About
What is Fringe?
Inspired by the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the New Orleans Fringe Festival is the city's only big tent theater festival. Taking place in Bulbancha (New Orleans), this festival brings together hundreds of avant-garde performers from circus, burlesque, dance, music, spoken word, and more—from family-friendly to late night—drawing thousands of audience members over four days. The festival paused operations in 2014 but is now resuming under new leadership with the blessing and guidance of previous producers and will be back November 12-15, 2026.
Mission Statment
Our mission is to celebrate innovation, artistic freedom, and the fearless spirit of performance that defines our city. We are committed to building a festival reflective of the New Orleans community, inclusive of national and international artists, and showcasing and uplifting one another’s work.
Values
Accountability, Transparency, Adaptability, Originality, Mutual aid, Creativity, and Humor
Board of Directors + Consulting producers
We are guided by an incredible team of local powerhouses. Learn more here.
Julia Leeman at Mini Fringe 2025. Photo credit: Noell Dominick
Special thanks
Goat In The Road Productions: For fiscally sponsoring us while we awaited 501(c)(3) status.
New Marigny Theatre: For hosting us and fostering arts in our community.
MadBomb Media: For helping us document every step of our journey so far in photo and video.
The Mudlark Public Theatre / The New Orleans Giant Puppet Festival: For showing us many of the fringey ropes and welcoming us to film with them.
The Ella Project: For leading us in filing our paperwork to become a 501(c)(3).
Brand Name Nerd: For designing our logo beautifully and quickly.
To all of the people in the organizations above for being supportive mentors, kind collaborations, and great community members. To our ancestors, artists, consulting producers, board members, the past New Orleans Fringe Festival organizers, and so many more who celebrate and collaborate on live storytelling from the fringes.