Street performance is one of the most honest forms of entertainment there is and is practised all over the world.  You won’t find many forms of entertainment where you can watch the show first and pay later.  

It’s also a place where everyone is welcome regardless of race, age, gender or income.  Street theatre is a place for all to enjoy and where everyone can come together for a laugh or two.

The Waterloo Busker Carnival brings diverse and highly skilled international artists to the Waterloo Region for our audiences to enjoy. While we offer performers accommodation and a stipend for travel, performers make their living through the tips they collect at the end of their show in which they “pass the hat”.

If you truly can’t afford a tip, shake the performer’s hand and let them know you enjoyed the show.  

If you can afford a tip and enjoyed the show, please thank the performer through a donation into their “hat”.  It’s really up to you how much to give.  Tips range anywhere between $2-$20 and really depend on how much you joined the show.   If you have the means, consider putting in a little extra in to the “hat” to cover someone else who may be unable to.