk Roanoke! is hosting a Street Performer Expo from May 9-11, featuring special performances from dancers, magicians, musicians, unicyclists, acrobats, poets, and artists. These artists will work for tips to entertain the public along Kirk Avenue and First Street in downtown Roanoke. A collaboration with the Roanoke Arts Commission and the Daisy Art Parade, this will be a fun family weekend for all to enjoy!
There will be performers from Roanoke, Boston, New Orleans, Orlando and Minneapolis. The incredible dancer, Snap Boogie, from “America’s Got Talent” will be performing during this weekend. Jamey Mossengren, who is known as The Unicycling Unicorn, will also be performing. He is the Guinness World Record Holder for the Tallest Rideable Unicycle, which is 44 feet tall. With such a star-studded crew of performers, this is an event you don’t want to miss.
Bebe Demure and Jefferson Rose are the founders of Busk Roanoke! and the producers of the Street Performer Expo. Bebe Demure is a well-respected burlesque performer and ballerina. She grew up in Roanoke and has been living here for the past 20 years, so she has a special connection to this city.
“I danced with the Southwest Virginia Ballet, and I did ‘The Nutcracker’ every year. Being part of Roanoke’s art scene and helping it grow is important to me,” says Demure.
Jefferson Rose is also an artist. He performs magic tricks and side shows. He even has a stunt where he lays on a bed of nails while escaping from a strait jacket. Rose has been street performing around the country and in Canada since he was 16. He has lived in Roanoke full time since 2020.
“During my travels around the country I saw how pedestrian traffic is encouraged by the fun and spontaneity of street performing. Street performing is good for the economy,” says Rose.
As a street performer, many local businesses in Roanoke let Rose busk on their sidewalk. Now, he wants to help the businesses that helped him. Demure and Rose’s goal is to make this street performance accessible to all by not charging an admission fee. Instead, people will tip the performers directly. They want this to be a community led event, where they shine a light on the local talent right here in Roanoke. Rose and Demure are very passionate about bringing awareness to the importance of street performance both in Roanoke and globally.
“Americans don’t often experience busker festivals, it is more common in Canada, Europe and the walkable cities around the world,” says Rose.
By bringing busking to Roanoke, Demure and Rose are exposing the city to an expansive cultural experience. Demure says their goal is to have people “understand the value of the theater and the value of what it brings to the community.”
They went on to explain the history of theater. It used to be that all the theaters consisted of street performances. You could hear Shakespearean sonnets read in the park and they used to hold plays in outside amphitheaters.
“Street theater is taking it back to what it has always been. It is the most social, most human thing you can do,” says Rose.
Demure and Rose are still looking for volunteers so if you want to contribute to this event or any future events with Busk Roanoke!, you can find volunteer applications here.
