Edmonton Fringe Festival
| Edmonton International Fringe Festival | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Fringe Theatre Festival |
| Dates |
Past years
1982: August 14 to August 22
1983: August 13 to August 21 1984: August 18 to August 26 1985: August 17 to August 25 1986: August 16 to August 24 1987: August 15 to August 23 1988: August 13 to August 21 1989: August 19 to August 27 1990: August 18 to August 26 1991: August 17 to August 25 1992: August 15 to August 23 1993: August 13 to August 22 1994: August 12 to August 21 1995: August 18 to August 27 1996: August 16 to August 25 1997: August 15 to August 24 1998: August 13 to August 23 1999: August 12 to August 22 2000: August 17 to August 27 2001: August 16 to August 26 2002: August 15 to August 25 2003: August 14 to August 24 2004: August 12 to August 22 2005: August 18 to August 28 2006: August 17 to August 27 2007: August 16 to August 26 2008: August 14 to August 24 2009: August 13 to August 23 2010: August 12 to August 22 2011: August 11 to August 21 2012: August 16 to August 26 2013: August 15 to August 25 2014: August 14 to August 24 2015: August 13 to August 23 2016: August 11 to August 21 |
| Location(s) |
Edmonton, Alberta Canada 
|
| Years active | 1982 – present |
| Website | |
| Edmonton International Fringe Festival | |
The Edmonton International Fringe Festival is an annual arts festival held every August in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Produced by the Fringe Theatre Adventures (FTA), it is the oldest and largest fringe theatre festival in North America (based on ticket sales). The Edmonton Fringe is a founding member of the Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals.
In 2014, 118,280 tickets were sold, up from 117,000 in 2013. The 2014 event had over 210 shows and 1,600 performances, with an estimated outdoor site attendance of 665,750. In 2016, the attendance rate reached a record breaking high of 850,000+ attendees. In 2017 there was a record breaking 130,000 tickets sold and $1.2 million in box office sales during the festival, which held performances from over 1,500 artists in 220 shows.
In 1982, Chinook Theatre's artistic director Brian Paisley received $50,000 from Edmonton's Summerfest to put together "A Fringe Theatre Event" in Edmonton’s Old Strathcona District. Inspired by the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Scotland, the Edmonton Fringe (the first in North America) offered 200 live performances in five theatre venues.
The festival itself takes place in Old Strathcona which has a number of permanent theatres (including the Westbury Theatre and Nordic Studio Theatre in the ATB Financial Arts Barns, the Walterdale Playhouse, the Varscona Theatre, the Roxy on Whyte, and the Princess Theatre) and a number of other venues which are converted by FTA or independent artists into temporary theatre venues. During the festival, the streets and alleys of the neighbourhood are also filled with street performers and masked or costumed actors promoting their plays.
Unlike the Edinburgh Festivals, where artists are responsible for finding and running their own venues, the Edmonton Fringe implements a system in which for a relatively low application fee, the festival provides artists with a venue, a set number of performances, two technicians, and front-of-house and ticketing services and general festival marketing. Artists may also arrange for their own performance space independently as a "Bring Your Own Venue" or BYOV, similar to the Edinburgh Fringe model.
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