The Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival does not get underway for another eight days, but the popular annual event was already generating crowds in Alberta’s capital on Wednesday as tickets went on sale.
By noon on Wednesday, a formidable and eager crowd of Fringe-goers gathered at ATB Westbury Theatre to be the first to nab tickets to performances to the arts festival, which is entering its 42nd year.
At 1:34 p.m., the festival tweeted that it was “floored by the overwhelming response to this year’s” ticket offering and announced its ticketing website and phones were impacted as a result.
“We’re currently recommending checking back later this evening or tomorrow if you still have to purchase your tickets,” the festival tweeted. “Thank you for your understanding.”
Last year’s Fringe returned to a full-fledged version for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020. With 185 shows at 35 different venues this year, the 2023 edition of the festival will be even larger than 2022.
Murray Utas, the Fringe artistic director said he was heartened by how the event has rebounded since the public health crisis first hit.
“Artists are wanting to be able to create again. They want to tell stories again,” he said. “What’s really wonderful and stood out for me, there’s some artists we haven’t seen since 2019 that we are seeing here. That is such a sign of health and recovery … (it’s) awesome news.”
On its website, the Edmonton Fringe festival bills itself as “North America’s largest, longest-running Fringe theatre festival.”
The Fringe festival runs from Aug. 17 to 27.
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