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Fringe Festival lineup announced on World Fringe Day

Alex Crichton

July 11th is World Fringe Day, celebrating the birth of the fringe festival in Edinburgh, Scotland 70 years ago and the over 200 festivals of its kind worldwide today.

Organizers of the KeyBank Rochester Fringe Festival took the opportunity on this day to announce the lineup for the sixth annual event here, September 14th to the 23rd.

Producer Erica Fee says it has something for everyone, and it appeals to everyone from the young, to the young at heart.

"Everything from theater to comedy, music and dance.  Most shows are about an hour in length, so people can sample more than one show in an evening.  We think it's really ten days that Rochesterians should not stay at home," she said.

Regional director with Empire State Development, Vinnie Esposito, says the I Love New York campaign continues to raise the ante on state support for this event every year.

Producer Erica Fee

"The Fringe Festival has not only become such a great part of the fabric of Rochester and the arts community but it's also doing a lot to expand arts and expose people in this community to arts that they may not otherwise be part of it. And that's one of the main reasons the state likes to support it and one of the main reasons we're proud to continue to do so," he said.

Fee says there are plenty of new things at this year's event.

"(There's a) new circus show in the Spiegle tent. We have the incredible Plasticiens Volants, which will be performing at Parcel 5 on Sept 15th and 16th. They focus on huge, giant inflatables.  They've performed at the Rio and Sochi Olympics.  We have John Mulaney headlining at the Eastman Theatre.  We even have an inflatable igloo that will be resting in the Spiegle garden across from the Eastman Theatre for 10 days," she said.

Fee adds the plan was always to create a sustainable performing arts festival for the Rochester community and she thinks they've done just that.

There's more information at rochesterfringe.com.

Members of the TRU Art Dance Factory will take part in the Fringe Street Beat on Gibbs Street