The Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival returns
once again May 15-28 showcasing roughly 500 uncensored and non-juried
performances at various venues in and around the Loch Haven Park area, just
north of downtown Orlando.

Founded on the concept of offering accessible theatre,
music, dance, and art to all types and ages—with 100% of the box office ticket
sales going directly back to the artists—this 14-day-festival is the longest
running Fringe Festival in the United States, celebrating 22 years as
“Orlando’s most unique cultural experience”.

Besides the performances, which range from quirky to
inspiring to bawdy, Fringe also features a lively outdoor stage, the infamous beer
tent, Visual Fringe, Kids Fringe, and lots of food and art vendors to check out
onsite.

How To Do Fringe

Start out by perusing the calendar to see which performances
match your interest and schedule. Each performing group determines their own
ticket price, but typically tickets range from free – $11 + a $1.25 ticket
surcharge for each ticket purchased online and a $1 ticket surcharge for each
ticket purchased at the Fringe Box Office regardless of payment type. Most
Fringe shows are 60 minutes long. No show exceeds 90 minutes.

I’m excited about the PechaKucha Orlando performances. These
6-minute presentations using 20 slides and only 20 seconds per slide will be
scheduled on four separate nights with different speakers each time. Also, 4 TRUTHS AND A LIE is always one of
Fringe’s most popular shows. Best thing to do is read through all the
descriptions and see which ones float your boat.

You’ll also need to buy a Fringe button, which, once
purchased, is good for the entire festival. A Fringe button is required to
enter any Fringe show within any venue for anyone 13 years and older. The
button costs $9 (cash only) with proceeds going directly to support the
Fringe. Buttons cannot be purchased online; they can only be purchased
at any of the Fringe Box Offices and various Fringe Merchandise Booths located
throughout the Festival.

There is lots of free parking within the Loch Haven Park
facilities plus a limited amount of free street parking around Loch Haven Park
and Ivanhoe Village. Check the Mills 50 area for additional free Fringe
parking. You may also try one of the local parking garages (such as at the Orlando Science Center), which are just a short walk to all of the Loch Haven
facilities.

For more info, read through this great list of Fringe tips
created by Fringe organizers.

 

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