Hi guys!

I am a performer from the Boston area and this will be my second Pennsic. I busk in the real world but have not done so at Pennsic.
I've read through many of the threads below to get some basic information and just want to check in with you guys on the situation so I can be prepared and informed.

I'm a circus arts and fire performer and I'm planning to do fire eating.
This means that my act is fairly short though can be repeated often (works perfect to trade off a pitch with another act), could be done with or without music, and could not be done during the day. I'm not selling anything other than the act itself.

I have a few questions, and I'm sure more that I can't think of right now:

1. Other than the area often occupied by the children, I can't recall seeing non-musicians busking last year...that's not to say there weren't any, but I didn't spend a ton of time in the market place...so I'm just curious if there are certain areas that physical-type performers often use over musicians.
2. Do people ever do circle shows where they talk to the audience like modern non-musician buskers, or is just exhibiting a skill more common? I'm undecided on what type of show I want to do - I could go both ways, and I'm partially wondering if doing a set show would be considered too disruptive.
3. I've looked up the fire safety rules and I can comply with them. Do you know of any precedent of fire busking being frowned upon? The people I've asked so far have all said no. I am very safe (and also fully insured) but would like to avoid someone kicking me out on sight or something equally nasty.
4. I need to do this in the evening/night - there was a post saying that people are finding less tips with the economy being worse. Do you think that there would be too few people in the market place to make this worth it as a financial endeavor? I'd do it anyways, I'm just curious what to expect and what people's experiences have been.
5. I also found a comment expressing that it is either frowned upon or against the rules to ask for tips, though its fine to leave a hat out. I'm unsure of the specific meaning of this because (it seems?) most of the people here are musicians, and I could see how stopping playing to ask for tips could be in poor taste. While many performers can take their hat lines way too far, its sort of natural to request that people support you at the end of a show (when there's a definitive end). Are people discouraged from asking for tips verbally for reasons of avoiding tackiness, or is it verboten? I just can't tell from the context of the info here.

Thanks so much in advance for any help.
:)
Can't wait to meet all you neat people.

-Joanna/Dominique/Shirin