In 1982, Edmonton’s Summerfest handed $50,000 to Brian Paisley, then artistic director of Chinook Theatre, so he could put together “A Fringe Theatre Event” in Old Strathcona. That one grant became the Edmonton Fringe, which the festival says was the first Fringe in North America.
The idea came from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland. The first Edmonton edition offered about 200 live performances in five theatre venues, and it came back for a second year in 1983. The Citadel Theatre had already been anchoring Edmonton’s stage scene since 1965.
Why Calgary cares
A Calgary company debuted there that same year. One Yellow Rabbit, the force behind Calgary’s High Performance Rodeo, first performed at the 1982 Edmonton Fringe, and we cover the rest in One Yellow Rabbit Turned Calgary January Into a Rodeo.
Calgary has its own Fringe story too, and The Calgary Fringe Found Its Home in Inglewood tells where it settled. For plays outdoors, there is Wagonstage, bringing plays to Calgary parks since 1971.
The long run
The festival’s timeline lists one cancellation. The 2020 festival, scheduled for 13 to 23 August, was cancelled because of the pandemic, the only cancellation since the Fringe began. In 2021 it marked its 40th year and opened a new stage in McIntyre Park.
The Fringe Theatre timeline has the rest of the story, and those 2020 dates show the festival belongs to August.
Quick answers
The Edmonton Fringe started in 1982, when Chinook Theatre’s artistic director Brian Paisley received $50,000 from Edmonton’s Summerfest to put together A Fringe Theatre Event in Old Strathcona. The festival says it was the first Fringe in North America.
The first Edmonton Fringe offered about 200 live performances in five theatre venues, according to the festival’s own timeline. It was inspired by the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland and returned for a second year in 1983.
One Yellow Rabbit, which now curates Calgary’s High Performance Rodeo, debuted at the 1982 Edmonton Fringe Festival, according to The Canadian Encyclopedia. The company made its permanent home at the EPCOR Centre in Calgary in 1987.
Sources: Fringe Theatre Adventures, timeline; The Canadian Encyclopedia, One Yellow Rabbit.
