Reading has had several Fringe Festivals over the years. The first Reading Fringe Festival was started in 2005 in Reading, Berkshire, after a group of several musicians, producers and promoters[who?] decided to showcase Reading's musical talent in the week running up to the Reading Festival. The concept was to bring the local promoters and venues together for one week of gigs promoted by the fringe committee. Unfortunately, it ran for a few years and decided to not continue the concept.
In 2012, three Reading enthusiasts, with a background in the arts decided to start up a new Reading Fringe Festival. It was started by Thomas Sellwood, a playwright and director, Gemma Wells, a marketeer and Zsuzsi Lindsay, a producer and project manager. The first Reading Fringe Festival under new manager kicked off in 2013, with nine venues, 20 acts over five days. It is now in its seventh year and works with 18 venues, over 100 events and runs over 10 days.
It has won a number of accolades since starting including, Reading Cultural Contribution Award and the Pride of Reading Awards, the Alt Reading Festival of the Year Nominee, Festival of the Year at the Reading Cultural Awards, and they have also been nominated for the Queen's Service Award.
The Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival is an alternative theatre festival held each year for twelve days in July in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the world's largest arts festival, which in 2018 spanned 25 days and featured more than 55,000 performances of 3,548 different shows in 317 venues. Established in 1947 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival, it takes place in Edinburgh every August. The Edinburgh Festival Fringe has become a world-leading celebration of arts and culture, surpassed only by the Olympics and the World Cup in terms of global ticketed events. As an event it "has done more to place Edinburgh in the forefront of world cities than anything else" according to its historian and former chairman of the board, Michael Dale.
The Adelaide Fringe, formerly Adelaide Fringe Festival, is the world's second-largest annual arts festival, held in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Between mid-February and mid-March each year, it features more than 7,000 artists from around Australia and the world. Over 1,300 events are staged in hundreds of venues, which include work in a huge variety of performing and visual art forms. The Fringe begins with free opening night celebrations, and other free events occur alongside ticketed events for the duration of the festival.
Uppsala Reggae Festival is the largest reggae festival in Scandinavia. It has been active since 2001, with a number of notable artists performing. It was first held in 2001, but the name was used as early as 1995. Uppsala Reggae Festival attracts attendees of all ages from all over the world. In connection with the 2001 festival, Uppsala was given the epithet "The Reggae Mecca of Scandinavia" by the Swedish National TV4, on the grounds that the festival then was the only festival in Scandinavia specifically dedicated to reggae. The third Uppsala Reggae Festival was awarded that year's cultural award by Swedish National Radio Broadcasting, and the fourth festival featured the largest reggae lineup ever to play in Scandinavia. Starting in 2002, the festival was held in August each year in Uppsala, 70 km north of Stockholm until it relocated in 2012. In 2004, the festival settled down at its current venue, KAP, which is central and in the heart of the city. Both in 2004 and 2005, the festival had about 10,000 attendees. Moreover, in 2007, the festival had the most visitors recorded to date with approximately 24,000 patrons attending the festival.
Richard Demarco CBE is a Scottish artist and promoter of the visual and performing arts.
Gilded Balloon is a producer and promoter of live entertainment events, based in Edinburgh, Scotland, and best known as one of the Big Four venue operators at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe each August.
Bedlam Theatre is a fully operational, 90-seat theatre housed in a former Neogothic church at the foot of George IV Bridge in central Edinburgh. It is owned by the University of Edinburgh, and notable for being the oldest student-run theatre in Britain. During the summer, Bedlam Fringe is run as a separate enterprise, Bedlam being a long-standing Edinburgh Fringe venue.
The National Arts Festival (NAF) is an annual festival of performing arts in Grahamstown, South Africa. It is the largest arts festival on the African continent and one of the largest performing arts festivals in the world by visitor numbers.
The Free Fringe is an organisation that promotes free shows during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest arts festival, every August.
The Free Edinburgh Fringe Festival is a programme of free entry events that takes place at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest arts festival, each August. It is organised by the comedy promoter Laughing Horse, although it includes shows of different genres, and is one of several "free" festivals taking place in the city at that time, most of which incorporate the words free, fringe and/or festival in their title, often leading to confusion.
The Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival is a 14-day annual arts festival held during the month of May in Orlando, Florida. The festival includes theater, music, dance, and art. It was one of the first American Fringe Festivals and has now grown to be the largest and longest-running in the United States. As the oldest US Fringe Festival, they celebrated their 30th year in 2021, a milestone for the Central Florida area .
The Eden Mills Writers' Festival is held annually in the village of Eden Mills, which is approximately 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) east of Guelph, Ontario, Canada. The festival includes readings by poets, authors, and other writers at various outdoor venues throughout the village. The festival occurs on the second Sunday after Labour Day in September. In previous years more than 40 Canadian authors appeared to give readings and interact with audiences, including notable Canadian writers such as Margaret Atwood and P. K. Page. On September 15, 2013, the Festival celebrated its 25th anniversary.
The Billboard Live Music Awards is an annual meeting sponsored by Billboard magazine that honors the top international live entertainment industry artists and professionals. Established in 2004, it has thus been described as "part industry conference, part awards show".
Leeds Festival Fringe is a 7-day grassroots music festival held across several music venues in Leeds in the week prior to Leeds and Reading Festival. It was created in 2010 to showcase local talent before the main festival hits town.
Reading is a town in the English county of Berkshire.
jazzahead! is an annual trade fair and festival for jazz, held in the German city of Bremen.
Fringe World, formerly Fringe World Festival, is an annual multi-arts fringe festival held in Perth, Western Australia during the city's summer festival season of January/February. The annual program of events features artists and acts from a range of styles including circus, cabaret, comedy, music, dance, theatre, film and visual art. Fringe World is held prior to and with a two-week crossover to the Perth International Arts Festival. Fringe World and the Perth Festival are separate organisations and events.
Bob Slayer is an Edinburgh Comedy Award winning comedian and promoter. He has been part of a new economic model for venues at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe which has made the event fairer and more affordable for performers and audiences. Acts that have performed at his venues have won and been nominated for a number of prestigious awards.
The 24:7 Theatre Festival is an annual event in Manchester, United Kingdom, specialising in showcasing new writing talent from across the North West. It was founded in 2004 by David Slack and Amanda Hennessey, and has continued annually since, with patrons including the actors Robert Powell, John Henshaw, David Fleeshman and Sue Jenkins. The festival has also attracted financial backing from Arts Council England, Manchester City Council, Manchester Airport and The Co-Operative.
Assembly is a theatre and comedy promotion company, producer and venue operator. It programmes and promotes entertainment events at venues in Edinburgh, London and Brighton, and is the longest-established of the so-called Big Four promoters at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August. Year-round audience numbers at Assembly events are more than 500,000, and the company's artistic director is William Burdett-Coutts.
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