Above: Performance under the train tracks in downtown Miami from Funkamole; photo by Justin Trieger.

Miami now has gleaming high-rises, a downtown with riverfront walkways and restaurants and cafes. But truly metropolitan cities are not defined solely by their edifices and skylines. There is a human element that makes-up a dynamic city, the people that you can see, touch and hear.

The relatively young city of Miami has had no real communal center, no Central or Grant parks, no subway systems where all walks of life encounter each other on a daily basis. But lately there’s been an increasing desire to congregate, to get to know each other in our rapidly transforming metropolis. Buskerfest Miami is one manifestation of that desire.

Founded in 2013 by Justin Trieger and Amy San Pedro (the former a musician, the latter a dancer), Buskerfest set out to “enhance Miami’s urban life by producing street performances that activate public parks, transit hubs and community plazas that often go unnoticed,” as they first described this project. In 2014, Buskerfest was awarded a Knight Arts Challenge grant to further this aim.

It started off with a one-day festival of  28 groups performing around Miami’s Inner Loop Metromover stations. After the Knight grant, Buskerfest Miami expanded to include activities during DWNTWN Art Days, and a new series called Ear to the Ground, where performers pop up in various communities, with dates and times announced via social media.

Buskerfest Miami is set this year for Dec. 11, and this time a whopping 45 groups will participate, in spots beyond just the transit stops in downtown.

Not only is the fest supposed to excite and enliven the urban streets of Miami, according to Trieger and San Pedro, but it also has a mission to give local performers exposure, “to let different arts organizations get their message out,” said Trieger.

Funky_Serve_Bots Crew’s street dance performance; photo by Julisa Fuste.

Music, traditionally, is the most popular field for impromptu public performance. But this year, we’ll see jugglers and acrobats and dancers as well, Trieger said. While the Inner Loop Metromover stops will remain central to the public fair, Buskerfest also will be set up in Bayfront Park, with continual performances from 4 to 8 p.m.  and other events scheduled outdoors at various downtown businesses. Another satellite location this year will be the Miami Center for Architecture and Design (MCAD), said San Pedro, where they will have “a children’s center indoors, and performances on the outdoor steps.” For anyone who hasn’t visited MCAD and checked out those fabulous steps that lead to the historic building, Buskerfest is a great excuse.

While the series Ear to the Ground relied heavily on last-minute info from social media, for this Dec. 11 event they want to have a solid foundation as well, say the organizers. Your average commuter or downtown worker may simply encounter a performance, which is part of the mission; but San Pedro and Trieger also want people to experience local cultural performers by hanging out at Bayfront Park or MCAD.

The Biscayne Poet, aka Oscar Fuentes, adds to the public experience; photo by Julisa Fuste.

It’s a two-pronged aim, they say: enlivening our urban experience through music and performance, and also giving those same artists a higher profile in the community. Initially, they would go to open-mic nights and other such low-key outlets to find performers, said Trieger. But after only three years, word of mouth has led people to them.

Logistically, organizing 45 groups for this year’s fest is a huge task, which Trieger and San Pedro – both  with full-time jobs – are  finding to be new territory. Aside from putting together mini-concerts and running two venues, they have also started working with other organizations. For instance there is a walking tour in conjunction with HistoryMiami, and a of couple activities with The New Tropic and Bookleggers, which are all Knight Foundation grantees.

“It’s all pretty cool, activating all these spaces, Trieger said.

And the date this year is intentionally scheduled, he said, for after the Art Basel insanity. “That first week in December has become something for people from elsewhere, it’s really not for locals. We wanted a local event, for and about locals.”

The third annual Buskerfest Miami will take place Dec. 11, with main events taking place in Bayfront Park, Metromover stations and the Miami Center for Architecture and Design, from 4 to 8 p.m.. More at buskerfestmiami.com.