It's a big weekend for the arts in the Twin Cities, with both the Uptown and Powderhorn Park Art Fairs, and another big festival expected to draw thousands to local theaters.
There are 142 one-hour shows to choose from at this year's Minnesota Fringe Festival—all chosen by lottery, and featuring professional and amatuer performers from the Twin Cities and from around the country. This includes "Xena and Gabrielle Smash the Patriarchy," which is pictured above.
"You might see a high school group. You might see a professional artist that you would see on the Guthrie stage or a Park Square stage just last week be on a stage at the Fringe Festival," says festival Executive Director Dawn Bentley. "And there are all sorts of genres. There's drama, there's comedy, there's dance, there's clowning - anything that you can imagine will happen at the Fringe Festival. And every act gets at least five performances, which means there are over 730 performances in 14 days."
Bentley says she has a soft spot for artists presenting their very first shows.
"We really take a lot of time and effort and care to usher a first-time producer through their first producing event. There's a lot of workshops that lead up to the Fringe. We have workshops happening during the festival as well about how to tour your show if that's where you're at. And I just really enjoy seeing people have the opportunity to put their work on stage," says Bentley.
Fringe Festival shows are taking place on 13 different stages in the Cedar-Riverside and Northeast neighborhoods of Minneapolis.
Fringefest runs through August 11th. For a complete list of shows and their descriptions, visit minnesotafringe.org.