By Parker McKenzie and Mikayla van Loon
Musicians will be busy busking across Yarra Ranges streets in December, with council and traders groups collaborating to launch a festive busking series.
Yarra Ranges Council will organise for buskers, singers and performers to be matched with seasonal events or retail activation, helping the creative community, businesses and local residents to embrace the festive season across three suburbs.
Mooroolbark Traders’ Ashleigh Clingin was most excited about bringing some Christmas cheer to the town of Mooroolbark this festive season and helping reactivate the local trading.
“Our aim this year was to spread the Christmas cheer to people coming home on the train and invigorate the businesses through Christmas, and bring just general holiday happiness to the precincts, trying to keep shoppers happy and bringing them down for our VIP week,” she said.
Ms Clingin said music “adds another element, it just changes the whole atmosphere” and hopes there’s a good mix of carols and other music to attract everyone.
Belgrave Trader’s Associations’ Jeremy Angerson said the council has coordinated buskers to perform across main streets, the hills and the shire.
“The buskers will be self-sufficient, they’re going to be powered up and bringing their own equipment,” he said.
“They’re bringing their songs, their joy, their revelry and their beautiful musical skills across the Yarra Ranges and we are delighted to be able to host and have that song ricocheting down our streets.”
Main Street Belgrave will host musicians in the days leading up to Christmas, while events like Merry Monbulk, hosted by the Monbulk Traders Group, will also be included in the series.
There will be a total of 15 buskers who participate in the series across the shire, and each will receive a retainer of $250 to play three 30-minute sets, funded by the council.
Yarra Ranges Council said performers need to include “some seasonal material during their sets, and be self-sufficient supplying their own equipment including power, seating, microphones and amplifiers if needed.”
Local businesses or community groups interested in being part of the program can contact Yarra Ranges Council at business@yarraranges.vic.gov.au, and interested performers can fill out an expression of interest at yarraranges.vic.gov.au/Business-Yarra-Ranges/Your-Reason-Your-Season/Festive-busking-series
