International Street Artists entertain tourists and locals on a beautiful October weekend

First Faneuil Hall Street Art Festival successful in spite of low advertising

Saturday, October 20^th 2012

More than 30 International street artists performed at the first Faneuil Hall Street Art Festival at Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market, Boston all day Saturday and Sunday. In addition, visitors could enjoy live music, food and shopping at the popular Boston sight. 

Internationally renowned street artists performed at two different locations around Quincy Market last Saturday and Sunday, while musicians filled spaces in between West End and South Market Promenade. Some of the street artists came from far away to entertain the crowd in Boston. Dave Cox, who presented his program Dangerous Comedy in front of a cheering crowd at the West End Promenade, insists on using his tips to “get a flight back to Australia” for example. Others, like Jim from the Jim show, are local but have performed internationally before.  Visitors took advantage of a beautiful, sunny late October weekend offering perfect conditions for the outdoor event. Although most tourists hadn’t known about the festival beforehand, they enjoyed the offered variety of comedy, juggling artists and live music. Tourists C.J. and Steven Jane took a Trolley Tour before they came to Faneuil Hall and were surprised that their tour guide did not tell them about the festival. However, they intended to “stick around for a while” and enjoy more of the performances around Quincy Market.

Matthew Johnson confirmed the scarce advertisement for the event. In his position at the information desk he observed “people seem to just be coming through” as the marketplace is a must-see for Boston tourists and there is always something going on at Faneuil Hall. He recognized many of the artists from performances earlier this year, which had been auditions for the actual event.

Visitors were delighted to be entertained during their stroll through Faneuil Hall and readily picked up one of the offered programs at the booth. Stacey Fields, 42, did not know about the festival either, but was enjoying herself during one of the performances, confirming that “it’s very fun” to watch what all these artists had to offer. For students Brian Chaves and Kristina Cirillo, Providence, it was the first visit to Boston and the couple admitted to just have “stumbled upon” Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market during their tour through historic Boston. They were a little surprised by the number of people strolling through the cobblestone streets. They stopped to observe the performances and enjoyed the live music.

Paul Wright, who was performing with his two man band Tall Heights, explained that the festival was the end result of a year-long project initiated by Faneuil Hall management, in which artists could audit by performing at Faneuil Hall throughout the year. Their band got chosen to become part of the festival after having played for the touristy crowd earlier this year. He said “it’s been really great” for his band and a great opportunity to “come out and practice new material.” He enjoyed meeting new fans and found it “interesting to see what people respond to.” The crowd seemed to enjoy their acoustic performance as well. Already on early Saturday afternoon, the old suitcase at their feet was only half-full with CDs – the other half was occupied by a number of 10 and 20 dollar bills.