1 FOOT = 3.048 DECIMETERS - 1 YARD = 0.9144 METER
BIG REWARD FOR SELF
CM 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 DECIMETER=3.932 IN OR 0.378 FOOT 1 FOOT-2.048 DECIMETERS
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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, AUGUST 18,2008
WWW.KANSAN.COM
VOLUME 120 ISSUE 1
WELCOME TO THE MASS ST. SIDESHOW
Street performers will fill Lawrence's main strip with bizarre entertainment in inaugural Busker Festival
BY BRANDY ENTSMINGER bentsminger@kansan.com
Sword swallowers, fire eaters, jugglers, magicians and musicians will gather on Massachusetts Street for the first ever Busker Festival on Aug. 22-24.
Rick Averill, drama program director at the Lawrence Arts Center, said the idea for the festival originated
with Richard Renner, owner and director of Vodvill Entertainment Co., a company that specializes in finding work for street performers.
According to Renner,
"busker" is the old English term for street performer.
Although this is the first busker festival in Lawrence, street performers can be found in cities around the country.
Robert Wolf, professional
Busker Festival Schedule
**Friday** — 8:15 p.m. to 10 p.m.
**Saturday** — 7 a.m. to 8 a.m.
and 1:30 p.m. to 10:15 p.m.
**Sunday** — 2:15 p.m. to
5:45 p.m.
sword swallower, said he learned many of his skills on Pearl Street in Boulder, Colo. Wolf will be performing at the festival with his wife, Valerie Wolf.
Wolf's show is called "The Wicked Liar," and includes sword swallowing, fire eating, magic, juggling and bullwhip cracking.
The festival will also feature a children's workshop at the Lawrence Arts Center. Kids can sign up to learn how to mime, juggling, and make music and balloon animals from the performers.
Brian Wendling, professional juggler, said he would bring tennis balls, juggling scarves and plastic bags from a grocery store to help the kids learn the basics of juggling. "There will be things flying in the air everywhere."
"It's fantastic that we get to kind of express ourselves in our show," Wolf said. "We can come up with anything we want and stick it in."
Wolf broke the world record for fire eating in 2002 with 42 torches in 60 seconds, but he said his most dangerous skill was sword swallowing.
To swallow a sword, Wolf said he must align his body and pass the sword by the epiglottis in the back of the throat, through the esophagus and into his stomach. He said the sword passed behind his rib cage and could bump his heart.
"You have to be very conscious of your body and what the sword is doing." Wolf said.
Renner said most of the artists performing at the festival were professionals from the Lawrence and Kansas City area. Each performer will be paid a stipend of $100 to cover expenses but will be relying on tips for profit.
Renner said he was unable to attend the festival because he would be performing at the Kentucky State Fair. He said one of his biggest challenges was letting go of his role as
director of the Busker Festival.
its like not being there for the birth,' Renner said. Jane Pennington, director of Downtown Lawrence, Inc., an organization that promotes downtown business interests, worked with Renner and Averill to plan the event. She said it would be a good way to bring more people downtown.
"I just think it's going to make downtown buzz with good energy", Averill said.
Edited by Andy Greenhaw
Illustrations by Catherine Coquillette/KANSAN
FUNDRAISING
Student strikes pose to fight breast cancer
A Big 12 swimsuit calendar supporting breast cancer research will feature a student from the University of Kansas. The company, Campus Girls USA, made the calendar available for preorder on its
Web site. The product will be available for purchase on campus during the coming weeks.
FULL STORY PAGE 7A
Art sold to benefit KC Humane Society
CAMPUS
Kani Brant spent more than 30 hours with dogs this summer, but she wasn't pet sitting. Brant, a Des Moines, Iowa, senior, was painting portraits of the six dogs to donate to Art Unleashed, a benefit for the Humane Society of Greater Kansas City.
STUDENT SENATE
FULL STORY PAGE 6A
Campus government to fix campaign annoyances
After last spring's nearly three-month elections process, Student Senate is responding to student complaints. An elections reform committee is making
changes that may mean campaigning that is less invasive to students.
index
FULL STORY PAGE 3A
Classifieds. . 7B
Crossword. . 2C
Horoscopes. . 3C
Opinion...10A
Sports...1B
Sudoku...2C
All contents, unless stated otherwise, © 2008 The University Daily Kansan
ASSOCIATED PRESS
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