Eric “Official Shine” Watson dragged his speaker on wheels to the flagpole in front of the Seashell Stage and waited for his crew of dancers to arrive.
The first street performance of the weekend was about to start in the next hour for YAK Anonymous Entertainment, who has been coming regularly to Hampton Beach this summer. They would be breaking, flipping, waving and popping for a spectacle not seen in summers past here.
“I’ve been street performing since I was out the carriage,” said “Shine,” as Watson also goes by. His group has danced for years at Faneuil Hall in Boston.
“This is my livelihood,” he said.
The closure of Ocean Boulevard through Labor Day to vehicular traffic has created a new walking mall to give pedestrians space for social distancing. With places like Boston under a stricter lockdown than New Hampshire due to COVID-19, street performers like the YAK crew have chosen Hampton as their weekly destination. Also seen this summer has been a percussionist whose drum set is pieced together with buckets and household utensils, more commonly seen in a busy city than at Hampton Beach.