A nine-day performing arts festival is coming to Calgary this summer

Calling all thespians! A nine-day performing arts festival is coming to Calgary this summer, and according to their website, anything goes.

The Calgary Fringe Theatre Festival will be taking over indoor venues all over downtown and Inglewood from Friday, Aug. 1 to Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025.

This performing arts festival got its start in Calgary in 2006. In 2007, it was organized as a predominantly indoor venue festival with locations in the downtown core, before putting down roots in Inglewood in 2008 with several theatre venues within easy walking distance.

Calgary Fringe Festival

The Calgary Fringe Theatre Festival of today is a dynamic affair that combines live, in-person performances and online digital presentations. Another key characteristic is in the tagline: anything goes.

Fringes are so-named because of their unique format. These open-access theatre festivals bring together emerging and established artists alike, allowing all to tell their stories on stage.

The very first Fringe started in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1947 and has grown into one of the biggest performing arts festivals in the world. While Calgary Fringe is certainly more of a boutique event, they’ve still got all the talent, and you can experience it for yourself this August.

Calgary Fringe Festival

“The Calgary Fringe Theatre Festival, like all Fringes across the globe, is an open-access performing arts Festival. That’s why we call it Anything Goes Theatre – there’s something for everyone. Everything from kids theatre to poetry to puppetry to musicals to improv to comedy, drama … you name it, you can find it at the Calgary Fringe,” says Michele Gallant, executive director and producer.

Regular admission is $20 per ticket, with member pricing available at $15. Select shows are also offered at Pay-What-You-Want pricing. All acts are selected by random draw or first-come, first-served, with no show lasting longer than an hour.

Calgary Fringe Festival

The best part about the Calgary Fringe Festival is that 100 per cent of the net ticket price goes to the performing artist, so it’s a fantastic way to support local talent in the community.

Gallant tells us, “The Calgary Fringe is about supporting the emerging performing artists in the development of their careers and giving them a platform at our annual summer Festival to present their original works onstage. These artists are their own self-producers — in other words, they are their own boss — and we strive to provide them with the entrepreneurial tools they need to succeed through initiatives like Fringe U(niversity) and introducing our next generation of Fringers to the wonderful world of independent theatre. And isn’t that a wonderful thing?”

You can find tickets along with the full Calgary Fringe Theatre Festival lineup online.