State of the Arts Blog

Fringe Festival posts strong opening weekend attendance

The Minnesota Fringe Festival is under way and, in terms of attendance, it had a great opening weekend.

During the first four days  -- Thursday through Sunday -- the Fringe issued 17,700 tickets to 347 performances, compared to 2013’s 17,780 tickets issued to 384 performances.

This is Executive Director Jeff Larson's first year at the head of the organization; he says the fact that this year's numbers are tracking steady with last year's 20th anniversary is exciting.

“Last year, we had more performances during the opening weekend, but we have almost identical ticket sales this year – which means our average house size is larger this year,” Larson said in a written statement from the Fringe.

In 2013, the annual festival issued 50,007 tickets for 176 shows, marking the first time it had surpassed the 50,000 mark.

The Fringe continues through Aug. 10.

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