The earliest Fringe-type drama festival in Calgary was the Plan B Festival, held in 2000 at a variety of locations in both Calgary's downtown and the neighbouring community of Inglewood. The Plan B Festival arose after the 2000 Calgary Fringe Festival was cancelled due to administrative difficulties, and involved many of the same artists that were originally planning on partaking in the aborted Fringe. Calgary Artist/Activist Patricia Anne Duquette, on behalf of Green Fools Physical Theatre Co., coordinated a massive community effort to rescue the festival with the additional aims of setting a precedent for future fundraising efforts. Approximately 5,000 people attended the adhoc presentations and events over the course of five days, establishing an overwhelming show of interest among Calgarians. The first official Fringe festivals in Calgary took place in 2001 and 2002, organized primarily by the Loose Moose Theatre company, and based entirely in the inner-city neighbourhood of Inglewood. These were short, three-day festivals, held the weekend after the Edmonton International Fringe Festival. However, after the completion of the 2002 festival, Loose Moose lost their lease on the Garry Theatre, and were thus unable to produce the Fringe in subsequent years.
Reestablishment
A new license to produce a Fringe in Calgary was secured from the Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals in 2005 by a new team headed by Blair Gallant and Jason Rothery, and a new Fringe was held in the summer of 2006. Many elements have changed from the earlier Fringes, including time, scope and locations. The Fringe is now a full-length 8-day Fringe: 2016 dates are Fri. July 29--Sat. Aug. 6, almost the same time as Saskatoon Fringe, and just before the Aug. 11 start of the Edmonton Fringe. In previous years when they overlapped, a number of shows were performed at both Fringes, either closing in Calgary early or opening in Edmonton late. In addition to the theatrical performances, the 2006 Calgary Fringe included street performances and vendors as well as a film festival, visual arts displays and live music. The 2006 Calgary Fringe was held at a number of venues; the festival elements, film, visual art and music were held on 17th Avenue in the Beltline district, with the theatrical performances split between the nearby Calgary Opera rehearsal hall and the more distant EPCOR Centre for the Performing Arts, located in the downtown.
Present
The festival is currently held in the Inglewood neighbourhood of Calgary. Michele Gallant is the festival Director and Producer. Compared to other fringe festivals, the Calgary Fringe is classified as a smaller festival, averaging about 30 shows a year.
Tickets
Audiences must make a one-time purchase of a Fringe Button to gain admittance to all festival events, including shows. Tickets to individual shows can then be purchased on the festival website. To gain entrance to a show, audiences must have a button for the festival and a ticket for the event. Artists receive 100% of the ticket price, minus fees.
Festival Events
Lottery Draw
The artist draw for the Calgary Fringe happens at the beginning of December. The 2019 draw was held December 5th, at Village Brewery. It was hosted by Calgary improv group, The Kinkonauts. The event was also live-streamed on Facebook.
Venues
There are two kinds of venues in the Calgary Fringe: Lottery and BYOV. Lottery venues are run by the festival and are assigned to artists drawn in the festival lottery. BYOV venues are run by artists who were not drawn in the lottery and are therefore arranging their own venue. BYOV venues that are outside the festival neighbourhood of Inglewood are sometimes also referred to as "satellite" venues.
Lottery Venues
2018
* Lantern Church, Festival Hall, The Artpoint Gallery, Alexandra Centre
BYOV Venues
2018
* Gravity Espresso & Wine Bar, Inglewood Fine Arts Gallery, Lolita’s Lounge, Lunchbox Theatre
Awards
The Calgary Fringe Festival awards the following each year:
Best of Fest Venue Series
One show per lottery venue is selected for this award. Selected shows are given an extra performance on the last Saturday of the festival. This award is determined by a special festival committee and patron feedback.
