FACE TO FACE: Is Port Moody regulating buskers a good thing for the community?
I thought it was a misprint. It must be referring to a TransLink policy about busing. But, no, the report definitely said "busking."
"Busking" is the term for street performing and Port Moody council recently unanimously approved an initiative that designates busking areas around the city: in Newport Village, outside the civic complex, in city parks and at Queen Street Square. Successful buskers, auditioned by the city's arts and cultural committee, will pay a $25 annual fee for the privilege of performing in one of the designated areas at designated times - just like on Granville Island.
I'm all in favour of the City of the Arts being more artsy but I have some nagging reservations about council's attempt to recruit socially acceptable, boutique street panhandlers.
Council, looking through City of the Arts glasses, overestimates the supply of talented street performers. Are buskers beating down doors to perform in Port Moody, possibly the rainiest place on Earth? I you were a talented busker, would you busk at Rocky Point Park, Granville Island or Lonsdale Quay, or somewhere where crowds of tourists might gather?
And how lucrative to they think busking is? Buskers at Granville Island (the Mecca of busking) often make $20 or less per performance. Most buskers subsist much as their panhandling confreres with shopping carts do.
I understand council's chimera; funky, bohemian musicians in city gathering areas, playing just obtrusively enough to add an artsy charm to our eclectic Port Moody community.
"It won't cost us anything - and we'll charge them $25 per year for a permit!"
A cynical person might ask if Port Moody's attempt to sanction talented panhandlers is also an edict to legislate sanctions on untalented panhandlers. Does pleasing music make it "busking" and lousy music make it "begging?"
If Port Moody council wants to fill the air with the music of talented musicians, it should pay them for their contribution to the community.
This would attract quality street performers and reward them for service rather than making them jump through hoops just to earn the privilege of panhandling legally.
Busking in our cities should not be begging by the talented - it should be a job.
Face to Face columnist Jim Nelson is a retired Tri-City teacher and principal who lives in Port Moody. He has contributed a number of columns on education-related issues to The Tri-City News.
