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Edmonton Fringe Festival
Founded in 1982, the Edmonton Fringe festival was the first and
largest fringe theatre festival in North America. The festival promoted
the idea of free expression, meaning that both emerging and established
artists were given free rein to produce plays regardless of content or
style, and censorship was thrown to the wayside. Initially, the Edmonton
Fringe hosted five venues to an audience of 7,000, today this has grown to
over 120 shows staged in numerous facilities. Fringe festivals can now be
found in many major cities across Canada, the United States and
internationally.
The original
fringe festival was born in Edinburgh,
Scotland, from another festival, the International Festival. Launched in
1947, as a post-war initiative meant to increase culture in Europe, the
International Festival spawned the development of the Fringe, a diverse,
sometimes controversial mix of performances. Six Scottish and two English
companies decided to turn up at the International Festival, perform, fend
for themselves, and feed off the audience generated by the festival. The
independently attending companies at the International Festival were
successful, and thus a new festival, the Fringe, was started.
The
Edmonton version of the festival runs in August and features programs
ranging from comedy to politics, adventures, musicals and traditional
theatre. All the revenue generated goes to the artists themselves. During the
Fringe, part of the Old Strathcona area is blocked off in order to serve
as a temporary facility. While a wide
range of shows are offered throughout each day, one can
also walk through the outdoor attractions such as music, street
performers, psychic readers, beer tents and vendors.
Over 1,400
individuals volunteer from the community each year, many working year-round to
ensure the festival's success.
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