Harrisburg Fringe Festival
Screenshot of Harrisburg Fringe Festival website
Harrisburg Fringe Festival
Screenshot of Harrisburg Fringe Festival website
Airdate: January 30, 2023
For the first time, The Harrisburg Fringe Festival, that is known by its tagline “Do Something Weird”, is coming to town in July. On The Spark, we learned what a fringe festival is and how art is used, during these events, to break down barriers and limitations.
Chris Gibson, artistic director for the Harrisburg Fringe Festival, Nick Werner, pianist and composer featured in the Harrisburg Fringe Festival, and Reglynn Heywood, multidisciplinary artist featured in the Harrisburg Fringe Festival joined us on The Spark Monday to share their stories and work in the festival.
According to The Harrisburg Fringe Festival website, the event aims to connect artists, venues and audiences by empowering artistic expression in a spirit of community celebration. The festival will include dance, spoken word, theatre, comedy, drag, music, puppetry, painting, and any other forms of artistic expression. Gibson said, all artists that submit their work are invited to be a part of the festival on a first-come, first served basis and their work does not have to be censored, as there will be categories designated for kids and families. All proceeds from this event will go directly to the artists.
“Harrisburg is a community and nobody needs to convince people that Broadway shows are worthwhile. We tend to deify national shows and ignore the fact that here within our own communities, there’s culture and often times it’s overlooked or looked down upon because it’s local and we’re trying to do the exact opposite,” Gibson said. “It’s necessary for people to understand, who live in Harrisburg, that we are a community that includes incredible artists of all disciplines and the Fringe Festival is going to prove that. We want the people who live in Harrisburg to take pride in the fact that they have these artists in their community.”
For more information about the Harrisburg Fringe Festival visit hbgfringe.com.