With 15.2 million tourists visiting San Francisco each year, it’s no wonder downtown is replete with street performers all wanting their attention. Despite the myriad of entertainers cluttering tourist hot spots, there’s only a handful that have managed to become a must-see act:

Silver Man
Also along Fisherman’s Wharf is The Silver Man. He is painted silver from head to toe, and holds a whistle in his mouth that adds sound to his slow and controlled robotic movements. He often performs to the soundtrack of old school rap music from artists like Grandmaster Flash and Run-DMC. He is hardly subtle with his request for small change from his audience, but no one can resist a good dancer.

Bush Man
Bush Man, or David Johnson, has a simple yet clever tactic to get tourists attention: he scares them. Johnson waits all day long on Fisherman’s Wharf, camouflaging himself behind hand held bushes, silver rimmed sunglasses and a green army jacket waiting to jump out at anyone whose attention seems to be diverted. The funny thing is, he actually expects to be tipped for his little prank. Although there are some tourists who see the humor in his performance, there are many who are sour towards his trick.

Steel Drummer
Wilfred Mark has shown his dedication as a street performer for 15 years. Always supported by his band, they only use steel and hand drums to play their music from their Caribbean homeland. He can be found on the busy corner of Geary and Powell singing and dancing along to the Carribean music he grew up with. Mark is so entertaining that he boasts being invited by
Robin Williams himself to perform at his private parties.

Opera Lady
Litz Plummer has been dubbed as the San Francisco Opera Lady. She often performs with tenor Robert Close during sunny weekends, when the streets are peacefully explored by tourists and residents. This duo can be heard belting out tunes from Puccini. If one listens closely, the bedlam of cars and people can easily be muted by their sonorous voices echoing through the narrow alley of Maiden Lane and Grant Avenue on Union Square.

CONTACT VELARDE AT VELARDE@SFSU.EDU