Greetings, I will have the opportunity to visit Philadelphia then Pasadena (near LA) for a week this June. Where can I go see some buskers perform and where can I go shopping in decent magic shops in those areas?

there is a shop on 4th and south st. called hocus pocus. as far as busking in philli??? I am working on finding a spot to just set up. the city has no Idea what busking is, and dosent whant to know. I don't see fat hats coming soon. but if I can crack it...We'll see.

Give me a call when you get to LA. I will pm you my contact info. In Los Angeles, Venice boardwalk, Venice, CA. 3rd Street promenade, Santa Monica. Hollywood Magic for the shop, on Hollywood Blvd. The magic castle, too.

Pokie-Poke: Philadelphia busking appears to be a dying art.

I spent almost 15 years working the front entrance to NewMarket (near Headhouse Square, Second and Pine streets) on Fri-Sat-Sun; made quite a few "fat hats" in my day, on little more than Linking Rings and a straitjacket. We had jugglers, puppeteers, musicians (Jamie Turner - the *best*!), and the place was *hopping*! I move to CA in 1991, and I think I started a trend; from what I hear, everybody else left NewMarket shortly thereafter. -- I passed through Philly a few years ago, and NewMarket looked dead, dead, dead. Anyone up to the challenge of reviving it?

I used Penn's Landing (along the waterfront, a block from NewMarket) as an alternate on occasion; the hats weren't as good, and the only view you had was across the river, and *that* was New Jersey. Eeeew! (grin)

I knew a few guys who worked South Street between 2nd and 7th, standing on milk crates, doing smaller shows. The sidewalks are so narrow down there, though, that you have to plan your spot well, as large crowds tend to spill out into traffic (a definite no-no).

Chris Capehart used to make a good living working the lunch crowds downtown (Chestnut Street, west of Broad), and the plaza surrounding City Hall.

The Philly police were never a problem for many of us; I think we both realized that cops in Philly have more important fish to fry than buskers.

Bottom line? If you want to find a good spot, just *follow the crowds*, just like in every city. Find out where the hangout spots are (places where you see a lot of people sipping Starbucks, yapping away in groups); that's where you'll find the disposable income (the lifeblood of a busker). Start working immediately (Teller once told me "it's always better to say you're sorry than to ask permission first", and he was right!), and keep hustling, keep trying - *don't give up*!

(Thanks for listening!)