Shaftesbury Fringe is an open access performing arts festival that takes place every summer, on the third weekend of July, in the beautiful hilltop town of Shaftesbury, Dorset. The Fringe is a celebration of all things creative, which means anyone with a story to tell can put on a Fringe event.We welcome both new and established artists to perform and exhibit in one of over 30 unique venues within our town, which have ranged from traditional venues, like our arts theatre, the town churches and various pubs, to a bathtub in a shop window, the rear garden of a dentist, the outside area of our local garden centre, and a florist’s shop floor. There truly is a venue for everyone.We’re “Britain’s Friendliest Fringe”, according to performer feedback over the years!We choose our dates carefully to ensure we form part of the country’s unofficial ‘Fringe circuit’. This enables performers booked into the Edinburgh Fringe to try out their acts in front of audiences at smaller Fringe festivals, such as ours, before heading north of the border. For audiences this means that you have the opportunity to catch some up-and-coming stars before they become famous!Founded in 2016 by Andy Tebbutt-Russell & Samantha, Shaftesbury Fringe is one of the key Fringe festivals in the country.Shaftesbury Fringe is run by a small group of unpaid volunteers, all of whom live in or near the town. The team organise the infrastructure of the Fringe, which includes locating and liaising with the venues, finding sponsors, advertising the event, both physically and on social media, and producing the printed programme – we even have our popular Fringe app, now in its seventh year. We also organise the road closure, toilet facilities on Park Walk, the Fringebury towers which display performers’ posters, put up all the signage in Shaftesbury and neighbouring areas – everything that’s necessary to run the Fringe.
