'We're back': Winnipeg Fringe Festival returns following COVID hiatus

Posters for the 100+ Fringe Festival shows starting this week are appearing again in the Exchange District. (Source: CTV News)

The Winnipeg Fringe Festival (WFF) is back on after a two-year, pandemic-induced absence, with more than 100 shows playing across 24 venues starting Wednesday.

 

"We're back!" proclaim posters for the festival plastered across Winnipeg's Exchange District. The WFF did not run during the summer of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and only streamed performances on YouTube in 2021.

"We're Back!" Posters for the festival are posted throughout downtown Winnipeg. (Source: CTV News)

 

With no more public health restrictions in place, the popular free stage at Old Market Square is back, along with local vendors and food trucks, and a new Kids Fringe location at Stephen Juba Park.

 

"It'll be so nice to see everyone back on stage!" said performer Pamela Roz, "all of us have just been so looking forward to this for so long!"

 

Roz is a member of the North Kildonan Community Players, who have not actually performed at Fringe since 2018. Their show, Monster Makers, was originally slated for 2020. She describes it as a musical tale about classic horror films, taking place across the 1920s, '30s and '70s. "We're actually sticking with black, white, grey sepia tone for the first two acts, and then by the third act we're into full-blown bright 70s colours," said Roz. Monster Makers has eight performances at the MTC John Hirsch Mainstage, beginning Thursday at 11:00 a.m.

 

What Roz is most looking forward to at Fringe is the beer tent, "that's the meeting ground, right? That's where you have your reunions every year! As of Wednesday, it's all a go."

 

The Winnipeg Fringe Festival runs July 13 – 24, 2022. Show times and ticket information can be found online.