WHAT A YEAR...
Hello everyone, thank you for being a part of theatre in Baltimore. The festival finished its sixth year of fringe performances, and now we must set our sights on next year's events. But first we would like to take a moment to thank everyone for their support in helping our organization arrive at our mission of providing a platform for artists to reach new audiences with their work. You can check out some highlights from the festival in our gallery.
Charm City Fringe needs support from patrons of the arts in order to keep running smoothly. Artists keep 80-100% of the ticket sales, so we need generous donations from you in order to keep the Fringe alive. Your generosity comes at an opportune time, as we have plenty to offer in terms of quality fringe theatre in Baltimore. As we work to improve venues and contact artists for next year’s festival, your generosity of gifts of any size ($5-$5,000!) keeps this organization alive. We hope you will consider making a donation to Charm City Fringe.
HATS OFF TO OUR NEW NEIGHBORHOOD
This year’s festival was our biggest Fringe to date. Now, normally out of all the artists who plan to appear at the Fringe, five to eight of them have a complication come up and can’t perform. However, this year the Fringe hosted 23 out of 25 artists. This HUGE offering of talent was unprecedented and our biggest festival to date. With 10 of the artist groups being from Maryland, 12 from around the country, and one artist group being our first international guests from Canada, the sheer diversity of the performers running all 96 performances is something that we are glad you had a chance to experience. New this year, we were even able to subsidize hotel rooms at La Quinta Inn & Suites Downtown Baltimore (a total of $1,650 subsidized this year) for 7 of the traveling Fringe companies to stay comfortably and within walking distance of the festival.
Charm City Fringe Festival enjoyed lighting up the Bromo Arts District this year, and we would like to take a moment to say how thankful we are to the people who helped welcome us in our new neighborhood. The Bromo Arts District put up directional signage to make it easy to navigate to our 4 walkable venues in the neighborhood as well as being a gracious host. Downtown Partnership was especially helpful in welcoming the Fringe and its guests with our very own Star Walk of celebrities associated with Baltimore, hosting the Pop-Up Park, and helping us get the funds together to make improvements to the 322 N. Howard Street venue. All of our partners were incredibly generous this year.
STAY INVOLVED THROUGHOUT THE YEAR
In addition to the main festival, Charm City Fringe also hosts a variety of other events, ranging from entertainment to community support programs. This year, there were 11 Fringe After Dark events that showcased the talents of over 50 artists. It is also worth noting that Charm City Fringe hosted the first ever Family Fringe Day, a partnership with the Choice Program in an endeavor to focus on youth empowerment through creative self-expression. Family Fringe Day was packed with performances and gallery experiences designed by children and young adults for the local community to enjoy. In addition to celebrating creativity as a means of self-expression, panels of teens in Baltimore shared their stories with us all.
If you didn’t make it out to the festival for whatever reason, or if you simply can’t get enough of fringe theatre in Baltimore, then you are going to love hearing about the events we’re already planning for 2018. But don’t take your 2018 calendar out of its clear, plastic wrapping just yet. We’ll be sure to let you know when we have exact dates for these events happening throughout the year:
- Nights of the Fringe: Last year over 200 people had a rare opportunity to see this modern take on vaudeville with aerial acrobats, monologues, puppetry, and more. Our Fourth installment of Nights of the Fringe will be in the same format, so be sure to check it out!
- Pop-up Fringe: These free events are a way for audiences to preview the artists that will be performing at the Fringe in the fall. Last year, we had our first Pop-up Fringe at Mount Vernon Marketplace. We will be sure to remind you about it when it is time to see what types of artists will appear in the Fringe in 2018!
Keep a look-out for fun, new things coming to your inbox. If you like to hear the inside-scoop from artists about their unique craft, then get ready for a treat. This year we are treating our loyal fans to exciting interviews with Fringe award winners and more! You can also like us on Facebook or follow us on Instagram for the latest news from Fringe.
KEEPING THE FRINGE ALIVE IN BALTIMORE
Did you know that Charm City Fringe is a volunteer run organization? Everyone involved in planning and operating the festival each year does it for the love of fringe theatre in Baltimore. Volunteering is one of the best ways to show your support for the arts, theatre and your city. In 2017, CCF had 33 volunteers committed to putting on a memorable show. That’s 295 volunteer hours over 11 days of the festival, which helped artists get everything prepared and patrons ready to experience one-of-a-kind performances. The Charm City Fringe staff are already hard at work planning next year’s Fringe Festival. It is through volunteer support and generous donations that this unique theatre experience in Baltimore is possible.
Thank you for being a part of our Fringe family. We look forward to providing a great experience for everyone involved. Until next time, we’ll see you on the fringe!