The Shaftesbury Fringe

What is Shaftesbury Fringe? Shaftesbury Fringe is an open access performing arts festival that takes place every summer, on the third weekend of July, in the beautiful hilltop town of Shaftesbury, Dorset. Mission Statement Shaftesbury Fringe is a celebration of the Creative for the benefit of the Community. Our team will always be drawn from the community We will always seek to collaborate with Shaftesbury’s stakeholders, supporting local people and local businesses We will always seek to maintain our ethos of the Fringe as a festival of the arts: performing, craft and visual We will always promote open access to all performers, regardless of experience or genre. We welcome both new and established artists to perform and exhibit in one of over 30 unique venues within our town, which have ranged from traditional venues, like our arts theatre, the town churches and various pubs, to a bathtub in a shop window, the rear garden of a dentist, the outside area of our local garden centre, and a florist’s shop floor. There truly is a venue for everyone. We’re “Britain’s Friendliest Fringe”, according to performer feedback over the years! We choose our dates carefully to ensure we form part of the country’s unofficial ‘Fringe circuit’. This enables performers booked into the Edinburgh Fringe to try out their acts in front of audiences at smaller Fringe festivals, such as ours, before heading north of the border. For audiences this means that you have the opportunity to catch some up-and-coming stars before they become famous! Founded in 2016 by Andy Tebbutt-Russell & Samantha, Shaftesbury Fringe is one of the key Fringe festivals in the country.