THE EVENT 

After twenty plus years of putting fun and laughter onto the very streets of this fair city, the 2023 Coffs Harbour International Buskers & Comedy Festival enters its 22nd year and is bursting at the seams with ideas, flavours and new energy. The festival kicks off on Oct 5 & runs to Oct 8th.

 

HISTORY/HOW IT ALL STARTED

The festival began in the late 1980’s & was run by a local service Club before it fell away in the early 90s. It was picked up again in 1999 by JLE and with the support and backing of Coffs Harbour City Council , generous sponsors and the public, it has grown since then. It hasn’t always been easy but “we are still here” says organiser John Logan. The festival brought in acts from dozens of countries as well as acts from all over Australia. To host a largely free to the public event of this calibre in a regional area year after year is indeed a credit to the city. Organisers want to make sure locals and visitors continue to celebrate and enjoy the great art of street theatre, while they entertain the community and drive local spending to keep the city moving ahead. Famed for its festival culture, the city of Coffs Harbour, NSW, Australia is proud to add this event to its calendar.

 

 

 

 

 

 

ABOUT JOHN LOGAN

It would be hard to find anyone who is more passionate about busking than Coffs Harbour booking agent and entrepreneur John Logan. John has then spent  many years  travelling & scouting for talent in far flung places. One act he booked were busking around a tram in Christchurch, another in Singapore & one he found in a tiny pub in Freemantle. John usually approaches them after their show & sits down with them literally on the street “ I am amazed internationally how many people know about Coffs” he said. The festival receives many applications each year from all over the globe including countries like Uzbekistan. “I’d love to take them all, but we have strict limitations and a limited budget so we do our best” he added. Buskers has become so ingrained in his psyche that even his children say “if you want to get Dad’s attention, put the word ‘busker’ in the sentence.”