It starts

I declare these games of the 15th Minnesota Fringe Festival open.

Release the doves.

Out of Towner’s Showcase

Videos from the Out of Towner’s Showcase have just been uploaded to the Fringe YouTube Channel. You can also view them all in a playlist. Some of the videos are still processing, but they should all be viewable shortly!

Daily Fringe #1: Fringestrology




On your marks, get set... Fringe '08 kicks off today at 5:30 p.m. at all our venues. Except—of course—Bryant Lake Bowl, who in classic Jan Brady fashion expresses her individuality by showing up at 6 p.m. wearing a stylish black wig. But you know what, you go, BLB! Wave your freak flag highly! Do you have your schedule? Online or in yesterday's edition of the City Pages, it couldn't be easier. Do you have directions to the venues? Do you have your economical and super-convenient tickets, Ultra Pass, a 10-show or 5-show punch card? Were you Cyber L33T and got tickets and reservations at UptownTix? No? N00b. Or do you have cash, checks or credit cards to buy tickets? Do you have your absolutely necessary Fringe 2008 button, which not only gets you into the Fringe but gives you great discounts throughout the year? Do you know how to get to Fringe Central at Bedlam where "The Fringe Meets to Binge and Eat"?* Do you have a good excuse to call in sick to work tomorrow? Then you're set! Go, go, GO! Your pals, Bill and Matt *Ask about our "Robin Shakes Her Head And Insists We Come Up With A New Motto" contest!
Fringe Central at Bedlam Saturday 8/2 @ Noon-3 p.m.: Kids' Fringe ice cream social Saturday 8/2 @ 10 p.m.: Opening weekend party—our very own quinceañera! Monday 8/4 @ 7 and 10 p.m.: 48 Hour Film Project special screening: The Best of Minneapolis 2008 $3 Summit pints during Bedlam Social happy hour (4-7 p.m. and 11 p.m.-2 a.m.) with six yummy Summits on tap and food service 'til close Get the complete schedule       Weather Thursday: Severe thunderfringe (which is a joke we used a few years ago, but we're recycling it because there're storms and the synapses aren't firing very fast because Matt et al. had to get up at 5 o'clock because Fringe was on Fox 9—did you see it?). Otherwise hot. High: 85°. Low: 66°. Friday: Mostly sunny with clouds approaching after dark. Because clouds have a flair for drama. High: 89°. Low: 67°. Saturday: Slight chance of t'storms at night. High: 92°. Low: 72°.	Fringe in the news Minnesota Public Radio: Minnesota Fringe turns 15, which you can read or listen to! MinnPost.com went nuts yesterday! So much love! Ed Huyck: Fringe benefits: 15 years of live theater on the edge Camille LeFevre: So very Fringe: hidden gems in 30-plus dance offerings Christy DeSmith: How to get a Jeune Lune fix at the Fringe For the latest updates, visit the Fringe staff blog, updated multiple times throughout the day.   Fringestrology Our favorite New Jersey-based attorney/astrologer/actor/food columnist (seriously), Kathy Biehl, graciously provided us with Fringe 2008's astrological forecast. Thanks, Kathy! Fasten your astro-belts: The 2008 Minnesota Fringe Festival will blast out of the norm—well, its norm, anyway—and into unprecedented spectacle and visibility. Because of its run dates, Fringe always takes place under the fun-loving sign of Leo, which has a flair for the dramatic, not to mention a penchant for going over the top, on stage and off. Those qualities are about to get amplified a hundredfold. And then some. This year's Fringe is an eclipse baby, born on the eve of a powerhouse solar eclipse (and a total one, at that) and taking its bows while a lunar eclipse is waiting in the wings. "Memorable" hardly begins to describe the personality that's about to be unleashed. This festival will come roaring into existence, a veritable drama queen that doesn't merely enjoy attention, but radiates something that demands it. There'll be inspired creativity, moments of transcendence, lots of laughter, acts of spectacular generosity, more than occasional indulgence, scads of gossip and shadings of the truth and endless, endless chatter. The talk will not stop when the final curtain falls. Continued talk, fine-tuning and structuring, both artistic and financial, are all over the chart for the Fringe's end time. The cover's about to be blown. The festival is stepping out of the, uh, fringes and into widespread notice. This is one for the history books, a milestone year that creates a lasting line of demarcation between the way things were and the grander version that is about to take shape and become lionized. If it sounds like the Fringe is about to be discovered by the big boys, well, it's possible. Some aspect of this festival will certainly live on after August 10, perhaps a show that goes on to great prominence elsewhere and focuses a spotlight on its spawning ground. Or maybe this Fringe will just be one big long self-indulgent, media-hogging extravaganza. Regardless, whatever happens this year will have a greater than usual effect on next year's Fringe. Some of the impact will surface next February, courtesy of another lunar eclipse, with more to come next August, too—just in time for the 2009 Fringe. What a coincidence! Not.
P.S. Here's your Easter Egg for the day. Peppermint kisses!