I established the Blue Box Initiative, so I could sketch talented performers in each of the 27 blue boxes which are painted on the sidewalks downtown Orlando. These boxes
are for panhandlers and buskers. Busking was possible only during day
light hours, but a recent amendment allows the boxes to be used at night. Although set up for panhandlers, police often insist street
performers must use the blue boxes. Performing outside the boxes can
result in 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.
I sketched Sasha Kendrick at Blue Box 12 which is located across the street from the Disney Band shell at Lake Eola. There was no shade on this stretch of sidewalk and the heat was unbearable. Sasha was worried that her violin would warp in the intense heat, but she performed anyway. Not a single person walked past as she performed. No one walks that stretch of sidewalk in the noon day sun.
When the sketch was done she wanted to perform at Lake Eola which she does regularly. Police in the park do not ask her to leave. They turn a blind eye to the city ordinance that bans busking because she is pleasant and respectful. It was much nicer sketching in the shade with a lake side breeze. One man stopped to listen and sat on the bench next to Sacha. He decided to go to the Relax Grill and Bar and he bought Sasha and I a drink. This was the first time I had ever been given anything while I sketched. He was legitimately grateful for Sasha’s performance.
She told me about a charity she was establishing which raises money for musical instruments for the homeless. She figures that by performing music, a person can raise some cash just as she has done for years. She gave an instrument to a man in town who also raises money selling palm frond woven flowers. The instrument disappeared and she thinks he sold it for money for crack. Unfortunately this musical charitable experiment became a failed experiment.