A musician has turned his plea into a petition after he claims the local Superstore banned him from performing on the property.
Nathaniel Postma, a 28-year-old 91原创 resident who grew up in North Delta, has been busking in front of the Superstore at 82nd Avenue and Scott Road since the summer.
This isn鈥檛 his first time busking in North Delta 鈥� he started at the RBC on 112 Street and 84 Avenue when he was 14 鈥� and not even his first time at that Superstore. Two years ago, Postma played in front of the Superstore for an hour and a half.
鈥淭he manager had a problem with me playing there, and I stopped showing up,鈥� Postma said about the experience two years ago.
He moved his busking out to White Rock, but came back to Delta this summer.
鈥淚t was a complete 180,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he [Superstore] managers liked me. I had no complaints. I mean, I was playing there every other day.鈥�
Postma said he would play Tuesday to Sunday at the Superstore, and made 鈥減retty good money,鈥� although he said that wasn鈥檛 what it was about.
鈥淭he money is a bonus,鈥� Postma explained. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a form of therapy for me. It makes me feel good when I can see smiles from little kids or people that look grumpy and they hear the music and they instantly just lighten up. It makes me happy.鈥�
However, in early November, Postma said, the manager, listed on Superstore鈥檚 website as Anthony Wong, asked him to stop busking. Postma claims that Wong said he could not busk as there had been a complaint. Postma also said Wong asked him to stop because it would detract from Salvation Army collections, and Wong needed clarification on Delta鈥檚 bylaws around buskers.
鈥淚 did my research. I made sure I wasn鈥檛 breaking any bylaws in Delta,鈥� Postma said. 鈥淚 made sure I wasn鈥檛 breaking any rules with Loblaw properties and Superstore properties. So I was well within legal grounds to perform there.鈥�
According to the City of Delta鈥檚 manager of property use and compliance, Hugh Davies, busking is permitted in Delta with a business licence. (Postma currently does not have a business licence, saying he didn鈥檛 see anything about that in Delta鈥檚 bylaws.)
However, buskers have to follow certain rules depending on where they are performing: those working on private property 鈥� like Postma was at Superstore 鈥� require the approval of the property owner or manager.
When contacted by the North Delta Reporter, Wong declined to comment on the alleged conversation, and instead referred questions to Loblaw鈥檚 public relations team.
In an email, the team responded, saying they 鈥渉ad a busker performing at the store for a number of months.
鈥淚n recent weeks we鈥檝e received more complaints about his presence and have seen a spike in negative feedback from our customers,鈥� the email continued. 鈥淎s a result, we recently made the decision to ask him to no longer perform on store property.鈥�
For now, Postma is staying away from his former Superstore location, choosing instead of perform at another in Surrey. He hasn鈥檛 been in touch with the manager since.
鈥淚鈥檇 like to come back to Delta and play at the Superstore again,鈥� he said. 鈥淒elta is my home, and the people here are so supportive and always happy to see me.鈥�
鈥淓veryone鈥檚 always happy to see me,鈥� he continued. 鈥淧eople are now asking where I am, because I can鈥檛 come here anymore.鈥�
On the , Postma posted he had created to raise awareness for buskers.
鈥淧eople trample on buskers a lot,鈥� he said. 鈥淭o a lot of people we鈥檙e seen as beggars.鈥�
鈥淭hey may not say it, but you can tell in their tone and the way they look at you,鈥� he continued. 鈥淭hey look at you like you鈥檙e dirty. Like you do drugs and you don鈥檛 belong there because you鈥檙e a nuisance to them.鈥�
So far, the petition has 155 supporters, with a goal of 200. Although Postma said it is primarily to raise awareness for busking as a whole, he also wants to bring it to Superstore鈥檚 attention that he has support in the community.
鈥淢usic has always been my passion. And I want to continue doing it,鈥� Postma said. 鈥淎nd the petition is to show people that we are people just like them.鈥�
grace.kennedy@northdeltareporter.com
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