Guelph Will Now Get a Fringe Festival Too

Here's a great idea. Guelph is already home to music, dance, comedy, and film festivals, so what's been missing? How about something a bit more theatrical? Prepare to say hello to the brand new Guelph Fringe Festival later this fall.

So what is a Fringe Festival? Well, it can include new theatrical works from upcoming writers and artists, as well as a performance art, buskers and other types of live performance. As per the Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals, of which Guelph's upcoming fest is now a member, to be fringe you must:

• Participants will be selected on a non-juried basis, through a first-come, first served process, a lottery, or other method approved by the Association.
• The audience must have the option to pay a ticket price, 100% of which goes directly to the artists
• Fringe Festival producers have no control over the artistic content of each performance.  The artistic freedom of the participants is unrestrained.
• Festivals must provide an easily accessible opportunity for all audiences and all artists to participate in Fringe Festivals.

According to the Guelph Fringe Fest Facebook page, "Guelph Fringe Festival is a celebration of arts, performance and connecting artists with their audience."

"The Fringe is entirely meant to facilitate actors and audiences meeting each other in a way that’s fair for everybody," said festival director Kevin Nunn to the Guelph Tribune. "It's uncensored, unjuried and the easiest way to get into theatre."

So what's the appeal? "Fringe Festivals are like a treasure hunt," Nunn added. "There is a lot of not-so-good stuff and then there are moments of sheer brilliance you won’t find anywhere else. But to find those moments you’ve got to go for the hunt."

The Guelph Fringe Festival will be having its first fundraising event on Saturday, an improv workshop at the Making Box at 40 Baker St. "If you’re a writer it will help prevent writers block," said Nunn, who will be hosting the workshop. "If you’re a car sales person, improvisation will help you understand the process of telling a story to make a sale."

You can stay connected with Guelph Fringe on Facebook.