photo by: John Young

In this photo from May 27, 2016, acrobatic juggler and street performer Cate Flaherty, known as Cate Great, does a one-handed handstand while large knives stick out from the side of the platform she balances on as a crowd gathers to watch at the annual Lawrence Busker Festival in downtown Lawrence.

Lawrence’s Busker Festival will soon make its comeback after being canceled last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing acrobats, break dancers and puppeteers to the streets of Lawrence.

This year’s festival will take place Friday through Sunday and will feature over 20 acts on five stages in downtown Lawrence, as well as food vendors and beer from Free State Brewing Company, which is one of the event’s main sponsors, as the Journal-World previously reported. The festival is free, but people are encouraged to tip the performers, who also will include magicians, musicians and fire jugglers.

Performances on Friday will begin at 5:15 p.m., with the last performance beginning at 10 p.m. Performances on Saturday begin at noon, with the last performance at 9:30 p.m. Performances on Sunday begin at noon, with the last performance at 6:15 p.m. A schedule of performances and a map showing the location of the different stages is available on the event’s website, lawrencebuskerfest.com.