Firing Up for the Fringe Festival

The world's largest arts festival kicks off halfway around the globe this weekend. The Edinburgh Festival Fringe sold over 1.8 million tickets in 2009 to see over 18,000 artists from 60 countries.

This year, several students from the Nanakuli High and Intermediate School Performing Arts Center (NHISPAC) have traveled to Scotland to participate, and you can follow their blog as they document this "once in a lifetime experience." On their first day, they've already visited Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, London Bridge, the Tower Bridge, and Hyde Park.

But "The Fringe" is so big, it has inspired separate festivals in other cities, including over a dozen across the U.S. And in November, Honolulu will be among those hosting "a performing-arts smörgåsbord."

The Oahu Fringe Festival will come to the Chinatown arts district from Nov. 10-12, 2011 at venues including The Arts at Marks Garage, The ARTSmith, Ong King Arts Center, and Laughtrack Theatre. The festival will highlight theater, dance, puppetry, and the spoken word, but likely include film and the visual arts as well.

The event has been in the works for over a year, with a launch event held last September. Now, in addition to soliciting artists, organizers are looking for sponsors and donors. The website includes a "How Do I Fringe?" primer, and an Oahu Fringe Festival Application for artists interested in presenting their work. The deadline for artists to apply (and pay a $25 registration fee) is Aug. 19.

See the official site for details, or become a fan of the Oahu Fringe Festival on Facebook.