by Mohamed Tawfik Al-Mansouri

Created on: June 24, 2009

The Ottawa Fringe Festival

Paris Jerusalem , Ottawa, Canada (www.Afnanonline.net) The Fringe Festival brings to the public, a plethora of comic, absurd and experimental theatre. Each year in Ottawa, Canada, the the annual Feringe Festival is celebrated. This year the Festival is held from June 18th until the 28.

What is The Fringe?

A Fringe Festival is a forum that unites artists and audiences in a fun, exploratory environment. The guiding principles of the Fringe include unrestricted artistic expression, accessibility and community development.

The Fringe encourages artists to explore and test boundaries and make bold choices in the creation of art.

The Canadian Fringe Festival model is unique in two respects: it guarantees that the artists, performers and musicians involved receive 100% of ticket revenue and it does not subject the artists' work to jury approval or censor it in any way. Theatre companies are selected by non-judicial means and work within the technical guidelines of the Fringe Festival to produce their own art. Festival patrons enjoy physically and financially accessible arts experiences and the opportunity to engage in meaningful dialogues with artist and fellow Fringe patrons.

Founded in 1997, the Ottawa Fringe Festival has enjoyed consistent growth over the years and now includes 15 venues in the heart of the National Capital. The our licensed outdoor venue on the corner of Daly and Waller - serves as the heart of the Fringe and features nightly musical guests. It's the best place to meet performers, catch the buzz on hot Fringe shows and see previews for other performances.

History

Fringe Festivals trace their roots to Scotland in 1947 when several theatre companies not invited to participate in the first Edinburgh International Festival staged their shows on the fringe of the official venues, setting up wherever they could find space, finding audiences by word of mouth and succeeding or failing on the strength of their talents alone.

The Fringe's mandate is to afford all artists the opportunity to produce their art, regardless of experience, content, form or style; and to make the event as affordable and accessible as possible for the community. The result is a vibrant and exciting artistic environment where the audiences - not juries - decide which are the good shows, the bad shows, the extravagantly awful shows.

Embracing this spirit of artistic freedom, the first North American Fringe Festival

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