03/15/2026 to 03/22/2026
The 24th Annual Asheville Fringe Arts Festival is set to take place March 15-22, 2026. A performing arts tradition that started in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1947, when eight performing groups were excluded from the mainstream annual arts festival, the Fringe was born because the artists decided to perform anyway, finding inexpensive or free venues on the fringes of the city. The Edinburgh Fringe Festival has since grown into one of the largest arts festivals in the world, eclipsing the original festival exponentially.
Established in 2003 after Susan and Giles Collard of Asheville Contemporary Dance Theatre experienced Fringe festivals in San Francisco and Toronto, they started Asheville’s Fringe in the beloved BeBe Theatre. The Festival is now a multi-day, multi-venue performing arts extravaganza. This year’s venues include the Sly Grog Lounge, The Crow & Quill, The Bebe Theatre, DayTrip, and Asheville Community Theatre.
This annual event and art tradition is a must-see experience that certainly embodies the "Keep Asheville Weird" mantra!