Since 2015, the award-winning Scranton Fringe Festival has provided a most welcoming environment for unique performance art. This year marks the 10th anniversary of this wildly popular celebration of theater, dance, comedy, music and so much more. Fringe performances take place at various venues throughout Downtown Scranton.

The Scranton Fringe Festival runs from Thursday, September 26, through Sunday, October 6.

Culture, Creativity and Community

According to Co-Founder and Managing Director, Elizabeth Bohan, “Fringe festivals reflect the face of the arts community in their cities in such a special way.” Artists are encouraged to take advantage of the opportunity to present their work in a supportive space free of content censorship. Scranton Fringe also takes great care to honor the long, storied history of fringe festivals, drawing much of its inspiration from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the largest Fringe event in the world.

A true team effort

“Scranton Fringe pulls together all of these different organizations from schools to local theaters to venues to other nonprofits,” Bohan adds. Local playwrights, choreographers, directors, actors, comedians and musicians all have a hand in the festival’s performances.

For Bohan, the most rewarding aspect of Scranton Fringe is its ability to bring out the best in the local arts community. “The festival gets everyone out of their routines and their silos and shakes up the possibilities in our community for two weeks,” she says. “It’s really fun to see the new connections and ideas that come from this period of various programs every year.”

You’ll find just about everything at Fringe

From film presentations and musical comedies to children’s theater and engaging drama, there are performances for every sensibility. You can even catch immersive audio experiences and thought-provoking visual art exhibits. And when the lights go down, Fringe comes alive. Don’t miss incredible, late-night events like a silent disco and cabaret and improv comedy shows to name just a few.

The festival will also host a visual art exhibit and 10-year retrospective at AFA Gallery.