Orlando Fringe Celebrates a Very Happy and Highly Successful 35th Anniversary Year!

- Michelle Snow

Orlando Fringe

Orlando Fringe proudly celebrated the Fringe-tastic return of The Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival “35 Years Weird” presented by City Beverages, which was held May 12-25, 2026.

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This year, over 1,700 artists representing four countries and 15 states traveled to Orlando from around the world to perform at one of the many venues in Loch Haven Park.

Orlando Fringe hosted over 1,000 ticketed shows spanning every genre imaginable, such as theatre, dance, storytelling, musicals, comedy and much more. Vibes were extra high as Fringe35 had 116 sold out shows, starting with early sellouts, and the sellouts continued throughout the festival.

The 2026 14-day immersive cultural experience attracted tens of thousands of attendees, selling 43,901 tickets and paying out over $500,000 to artists.

Visual Fringe paid out over $20,000 to gallery and market artists, while over 200 kids participated and performed in Kids Fringe and nearly 200 volunteers supported the entire festival.

Orlando Fringe is founded on being: 100% uncensored, 100% unjuried, 100% accessible, 100% inclusive and 100% of all tickets go directly back to the artists.

This year also featured a more lively, activated lawn with a wide variety of popular new Fringe experiences, entertainment, activities and events attracting larger audiences, like the outdoor market Fr!ngeMart, first-ever Eco-Fringe Expo and new fun-filled themed nights.

Special collaborations, storytelling events and nostalgic 35th anniversary experiences during the festival made this year’s Orlando Fringe Festival extra memorable and applauded.

Centralized in Loch Haven Park, the festival featured five venues and Visual Fringe HQ at the John & Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center, four venues at Orlando Family Stage and Kids Fringe at the Orlando Garden Club.

BYOV’s (“Bring Your Own Venues”) this year included Renaissance Theatre Company, The Starlite Room @ Savoy, B-side at Ten10 Brewing Co. and a new location Ivanhoe 1915, along with various site-specific venues chosen by artists. Free festival highlights included the Outdoor Stage music and entertainment festival on the lively Fringe Lawn, the Visual Fringe art gallery, Kids Fringe on the weekends, plus Fringe& panel conversations, allowing audiences to choose their own Fringe adventure.

The Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival will return in 2027, and as soon as we have dates, we’ll let you know!

For more information on Orlando Fringe, visit OrlandoFringe.org.

Did you Fringe this year? If so, let us know your favorite memories in your comments!

About Michelle Snow

Michelle is the owner and editor of CitySurfing Orlando. She also owns Zengrrl.com, is a freelance writer specializing in travel and entertainment, has authored/co-authored four guidebooks on Orlando and Florida, and was head editor/writer at TheDisneyBlog.com for 10 years. She's lived in Orlando near Walt Disney World since 1995, and still finds there's so much fun to be had in Central Florida.
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