A local street festival kicks off its fifth season tomorrow night.

And the 1998 Harbour Nights programme should be the biggest and best ever, promised organisers and participants yesterday.

Amongst new initiatives that will spark up Wednesday evening fun on Front Street in the City of Hamilton will be the introduction of a series of Buskers Nights thanks to Bank of Bermuda sponsorship.

This ground-breaking initiative will echo other initiatives the festival has sparked since its inception, said Chamber of Commerce executive vice-president Cyanne Thomas.

In the programme's first year -- 1993 -- permission for the vendors to operate in the street had to be sought, she recalled.

This was a milestone for the Island at the time, explained Ms Thomas.

"It was a huge initiative. Bermuda had never seen this before.'' Five years on, the major new initiative will be Buskers Nights once a month -- a scheme which also required approval from authorities.

Bank of Bermuda spokeswoman Elizabeth Tee said: "Buskers are the individual entertainers who perform for donations, which are thrown into their hat by the audience.

"They're popular in Covent Garden, London and at the subway stations in New York, and now the Bank of Bermuda is bringing them to Front Street.'' But instead of cash donations, Bank of Bermuda volunteers will hand out ballot cards so festival-goers can vote for their favourite busker of the four which will perform each night in two half-hour slots.

The votes will be collected and a winner announced at the end of the night.

The winners of each Buskers Night through the season will them compete against each other in a grand finale before the programme ends on October 14.

Bank of Bermuda charitable trust manager David Lang said: "We are delighted to be initiating an opportunity for the community to showcase their diverse talents.'' Corporation of Hamilton secretary Roger Sherratt added: "This idea fits in beautifully with the concept of Harbour Nights.

"The Corporation has certainly been a strong supporter of the programme from its outset. We are very appreciative of all the work the Chamber of Commerce has done to create the atmosphere of Harbour Nights.

"It has now become a regular weekly activity for people on Wednesday evenings. It has become the norm to come into Hamilton for entertainment and late night shopping in the stores and with the vendors.'' For its part, he continued, the Corporation had always encouraged different and interesting entertainment as well as a variety of vendors with a wide range of interesting wares.

Harbour Nights vendor co-ordinator Donna Lindo said the programme had developed from the early days when people could sell whatever they wanted to the present day where crafts were desired.

The main requirement was that participants have enough inventory to see themselves through the entire season. This year that will mean 25 evenings.

Last year there were 24 Harbour Nights and there were 26 the year before.

She added that uniformity in presentation was also called for and this had been developed over the years with help from her husband Michael who built all the stalls, carts and stages used by vendors and performers.

It was too early to say how many vendors would participate this year but there will be at least 40 regular vendors while others are expected to join in at different stages of the year.

"The most we've ever had was 117 one night,'' noted Mrs. Lindo. Amongst those regulars are artist Michael Swan, Larry and Patricia Ingham who operate Snowy's, The World's Fluffiest Snowballs -- one of about a dozen food vendors who pay approximately $1,450 a year to participate in the programme -- and removable tattoo specialists Patrick and Diana Mahoney.

Craft stalls pay $950 a year and promotional stalls pay $500 a year.

They toasted the success of the street festival which Mr. Lang referred to as the "equivalent of marketplaces that towns have had forever''.

Mr. Swan said: "Harbour Nights was a great opportunity being a new artist as the only public outlet we had to display our work to visitors was in the hotels.

"This was a bigger opportunity to meet more people and get them familiar with your work.'' Mr. Ingham noted: "We have a very unique Bermudian product that has an entertainment quality and is very colourful.

"Tourists seem to get quite a kick out of it. They might be hesitant but every time they have an experience of the product you can see it in their face that they are pleased.

"On the other hand locals know us and are pleased that they can come to Harbour Nights and get us.'' Mrs. Ingham added: "The time frame is perfect for us to sell our product in.'' Mr. Mahoney has been involved with the programme since 1994 and his tattoo operation has proven entertaining with locals and visitors alike.

"We draw crowds when people are being tattooed. Once they are tattooed they walk around all night showing off and many people return week after week.'' It offered a great chance for interaction with the visitors also, he pointed out.

"Tourists want to talk. It's very interactive and you get to meet a lot of people.'' This visitor interaction is an aspect the Department of Tourism -- another sponsor of the Harbour Nights programme -- will seek to take more advantage of this year, noted department manager of promotional services Deanna Wade.

"The Department of Tourism gives a $25,000 grant to help fund Harbour Nights and also gives a grant to the Bermuda Regiment who are featured once a month in the Beat Retreat ceremony at Harbour Nights.

"This year we are looking at having more of an interactive participation.'' To this end, Miss Tourism Naimah Denbrook will be on hand at one Harbour Night each month while other Tourism Department staff will be on hand each night to talk one on one with visitors and pass on information.

Many visitors, particularly those on the cruise ships which berth on front Street, attend the street festival, noted the Visitor Service Bureau's Janet Grayston.

"There are uniquely Bermudian activities at Harbour Nights,'' she noted, including the gombeys and local Bermudian entertainment.

"It is hard to get to see the gombeys,'' she pointed out, unless you caught them on May 24 or at Christmas and Boxing Day.

And Ms Grayston added: "The visitors love the local entertainment and the chance to interact with locals. This is very important to them and it is also free.'' Ms Thomas agreed: "There's something different about being out in the street and being served or talking directly with a vendor. Something connects to make the experience even more memorable.'' An emphasis has been made on attracting local families to the event with the inclusion of children's entertainment and stall for face painting. This fitted in with the Bank of Bermuda's focus on youth, noted Mr. Lang.

To that end the Bank will also fund another visit of the Gotham City Daredevils, BMX bikers who show their skills off with tricks and emphasise the importance of safety.

Also due to make an appearance at Harbour Nights are the stars who will visit the Island for the Samuel L. Jackson golf tournament at the beginning of June.

Another participant this year will be sponsor Colonial Insurance who for the first time will have a booth set up on Front Street once every eight weeks.

There members of the public will be able to get free health tests and answers to their health insurance queries.

Colonial and other agencies including the Bermuda International Business Association and the Council Partners Trust have jumped on the programme's success.

This success can be seen in the attitudes of original objectors to the scheme.

On average the Harbour Nights attract some 2,000 people to the streets of Hamilton, she estimated, while on opening and closing nights this number swelled to some four or five thousand.

Local retailers were concerned that staying open at night would be non-profitable originally.

But Mr. Sherratt pointed out: "We are finding more people are staying open this year. At first they struggled to stay open until 9 p.m., now they are staying open until 10 p.m.'' Harbour Night stalls were also going to be allowed to operate until 10 p.m., added Ms Thomas.

There was even talk that certain stores would open for more nights during the week, she said.

And Ms Thomas noted: "Restaurants are an area where they have certainly seen their activity heightened.'' Mr. Sherratt said: "The Corporation is now looking at promoting al fresco dining. This will be at the Surf Club this year and we are looking at doing it at other areas.'' And this all boded well for the future, he noted.

"We have seen constant changes. The programme is expanding and we see it extending and continuing to grow.

"Certainly in the new City of Hamilton plan we will be looking at how we can aesthetically improve Front Street while taking into consideration the Harbour Nights programme.'' One idea Mr. Sherratt hinted at was the possible pedestrianisation of certain city streets.

"We want to make it attractive so pedestrians feel welcome.'' But Chamber of Commerce marketing and events co-ordinator Khristina Westbrook stressed that there was no clear path yet for the growth of the event to follow.

"We want to develop the programme, we want to grow and we want to develop the interaction between locals and visitors. We also want to bring Bermudian talent forward and keep it diverse and ever changing.'' Anyone interested in contacting the Bank of Bermuda about participating in their Buskers Night scheme can call Karen Madeiros at 299-6709. Would-be vendors can reach Mrs. Lindo at 236-4712.

ENTERTAINERS ENT