Description
As part of the Fringe movement that began in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1947 and continues today, Capital Fringe joins a host of counterparts around the world. To, date we have presented three major festivals over a thousand participating artists producing their work to an audience representing over 10,000 households. While the Festival is an annual event, Capital Fringe continues to expand its mission throughout the year by operating the Fringe Training Factory where the performing arts community can lead and participate in workshops, panel discussions and round tables. A new partnership with Sasha Bruce Youth Work has expanded the Fringe Training Factory to include at-risk youth programs with the intention of monitoring and cultivating young artists, voices and leaders that will join and shape the DC performing arts community.
Fringe consists of a creative small three person staff, a passionate 12-member board, ever expanding advisory board, 12 venue owners, 30 plus festival staff, more than 200 artists groups, thousands of individual artists and technicians, hundreds of volunteers, and more than 20,500 audience members. It takes all of these to create DC's July explosion that is the Capital Fringe Festival. The uniqueness, variety, and accessibility of Fringe Festival performances challenge existing arts audiences and attracts non-traditional audiences to the performing arts. By connecting these audiences and artists in a dynamic and exciting way over a relatively short period of time each year, the Fringe encourages the economic growth and social well-being of the city and is a major contributor to the cultural life and character of District of Columbia. Capital Fringe was a proud recipient of the 2007 Mayor's Arts Award for Innovation in the Arts and the 2007 Momentum Award from the Downtown DC BID. We were finalists for the 2009 Mayor's Arts Award in the category Excellence in Service to the Arts.
