National

Edmonton's Fringe Festival breaks ticket sales record, extends theatre dates

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 25 Aug, 2025 10:21 AM

North America's oldest theatre festival says it has set a record for most tickets sold in its 43-year history.

The Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival says it has broken its all-time box office record set in 2019 and sold 138,500 tickets this summer.

It amounts to $1.47 million for the festival's artists, surpassing the $1.39 million in sales garnered in 2019.

The festival was set to come to an end this weekend, but is extending some shows for another week due to the turnout.

Festival organizers say the milestone confirms that Fringe is an essential part of Edmonton's cultural identity.

Alberta's capital city was the first one in Canada to host the theatre festival in 1982, drawing inspiration from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, which first began in 1947.

Picture Courtesy: HE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - Edmonton Fringe Festival

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

Scientists map recovery for endangered orcas off British Columbia's coast

There is an "urgent need for more robust actions" to save the southern resident killer whales from extinction, says the report released by the David Suzuki Foundation and Raincoast Conservation Foundation on Monday.

Scientists map recovery for endangered orcas off British Columbia's coast

Fire that triggered evacuations and shut Kelowna, B.C., airport brought under control

Police began telling residents to get out on Sunday afternoon and later that night the Regional District of Central Okanagan ordered residents out of homes at seven addresses at risk from the Whelan Creek wildfire.

Fire that triggered evacuations and shut Kelowna, B.C., airport brought under control

All criminal trials in four B.C. courts to be rescheduled during FIFA World Cup

Chief Justice Ron Skolrood says in a notice posted Monday that the tournament is expected to have "very significant impacts" on court operations at the affected Supreme Court locations.

All criminal trials in four B.C. courts to be rescheduled during FIFA World Cup

B.C. boosts tax credit for developers of video games, virtual reality simulators

Premier David Eby said the interactive visual media tax credit will go from 17.5 per cent to 25 per cent starting Sept. 1, which is also when the credit will become permanent to give industry additional certainty.

B.C. boosts tax credit for developers of video games, virtual reality simulators

Is Canada ready for 'new reality' of flash floods?

But he's also worried Canada isn't doing enough to prevent such disasters here, saying the country needs to invest in flood mapping, infrastructure and early warning systems.

Is Canada ready for 'new reality' of flash floods?

Few Canadians are familiar with possible NDP leadership contenders: poll

A majority of respondents to the Research Co. poll said they "don't know who the person is" when asked about possible candidates like current NDP MPs Leah Gazan, Gord Johns, Jenny Kwan and Heather McPherson.