North American Performing Arts Festivals – Multidisciplinary & Fringe Festival List
Note: These text are from the festival sites, so some are more helpful than others. When I know application details I’ve added them. If you know of other festivals that should be on this list, let me know. List updated 1/2019. Webinar course participants have already been booked into some of these festivals! European Festival list in progress.
Maui Fringe Festival | Maui HI | January
In the heart of historic Wailkuku town, the Iao Theater celebrates 80 years as being the cornerstone for Wailuku and Market Street. The Historic Iao is the oldest theater in Hawaii.
Under the Radar | New York NY | January
Over the last 14 years, The Public’s UNDER THE RADAR FESTIVAL has presented over 210 companies from 41 countries. It has grown into a landmark of the New York City theater season and is a vital part of The Public’s mission, providing a high-visibility platform to support artists from diverse backgrounds who are redefining the act of making theater. Widely recognized as a premier launching pad for new and cutting-edge performance from the U.S. and abroad. (Rolling Open Application via email on site.)
Oahu Fringe | Oahu HI | January
Aloha, as an all volunteer organized Fringe, our mission is to promote the development of original work in the performing arts in theatre, music, dance and all performance related art by emerging and professional artists, and to present a provocative multicultural arts festival unique to Hawai’i. And we do this for the love of the arts and to contribute to the artistic landscape and to making Hawai’i a Fringe Festival destination. So go on, be original in Hawai’i.
Tucson Fringe Festival | Tucson AZ | January
The Tucson Fringe Festival is an unjuried, uncensored performing arts festival. Following international fringe tenets, the festival provides artists with low-risk, low-cost opportunities to perform by using economies of scale to reduce venue rental costs and by taking 0% of the artist’s earnings.
Asheville Fringe Arts Festival | Asheville NC | January
AFAF is an annual performing arts, multiple venue festival that provides artists with opportunities to explore the edges of their work, to collaborate across genres and to bring new and innovative performances to culturally adventurous audiences. Founded in 2002, AFAF has been keeping Asheville interesting for over a decade.
FRIGID New York | New York NY | February
FRIGID New York was founded by Horse Trade and EXIT Theatre in 2007. Having founded The San Francisco Fringe Festival – the 2nd oldest fringe in the United States – nearly 17 years ago, EXIT introduced Horse Trade to the Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals (CAFF) Model in mid-2006.
Rogue Festival | Fresno CA | March
Rogue Festival is one of several “Fringe Festivals” found all across the world, celebrating the independent artist rather than established arts institutions. Rogue audiences will see every kind of art and entertainment – theatre, music, dance, independent film, spoken word, performance art, puppetry, physical theatre, and magic acts. Many of the acts are originally written and developed by the artists performing them, which means audiences enjoy art of a kind they’ll never experience anywhere else.
Pittsburgh Fringe Festival | Pittsburgh PA | March/April
The Pittsburgh Fringe Festival supports adventurous and exploratory performing artists, in the Fringe tradition, by showcasing their unjuried artistic expression in a professional environment to equally as adventurous audiences and opportunities.
Ft. Lauderdale Fringe | Ft Lauderdale FL | April
Broward College brings the Fringe Festival back to South Florida for the third year in a row. This diverse, cutting-edge, and uncensored live theater event aims to fuse the art scene with the local community by bringing the true nature of creation to the stage and street.
Ithaca Fringe | Ithaca NY | April
Three days of brand-new works from 8 performing artists from around the world. We are unjuried, give 100% of the door to our artists, and provide free housing when needed. We also feature a fringe film festival, a 72-hour dance exhibition, and Fringe Central, where musical entertainment and free food from notable local restaurants is provided. We may be little, but our fringe heart is HUGE.
Shenandoah Fringe Festival | Staunton VA | April
Shenandoah Fringe entices us to make, create, and encounter the work at the Festival not in spite of our many identities but in collaboration with them. We can be students and painters and refugees and baristas and mothers and mimes and waitresses and vaudevillians all in one without invalidating the others. Art is an economic force to be reckoned with… This profit sharing festival- hosted on a Sunday & Monday- strives to be a trusted home for patrons to come and experience the offerings of the region’s performers. A place to underline the fact that we are not other, we are of a kind.
Orlando Fringe | Orlando FL | May
The Mission of the Orlando Fringe is to provide an accessible, affordable outlet that draws diverse elements of the community together and inspires creative experiences through the arts.
London Fringe Theatre Festival | Ontario Canada | May – June
The London Fringe Theatre Festival is dedicated to the promotion, production, and prosperity of independent artists. We create a unique and inclusive environment where the arts will be enjoyed in the present and developed for the future.
Cincinnati Fringe Festival | Cincinnati OH | May – June
The Cincinnati Fringe Festival (Cincy Fringe) is a 13-day theatre and arts festival produced by Know Theatre of Cincinnati. Live performances occur in over a dozen locations in and around the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood of Cincinnati, just north of Downtown. Every Festival features 200+ performances of over 40 productions from local, national, and international artists, each featuring unqie styles or disciplines and a wide variety of subject matter.
Festival St-Ambroise Fringe de Montréal | Québec Canada | June
The St-Ambroise Montreal Fringe Festival is a festival that hosts fringe theatre, repertory, dance, music, and drag-queen performances in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The festival is held annually and lasts for 20 days in June. The festival was previously run by Jeremy Hechtman and Patrick Goddard, but Hechtman stepped down in 2010 after being in the position for 15 years.
Atlanta Fringe Festival | Atlanta GA | June
The Atlanta Fringe Festival is dedicated to connecting adventurous artists with appreciative audiences for the betterment of the Atlanta arts community.
Ottawa Fringe Festival | Ontario Canada | June
The Ottawa Fringe Festival provides all performing artists, both emerging and established, with the opportunity to produce their work – regardless of content, form or style – and makes the Festival as affordable and accessible as possible to the members of the community. The Ottawa Fringe Festival’s mission is to empower audiences and to encourage artists to take risks, pursue their visions and develop their skills.
Hollywood Fringe Festival | Hollywood CA | June
The Hollywood Fringe Festival is an annual, open-access, community-derived event celebrating freedom of expression and collaboration in the performing arts community. Each June during the Hollywood Fringe, the arts infiltrate the Hollywood neighborhood: fully equipped theaters, parks, clubs, churches, restaurants and other unexpected places host hundreds of productions by local, national, and international arts companies and independent performers.
PortFringe | Portland ME | June
PortFringe launched in 2012 as a five-day, cutting-edge fringe festival with 40 acts ranging from serious to silly and everything in between. With generous support from our community, an army of volunteers, and a pool of talented actors, directors, designers, and producers, PortFringe showcases an impressive depth and breadth of local and national talent. The mission of PortFringe is to support performance artists, to encourage experimentation and innovation, and to provide an accessible, affordable outlet for exciting work that enriches our creative community.
San Diego Fringe Festival | San Diego CA | June – July
San Diego International Fringe Festival is a non-profit project of CONTACT ARTS, in association with the Actors Alliance of San Diego, designed to help provide a platform for artists while also helping the community as a whole – boosting arts and culture within the gorgeous City of San Diego.
Storefront Fringe Festival | Ontario Canada | June – July
Currently, the company is helmed by Artistic Producer Brett Christopher, with a renewed mandate to hire professional artists and produce theatre at the highest standard of quality. As ‘resident company’ in the Baby Grand Theatre, Theatre Kingston produces three shows annually, a series of child/youth engagement activities and collborates with local theatre practitioners to build a strong cultural voice in the region. Upcoming: the company will be moving into its new digs at the newly-renovated J.K. Tett Arts Cluster on the banks of Lake Ontario in June 2014.
Capital Fringe | Washington DC | July
One part a self-producing performing arts festival and one part a curated performing arts festival where established and emerging artist can present their work. The Fringe Festival takes place in July with over 100 productions, with roughly 700 individual performances, showcasing 5,000 artists for over 30,000 patrons each year. The Fringe Festival is DC’s largest and most anticipated performing arts festival.
The Toronto Fringe Festival | Ontario Canada | July
Toronto Fringe is a grassroots, charitable organization that runs the Fringe Festival each July, the Next Stage Theatre Festival each January, and various year-round artist programs. Toronto Fringe is a creative match-maker, connecting artists with audiences, and empowering everyone to unleash their inner artist.
KC Fringe | Kansas City MO | July
The KC Fringe Festival’s goal is to provide artists an opportunity to create and perform new material right here in our backyard!
Regina International Fringe Theatre Festival | Saskatchewan Canada | July
The Regina International Open Theatre Society (R.I.O.T.S.) is a community based, non-profit corporation formed to produce the annual Regina International Fringe Theatre Festival and Kid’s Fringe. The organization brings to Regina and southern Saskatchewan affordable and innovative live independent Fringe theatre for audiences of all ages. Performing artists participate from provincial, national and international touring companies.
Hamilton Fringe Festival | Ontario Canada | July
The Hamilton Fringe Festival, an unjuried theatre festival, was founded in October 2002. The first Hamilton Fringe took place in the Summer of 2003. Fringe Festivals have become one of the most popular and most successful theatre events in the world since the first one was launched in Edinburgh Scotland in 1947. They are worthwhile in several ways, but most particularly because they focus on supporting new and emerging artists presenting innovative theatre to wider audiences.
Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival | Manitoba Canada | July
The Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival presents 12 days of innovative, engaging and affordable theatre in the Exchange District of downtown Winnipeg every July.
Windsor Fringe | Ontario Canada | July
The Windsor-Walkerville Fringe Festival is a member of the Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals (CAFF). The Canadian Fringe Festival model is unique in two respects: it guarantees that the artists involved receive 100% of ticket revenue and it does not subject the artist’ work to jury approval or censor it in any way. Theatre companies are selected by non-judicial means and work within the technical guidelines of the Fringe Festival to produce their own art.
Fringe PVD | Providence RI | July
Founded in 2014 by The Wilbury Theatre Group, FRINGEPVD (The Providence Fringe Festival) is open to anyone who wants to produce their own show. For some artists, it’s a once-a-year opportunity to create a show; for others it can be an opportunity to try something new.
Fort Collins Fringe Festival | Fort Collins CO | July
The Fringe Festival is the place for local and/or emerging artists to produce their performance art. You never know what you are going to experience at the next Fringe Festival! Because of the open and non-juried structure of Fringe, festival goers can expect to see many original works in everything from theater to dance to film to comedy and more.
Sideshow Fringe Festival | Nashville TN | July – Aug
The Sideshow Fringe Festival is Nashville’s Premiere Progressive Performing Arts Event, founded in 2011 after the famed Edingburgh Festival Fringe model to celebrate the extraordinary diversity of our city’s performing arts community.
Great Salt Lake Fringe | Salt Lake City UT | July – August
We’re a multi-day performing arts festival in the heart of Sugar House, where artists from Salt Lake City and beyond come together to tell their stories. The Great Salt Lake Fringe is uncensored, unadjudicated, and unrestricted. Artists hold the power, and have the opportunity to create the art that matters to them.
Island Fringe Festival (PEI) | Prince Edward Island Canada | August
The Island Fringe Festival is a site-specific summer festival celebrating independent art and alternative theatre and performance in downtown Charlottetown. The Island Fringe gives local, Canadian, and international artists the opportunity to create and perform new theatrical works in unconventional venues throughout the city.
PotashCorp Fringe Theatre Festival (Saskatoon) | Saskatchewan Canada | August
The PotashCorp Fringe Theatre and Street Festival is a ten day community celebration in the heart of the Broadway District of Saskatoon. Every year we present 231 independent theatre shows in ten days, 200+ vendors on the street including 30+ food vendors. Street entertainment and outdoor shows are FREE to the general public. Our audience is approximately 12,000 theatre patrons and 75,000 outdoor attendees who join us on Broadway Avenue for one of Saskatoon’s favourite summer festivals.
Nanaimo Fringe Festival | British Columbia Canada | August
Festival Nanaimo is a new multi-dimensional community festival taking place in Nanaimo throughout the month of March through to April 2, 2016. It will showcase all the things that we love about the city where we live, work and play. Festival Nanaimo will include great entertainment, concerts, theatre, art and crafts, culinary delights, sporting events, guided walks, runs, cycling tours, Easter Weekend events, March Break activities for everyone and finishing with The Nanaimo Boat Show and the 2nd Annual PirateFest FunDay on April 2. A festival celebrating Nanaimo would not be complete without our namesake dessert. There promises to be “Nanaimo Bar Everything” throughout the month!
St Lou Fringe | St. Louis MO | August
St Lou Fringe is a nine day event that involves a couple of thousand people at multiple venues throughout Grand Center & beyond. Artist registration is in January.
Minnesota Fringe Festival | Minneapolis MN | August
Minnesota Fringe is a Minneapolis based nonprofit organization with a mission to connect adventurous artists with adventurous audiences. As one of the largest Fringes in North America, Minnesota’s annual Festival welcomes roughly 50,000 audience members to view more than 160 works culminating in over 800 performances by greater than 1,000 artists on 15 or more stages in late summer.
ON THE EDGE Fringe Festival | Ontario Canada | August
Now in its fourth year, the ON THE EDGE fringe festival is back at the Capitol Centre and better than ever! In 2011, a group of like-minded artists began a journey of development for the purpose of revitalizing the northern art scene especially in North Bay, Ontario. This has led to the development of several arts initiatives but most importantly it has established the need for a local fringe festival. The shared vision is to create a platform where artists and audiences can come together for an outspokenly exceptional experience. This is how ON THE EDGE fringe began and in August 2014.
Boulder International Fringe | Boulder CO | August
The Boulder Fringe provides a platform for artists to showcase their artwork often in non-traditional spaces. We educate about independent art that is accessible, and affordable. We present an annual 12-day performance art festival, that brings together local, national, and international shows and other events in Boulder, Colorado.
Calgary Fringe | Alberta Canada | August
The Calgary Fringe strives to offer Calgarians an opportunity to build community through the theatrical arts by offering inclusive and accessible arts programming that stress a broad-based, interdisciplinary approach to the arts, by fostering an environment of artistic freedom and expression.
Fundy Fringe Festival | New Brunswick Canada | August
Fundy FRINGE Festival is part of a growing community of Fringe Festivals throughout North America, dedicated to supporting independent performers and artists and creating affordable spaces through which diverse communities can experience boundary-pushing theatre and other performances, in accordance with the four criteria set out by the Canadian Association Of Fringe Festivals (CAFF)
Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival | Alberta Canada | August
The Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival is North America’s largest and longest-running Fringe Festival. The Edmonton Fringe doesn’t jury or censor artists’ work in any way and performances are selected through an unbiased lottery system.
IndyFringe | Indianapolis IN | August
IndyFringe exists to encourage, support and assist independent artists by providing an accessible, affordable outlet that draws diverse elements of the community together and inspires creative experience through the arts.
Victoria Fringe Theatre Festival | British Columbia Canada | August – September
Intrepid Theatre Company was founded in 1986 to produce the Victoria Fringe Theatre Festival. Almost 30 years later, our original mandate continues to serve the company’s artistic and strategic plans, and the development of a healthy theatre community in Victoria BC.
Atlantic Fringe Festival | Nova Scotia Canada | August – September
The Halifax Fringe Festival first raised its dingey moth-eaten curtain in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1991 and has grown every year since.In 2017 we changed our name from Atlantic to Halifax Fringe Festival because there are now SO many excellent Fringe festivals in the Atlantic region. And we couldn’t be more pleased!
Chicago Fringe Festival | Chicago IL | September
Chicago Fringe historically takes place Labor Day weekend and the following weekend in the Jefferson Park neighborhood. We currently accept 50 performance groups to the Fest each year.
San Francisco Fringe Festival | San Francisco CA | September
The San Francisco Fringe Festival is produced by EXIT Theatre and is the largest grassroots theater festival in the Bay Area. During the last 26 years the SF Fringe has presented 5,087 performances by 1,080 independent theater companies and hosted thousands of Indie Theater workers on our stages.
Elgin Fringe | Elgin IL | September
Fringe Festivals focus on performing arts but also include film, visual arts, and music. Performances take place in downtown areas in cafes, theaters, storefronts, and a variety of other locations. The first Fringe Festival started in 1947 in Edinburgh, Scotland, as an alternative festival that played concurrently with the Edinburgh International Festival. There are more than 20 fringe festivals throughout the United States with more in Canada and Europe.
TBA Festival | Portland OR | September
PICA’s Time-Based Art Festival activates the city of Portland, Oregon, with contemporary art projects that bring artists and audiences together, creating a vibrant community through live performances, music, screenings, workshops, talks, and visual art installations.
Rochester Fringe | Elgin IL | September
The Fringe is a 10-day, all-out, no-holds-barred, multi-disciplinary visual and performing arts festival featuring international, national and local artists. It showcases theater (physical, street, musical), comedy, visual arts, family entertainment, music, dance, spoken word, opera, poetry, literature and experiences that have yet to even be imagined!
Vancouver Fringe Festival | British Columbia Canada | September
The Vancouver Fringe is a celebration of all kinds of theatre. Produced annually by the Vancouver Fringe Theatre Society over 11 days in September, with over 500 volunteers supporting 700+ performances and attracting over 40,000 attendees, the Vancouver Fringe Festival is consistently voted Vancouver’s Best Arts Festival by Georgia Straight readers.
Scranton Fringe | Scranton PA | September
The Scranton Fringe Festival is dedicated to creating a bold and engaging platform for creative and thought provoking art with minimal risk to artist and audience. Regional as well as touring artists will be welcomed to present work with no censorship placed on content or artistic expression while striving to promote Scranton as a viable and creative environment.
FringeNYC – New York International Fringe | New York NY | October
The New York International Fringe Festival (FringeNYC), the largest multi-arts festival in North America. Each year the festival presents programming by nearly 200 of the world’s best emerging theatre troupes and dance companies.
Guelph Fringe | Ontario Canada | October
Guelph’s Annual Fringe Festival was established in 2015.The limitations and opportunities that the Fringe festival format presents lead to some common features. Shows are not judged or juried. Depending on the popularity, some fringe festivals may use a lottery system to determine which shows are selected.
Charm City Fringe | Baltimore MD | November
Charm City Fringe is a nonprofit that develops, showcases, and celebrates new and innovative theatre and performing arts in Baltimore. Charm City Fringe (CCF) is held in Baltimore, Maryland. CCF provides a platform for artists to elevate their work and reach new audiences, while eliminating obstacles and allowing audiences to discover and explore new artists and works.
Luminaria | San Antonio TX | November
Luminaria is a dynamic arts organization charged with producing an annual multi-arts festival. The festival was conceived in partnership with the City of San Antonio to stimulate artistic and economic development. We transform urban spaces and make a powerful impact on the revitalization of San Antonio’s downtown neighborhoods. (Open call in May, limited to $5,000. Texas artists have more funding options)
