the watch of time

This picture was taken yesterday at the annual buskers festival on the Sparks St. Mall in Ottawa, Ontario, on a hot & mainly sunny day.  You have to admire the work ethic of the performers, in this case handling flaming torches while on nine-foot and six-foot unicycles. Their dexterity, as well as interacting capacity with amorphous audiences, are strong points. 

One element of the show, which some handle more diplomatically than others, especially as they come to the end of their time, is asking the audience to be paid. They all remind the crowd, in part due to the latter’s naturally shifting nature, that their stunts are intended to be enjoyed, and if enjoyed the audience should feel obliged to pay some stipend. However, it seems to me that some performers go a little overboard with their approach, rambling on for minutes, and raising inferences insofar as justifiable levels of remuneration.  I’m convinced some of them would have a higher participation rate of contributions if they didn’t put in an extra nail when hammering the message.  (The pavement chalk artist, a very different kind of performer, used a low key message in conjunction with his evolving expression.)  

Be that as it may, seeing the variety of talents, alone or in teams, in the great outdoors (albeit on paved areas downtown), is another opportunity to salute artistic expression.