Park Performers Invited to ‘Donate Time’ at Arts Fest

In an about-face, the coordinator of Super Powers Sunday said Thursday that Balboa Park street performers will be allowed to take part in Sunday’s festivities in the park, which kick off the 3 1/2-week Soviet arts festival.

But, she noted, performers won’t be allowed to ask for tips, and any mime, juggler, clown or harpist wishing to “donate their time” won’t be allowed to “do their thing” just any place.

“We’ll put them where we want them to be,” said Peg Nugent, the coordinator for Super Powers Sunday, which starts at 11 a.m. in Balboa Park.

Officials for the San Diego Police Department estimate that as many as 50,000 people may visit the park Sunday.

Earlier this week, Penny Scott, district manager for Balboa Park, said street performers would not be granted permits to perform in the park either Saturday or Sunday. They were also prohibited from performing in the park last weekend during a children’s arts fair.

She described Super Powers Sunday and the Kidz Artz Fair as “private parties.” She said sponsors of neither event wanted the street performers, who customarily show up in the park on weekends.

Nugent said Thursday that, despite the park’s permit policy, it was never her intention--nor that of Mayor Maureen O’Connor, who conceived the festival--to ban anyone from performing in the park. She reiterated, however, that in letting street performers know they’re welcome, they would have to “conform to the rules” of Super Powers Sunday.

“I have now asked these people to donate their talents to the people of San Diego,” Nugent said. “We may have 3,000 performers in the park on Sunday. It would be pretty startling, don’t you think, if they suddenly started asking for tips. So, they can’t ask for tips. But I’m inviting the street performers to come to the park and be a part of our big celebration. The truth is, I can use ‘em, so bring ‘em on.”

“I got a call from Peg Nugent this morning, and she sounded like a different person,” said Cynthia Douglass, a harpist from Del Mar, who said Balboa Park officials told her earlier in the week that she would not be welcome or permitted on Sunday.

“Nugent said, ‘We’re so sorry for the miscommunication,’ ” Douglass said. “Miscommunication was the word she used, but my very definite impression, from everyone I talked to, was that we were being banned. We even got a memo to that effect.

“Nugent gave me a phone number to call and asked me to contact other street performers,” Douglass said. “So, I will. . . . If she’s serious--and I assume she is, I’m taking her at her word--I will perform, as will most of my friends, even it means working without tips.”

Cheryl Barton, who as a clown goes by the name Silly Star, said she planned to perform in the park Sunday.

“I have some questions about anyone saying we can’t make a profit,” Barton said. “I’m a single mother going to school full time. My child and I are living on welfare. Dressing up like a clown and entertaining for pocket change helps a lot. Without it, we wouldn’t have gas or electricity or a phone. I couldn’t manage my household if I didn’t work as a clown.

“The people running this festival can make all the demands they want, but the truth is my survival depends on tips. What are the hot dog vendors going to do on Sunday? Give their money to the poor? I doubt it. Every performer is willing to do this, but we all feel we’re entitled to tips.”

Barton said she had been told by Balboa Park officials that performers from Sea World and Seaport Village were being paid to work as street performers for Super Powers Sunday.

Nugent said Sea World and Seaport Village are providing a delegation of performers for Super Powers Sunday, but no one connected with the event is paying them.

“Seaport Village and Sea World may very well be paying them,” she said, “because the people they’re sending are on the payroll of Seaport Village and Sea World. But I can’t stress strongly enough that this is a volunteer event, for which no one is being paid by the organizers. That’s why we don’t want people asking for tips. That would take away from the spirit of the festival.”

Fred Jacobs, a spokesman for Sea World, said any performer on the Sea World payroll would be paid--by Sea World--for performing during Super Powers Sunday.

Lowell Taylor, a spokeswoman for Seaport Village, said the same holds true for her park. Taylor said that Seaport Village is sending two mimes, a juggler and a magician to Super Powers Sunday.

“These are people who would normally be performing at Seaport Village on Sunday,” Taylor said, “but instead, we’re sending them to Super Powers Sunday for a couple of hours, at our expense. These are some of the best street performers in town; they’ve been here quite a few years.”

Barton said street performers who show up on weekends in Balboa Park are a loose-knit coalition of friends who perform only for tips. She said they include mimes, jugglers, a magician, clowns, a harpist and Indian dancers.

She said the feeling they shared at first was that the city wanted “higher-quality” street performers, that the city was embarrassed by them and did not want them seen by visitors from the Soviet Union.

“The city never would have asked these people to give up their livelihood,” Nugent said. “For the city to take the heat for this, when we were doing everything in our power to bring in as many as possible, just wasn’t fair. We’re grateful for the generosity of all local talents featured, including those who use the park on a regular basis.”