inb4 the inevitable jokes, this is a genuine question.
I’m learning to juggle, I’ve got a lot of experience doing different kinds of presentations for children, I thrifted a guide to making balloon animals and will buy supplies to practice if I end up winning an Amazon gift card at work.
The other things I imagine I would need are getting the make up down. I’d love to go to Mooseburger, but financially not in the cards.
How does one start doing festivals? Making money would be nice, but I’d be happy to do things like kids hospitals for free.
Repetitive clowning around.
Seriously, all successful entertainment stories are based on keeping at it until success is found. Doesn’t work for everyone, but there isn’t a guaranteed path and it sounds like you are doing the steps you can already. You could volunteer for hospitals, although you might get rejected without some kind of way to verify you are legit.