Fringe festival makes plea for support as expenses soar, funding disappears
Edmonton's beloved fringe festival is facing dire financial straits and is calling on patrons and businesses alike to help keep the annual festival on local stages.
In 2023, the Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival returned more than $1.2 million in ticket sales directly to artists and raised $16 million in local economic impact over its 11-day run.
However, the organization was forced to cancel the festival in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to what organizers say was a massive financial setback that the Fringe festival has been recovering from for the last few years.
“Cancelling the 2020 festival was a $3-million loss in revenue for our organization,” said Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival executive director Megan Dart in a news release Monday.
“While we have celebrated incredible successes in the regrowth of the Fringe festival post-pandemic thanks to the ongoing support of our community and the businesses around us, the festival is still recovering.”
To aid with this recovery, Dart and other festival organizers are appealing to Albertans to pledge support for the event through donations, sponsorship or volunteering.
“Expenses are skyrocketing, funding is dwindling, and previously dependable revenues are not keeping pace with the cost of producing our event. Without immediate support our festival will be very different,” Dart said.
“We believe in the transformative power of the arts and are committed to maintaining our impact. But to achieve that, we need our community now more than ever.”
The news comes just days after Vancouver Fringe organizers made a similar plea.
Organizers of that festival scaled back the number of performances at this year's event by roughly 25 per cent and hope to raise $80,000 this spring.
Vancouver Fringe executive director Duncan Watts- Grant told media that the festival has an uncertain future without fundraising.
The Edmonton Fringe festival is the largest and longest-running fringe theatre festival in North America. It was started in 1982 by screenwriter and producer Brian Paisley and was the first Fringe festival on the continent. It has since inspired similar festivals in almost every major city in North America, including Toronto, Winnipeg, Boston and New York.
Since its inception, the Edmonton Fringe festival has worked with more than 42,000 artists, countless thousands of volunteers, and played a major role in revitalizing the Strathcona neighbourhood.
Edmonton Fringe is a founding member of the Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals and co-ordinates with a network of festival producers around the globe.
In April 2010, Paisley was given the Order of Canada, during which he was hailed as “a cultural visionary who has left an indelible mark on Canadian theatre.”
Upon receiving this illustrious honour, Paisley said, “I hope the Fringe has provided an audience-friendly outlet for new and emerging playwrights. It's these fresh voices who need the most encouragement, the most feedback, the most space to breathe, and whose work will ultimately keep theatre alive in Canada.”
For more information on the Edmonton Fringe festival visit fringetheatre.ca
It's these fresh voices who need the most encouragement, the most feedback, the most space to breathe.