At just 12 years old, Serenity Hook is already a veteran of the Dunedin holiday busking scene.
The young violinist is one of many performers who have taken advantage of warm weather and Christmas shoppers to practise their craft and make some extra cash.
Unlike most of the others, Serenity has being doing so since she was 3.
Not surprisingly, she could not remember those early days.
She is the youngest of four musical children.
Her siblings all play violin, among other things, and have all been involved in the busking line-up over the years.
She began this season's street performing on Saturday and would continue, playing for two to three hours a day, until Christmas Eve.
Busking was a lot of hard work, but she was used to playing in front of people at this stage, she said.
Luckily, the weather had been mostly warm this year.
Her mother, Misao, said that was not always the case.
''Some days there will be cold winds blowing, music flying everywhere.''
Serenity was studying grade five pieces, practising every day for about half an hour, and had also been learning trumpet, Mrs Hook said.
''At this time of year she plays a lot of Christmas carols, but also her own pieces.''
With the collected coins, Serenity hoped to finally upgrade to a full-sized violin and attend the Waitaki Summer Music Camp in Oamaru next month.
