Orlando Fringe Celebrates Its 28th Year

2019 Orlando Fringe released the final results of the Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival today. The festival slogan, "Fringe For All" embodied the increases seen throughout the festival.

Over the fourteen days of the annual festival, Orlando Fringe welcomed 74,948 people, which is an increase of 3.49% from the year before and 6.07% from two years ago. One hundred thirty different producing companies presented eight hundred fifty ticketed performances bringing $446,227.00 in ticket sales, an increase of 3.49% from the prior year. One hundred fifty-seven shows sold out which broke the previous record of one hundred forty-seven that was set the year before.

"We are proud to return over $446,000 to artists this festival," said Orlando Fringe Executive Director Alauna Friskics. "That's over $1.3 million we've returned to artists in the past three years combined. Fringe exists to pave the way for artists to present great art as they bring audiences together to laugh, cry, and connect, and I'm proud that we've succeeded at this again this year."

Orlando Fringe worked hard to spread their message and extend an invitation around the world with the "Fringe For All" campaign. This year artists and patrons traveled from as far away as Australia, Japan, Sweden, The United Kingdom, and Canada to attend. Festival organizers also worked to make the festival more accessible than ever before. For the first time, Orlando Fringe offered ASL Interpreting during a select number of performances which opened the door to many people that were unable to in the past.

"Not only does Fringe have an enormous economic impact, but we strive to make a cultural impact as well," said Fringe Board President Kenny Howard. "We had artists from all over the globe, sharing their stories and their passion. Couple that with the addition of ASL performances and our Fingers of the Future program, combined with the on-going relationship with Quest and the results are inspiring. We do not only see different factions come to entertain; we are seeing a much more diverse audience in every facet of our community that gathers for fourteen days to celebrate the art of theatre."

To help spread the message of the festival to a broader audience, Orlando Fringe put a greater focus on online advertising nationwide and throughout Central Florida as well as building a campaign designed for sharing. "I couldn't be happier with the results of our marketing campaign," said Fringe Marketing Coordinator Brian Sikorski. "Leading up to and during the festival we reached over ten million people online, which was almost a 150% increase over the previous year."

In addition to the positive financial growth, the festival also saw an increase in beverage sales at their festival bars. "With bigger crowds, better food, more exciting shows, and fabulous weather, the vibe at the festival was the happiest I've witnessed in my twenty-two years with Orlando Fringe," said Festival Producer Michael Marinaccio.

"We had great weather throughout the festival," added Friskics. "People wanted to come out, leave their troubles behind them, and take in the Fringe."

Next year's festival will be the 29th year and will take place from May 12-25, 2020. Fringe fans can look forward to the annual event in the fall and the Orlando Fringe Winter Mini-Fest which will be returning for its fourth year in January. Visit orlandofringe.org for news and updates.

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