The first Philadelphia Fringe Festival was presented in 1997 by the organization now known as FringeArts, with the intention of providing opportunities for contemporary performing artists to connect with audiences in an exciting social environment. The first Festival took over Philadelphia’s Old City for five days, and featured 60 performing groups that presented their work in theaters, nightclubs, galleries, alleys, abandoned buildings and at least one parked car.

Today, the annual Philadelphia Fringe Festival features more than 1,000 performances by national, international and Philadelphia-based artists of all disciplines. For 3 weeks, these innovators fill the public and private spaces across the city with nonstop, wild creativity for audiences of more than 40,000.

Included in the festival are hundreds of independently produced performances and events, work presented by partnering Festival Hubs and producers, and a slate of programs curated by FringeArts. In the true spirit of the international “Fringe” movement, there is no limit to the ways that artists and audiences can participate in and experience the festival.