WINNIPEG — The food trucks are parked, the Cube stage is set and a dizzying array of posters advertising shows for the Fringe Festival decorate downtown Winnipeg.
Old Market Square and more than 30 other venues will host shows for the 26th annual Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival starting Wednesday.
The 12-day festival offers crowds a list of options from Grim and Fischer by Wonderheads at the John Hirsh Mainstage at 174 Market Ave. to Taxidemry: The Musical by Connor Wielgosz and Devon Gillingham at Richardson Hall at MTYP, and hundreds of other shows.
“The audience members make their own lists, scheduling performances, planning travel routes between venues and sifting through press materials, reviews and word of mouth to select the plays that will make up their own mini-festival within the larger fringe,” said Steven Schipper, artistic director at the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre.
For tickets, you can go online to www.winnipegfringe.com or visit Fringe Central at 174 Market Ave. There’s also an info tent at Old Market Square (King Street and Bannatyne Avenue). Festival programs – hefty volumes – are available for $7 each.
There’s also a free Kids Fringe from noon to 6 p.m. daily at Old Market Square featuring entertainment on the main outdoor stage plus other hands-on activities. Other kids shows are offered at 211 Bannatyne.
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While the fringe is all about freeform theatre, there are rules fringers take seriously: Latecomers are never admitted to shows, there are no exchanges or refunds on tickets, and video recording and photography are not allowed during the shows. And leave your beeping, glowing smartphone at home or make sure it’s turned off.
Fringe Fest runs from July 17 to 28.
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