photo by: Mike Yoder

A busker known as "Tennis the Menace" performs his act, which involves fitting his body through an unstrung tennis racket, during the Busker Festival on Friday, May 27, 2022, in downtown Lawrence.

The Lawrence Busker Festival is set to return to downtown Lawrence in May.

The annual event, now in its 15th year, features a variety of street performers. The festival will take place over four days, starting on Friday, May 26.

In addition to musicians, acrobats, magicians and other performers, the festival will also feature food vendors, a beer garden and a variety of activities for children, according to a news release from organizers.

“We are excited to bring the Lawrence Busker Festival back for another year,” festival organizer Richard Renner said in the release. “This event has become a staple in the community, and we are proud to continue to provide a platform for street performers from around the world to showcase their talents.”

This year’s event will include many performers from abroad who are making their first appearance here, including English “gentleman” juggler Mat Ricardo; Hula Hooper Lisa Lottie, a regular on the variety show circuit in Europe and Australia; and Reuben Dotdotdot, a star of the Cirque Du Soleil show Saltimbanco.

Returning to the 2023 Busker Festival will be Sara Twister, an acrobatic archer from Germany, and Her Majesty’s Secret Circus, a comic spy duet who practice the secret art of espionage on unicycles.