Weather was dismal yesterday, but it looks like sunny skies for the 2011 Atlantic Fringe Festival. A preliminary meeting was held Sunday afternoon to help get the Atlantic Fringe Festival, or at least a variation of it, back on its feet.
The Cultural Federation of Nova Scotia was packed as Fringe Festival supporters gathered to decide if and how to get a festival running for the next two years. After the attendees reached a unanimous decision that yes, a Fringe Fest is feasible for September 2011, more hands raised to offer their services.
At least 18 people volunteered themselves to serve as a committee to help get the festival going for September. Although it was determined that the group would need to pare down before things got underway, this impromptu group retired to a board room to get to work.
Having missed the deadlines for some governmental funding, the new committee was already out a few grand. But a few venues came to the rescue and offered their services for free for Fringe use. Several others also offered to be volunteers or find more volunteers for the Festival.
The tone of the meeting was optimistic and proactive; meeting faciliator Kevin Kindred (lawyer and director of the Nova Scotia Rainbow Action Project) was stellar at keeping people on task and moving forward.
Although nothing is set in stone just yet, the overwhelming support shown at Sunday’s meeting can mean nothing but good things for the Fringe.
The group is working on an official statement regarding Sunday’s meeting to be released later today. Watch this space for updates.
This article appears in Apr 14-20, 2011.