The show must go on?
The Atlantic Fringe Festival is looking for your help to fund this year's festivities.
An IndieGoGo campaign, launched this morning by festival director Thom Fitzgerald is looking to make up for the funds slashed by Halifax council.
The scrappy theatre festival urges supporters to dig deep into their pockets to keep the festival–now in its 25th year–afloat.
"Look, we've been Fringing for a quarter century and this is no time to stop! People love the Fringe. The Fringe Festival is one of the most exciting events in Halifax each year. When faced with a sudden cut in funding, we knew the show must go on. And we knew we could ask for help. Fringe is a very beloved institution and we know Halifax loves the Fringe as much as Fringe loves Halifax."
The festival is seeking the public's help in raising $6,000 to accommodate for the 40 percent cut to their grant. Over the last eight hours, they've already raised over $1,100.
The drop in Fringe funding was enacted during this discussion on special event grants at Halifax council’s June 16 meeting.
Last year Fringe was awarded $14,500. This year, they requested $20,000 but were given a recommended amount of $8,750.
You’ll notice in the chart on page three of this report that Fringe’s application for $8,750 was scored at 59 points out of 100 by HRM staff. The national CheerExpo back in March, for comparison, had a lower score of 52 but actually received an increase in the proposed event grant (from $21,750 to $30,000) “to be competitive with other jurisdictions seeking to attract the event.”
Which is to say, maybe Thom Fitzgerald should threaten to hold 2016’s Fringe Festival in Moncton.
