THIS year’s line-up for Durham Streets Festival promises a feast of fun. The line-up includes the Space Cowboy, the only person to have won the Street Performance World Championships more than once. Fatt Matt, the winner of 2012’s Durham Streets People’s Choice award, returns to perform the incredibly dangerous and complex onefingered handstand, while festival first-timers include pogo expert Ernest the Magnifico, daredevil acrobatic Felicity Footloose, comedy double act Garaghty and Thom and Australian juggler J-P Koala. Street clown Pedro, performs a tale of immortal love, heroes, villains and balloon sculpting; and family favourite Maynard Flip Flap.

On Saturday there will be performances from 11.30am in Millennium Square and the Market Place, along with buskers on Framwellgate and Elvet Bridges between 12pm and 4pm.

Also at all three venues will be Theatre Hullabaloo’s Travelling Treasury, a mini-theatre offering a story-telling experience that takes place in a beautifully transformed caravan. Audiences are invited to step inside the pages of a book and stories unfold, quite literally before their eyes.

This year, the Streets festival visits Bishop Auckland for the first time, with the action starting in the Market Place from 11am on Saturda. Todd Various is in town; you may hear him before you see him and depending on his mood you could get whips, chains or balloons and some caustic quick-fire wit. Also appearing will be J-P Koala making his first appearance at Durham Streets Festival. From Sydney Australia J-P has been wowing the audiences at the Edinburgh Fringe his legendary juggling skills include balls, knives, whips and axes. Catch up with Ernest the Magnifico and his super charged pogo stick who promises visual comedy and some interesting audience participation.

The fun starts in Barnard Castle on Bank Holiday Monday at 12 noon at Scar Top with Fatt Matt who plays the ukulele while balancing on his head. He’ll also perform the incredibly dangerous and complex one-fingered handstand. Next comes the Space Cowboy (pictured below), who is the only performer to ever have won The Street Performance World Championships more than once. He holds 11 Guinness World Records for his amazing and death-defying stunts. His street performance is full of whip cracking, acrobatics, original sword swallowing displays, and a daring grand finale performed high above the audience’s heads on top of his 9ft unicycle where he finishes by juggling three dangerous objects, a machete, a butcher knife and an axe while blindfolded.

Audiences are encouraged to grab a picnic and enjoy the entertainment at Scar Top, where there will also be juggling, unicycling, acrobatics, banter, wit and even fire as well as the Travelling Treasury mini theatre and a circus skills school.

  • For a full schedule and more information, visitdurhamstreetsof.co.uk