IMLAY CITY, Mich. – The second annual Michigan Busker Festival was held over Father's Day weekend.
The two-day event featured busker street performances, children's activities, live music, a 5K run/walk, eating contests, parades, a beer tent, a petting zoo and more.
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Buskers performed in two designated areas, both centered in downtown Imlay City. The event kicked off Friday and wrapped up Saturday night.
Imlay City Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Shannon Hamel said busker fests are popular in Europe and Canada, and the idea to host one in Michigan came from Ian Kempf, who attends the Canadian festivals.
Hamel said a committee of about 13 people made the festival happen. Hamel estimated the number of attendees doubled from 2018.
Many of last year's acts returned to perform this year.
"They’re all unique in their own way,” Hamel said. “All of them are my favorite.”
New to this year's festivities was "Snap Boogie" Cjaiilon Andrade, a former competitor on "America's Got Talent." The Boston native was on the sixth season of the show.
"It was amazing. I'll never forget it. It is a lot of learning. I had to do a lot of growing up really fast," the 26-year-old performer said.
Andrade traveled to Michigan after being invited to perform at the 2019 Busker Fest.
"I wanted to come, and I heard it was a good event, so I just wanted to do my thing," he said. "I just hope the festival grows a lot because I think this kind of festival has a lot of potential to get really big. I've seen festivals like this start off really small and then grow."
Andrade has been dancing since he was around 13 years old. He said that, after the festival he would be heading back to Boston to work on a few projects. Following that, he has plans to go to Europe.
More information available at michiganbuskerfest.com