$5,000 in 5 Days!
This is it! We’ve got 5 days to raise $5,000!
What a Festival! Our attendance was amazing, the diversity of performances was dazzling, and the artistic energy that buzzed around Granville Island for 11 days and nights was fantastic! And none of our successes would have been possible without donor support.
Martin Dockery tells stories at the Fringe Bar. Photo by Lachlan McAdam.
October 17-21 is the time to show your love for the Fringe: we’re having a 5-day campaign to raise $5,000 in new and increased donations. We’ve got an annual fundraising goal of $70,000 and we’re over three-quarters of the way there! But we need your help to push us towards the finish line.
Your investment pays huge dividends, so if you liked what you saw this year, and want to see even more next year, support us with a donation this week. Monthly support of $5, $10, $20, or more is the best way to help us plan the 2012 season with confidence—all normal Fringe Benefits apply and can be made by either direct deposit or credit card.
You can also make a one-time donation online, by mailing a cheque (payable to “First Vancouver Theatrespace Society”), or by phoning us at 604.257.0350 (ex. 107) for personal service.
Let’s make these next five days something spectacular and make sure the Fringe continues to be the most supportive and vibrant arts festival in Vancouver!
Fringe Boxing Day
Grim and Fischer wander the Fringe Fest. Photo by Wendy McAlpine.
It’s hard to believe the Festival closed a month ago! It is such an exhilarating time to be surrounded by fellow theatre geeks, theatre virgins, theatre artists, and of course theatre itself! 2011 was an exceptional year—I often refer to the Festival as “Fringe-mas.” Twelve days full of theatrical gifts! It was so much fun to unwrap such wonderful surprises like last minute additions Grim and Fischer, fresh new work like Little Orange Man, and seasoned work like Giant Invisible Robot. Like Christmas dinner, I left the Festival satiated but wanting more at the same time. We did grow a little, but unlike holiday pounds, we’re happy we maintained the massive growth we created in 2010 and we’re feeling pretty comfortable with our new pant size thank you very much!
I often get asked if my job is a year round job, which makes me laugh because there is always more work to do than time in which to do it! It’s a hard question to answer because what the small permanent staff team and I do on a year round basis is not at all like what we do during the Festival. In the off-season we evaluate the Festival (living in the past) and plan (living in the future). During the Festival we do (living in the present)! What makes it such a satisfying job is this dynamism. For 11 months a year, the public is unaware of what we’re doing in our Fringe workshop (like Santa’s!) and then all of a sudden (seemingly) we are running a huge Festival of theatrical delights. To be able to arrive (like Santa) once a year is so enormously satisfying—to see the presents (the shows), to get family together (at the Fringe Bar!), and to revel around the fireplace of theatre. So now we head back into the workshop and see what type of mischief we can build for next year.
— David Jordan, Executive Director
Jim Sibley: He’s No Puppet!
Jim Sibley has been a fan of the Fringe for some 10 odd years. A director at UBC’s Centre for Instructional Support (“I teach teachers how to teach,” Jim explains), Jim was attracted to the diversity of entertainment he could only find at the Fringe—especially the shows that give priority to storytelling or puppetry. A favourite of Jim’s was 2009’s Cam and Legs, a tale of a break dancing puppet in search of a head.
Jim Sibley, one of the Fringe's monthy donors, in his UBC staff photo.
Jim has been donating time to the Festival for the past three years as an usher, ticket seller, and on site-crew. It’s the camaraderie he found here that inspired him to give more. “Once you start being involved and getting to know everyone involved, you want to help out,” Jim says. “It’s really important to support things that are happening in your community.” Jim has been a monthly donor since 2009 and he’s recently increased his monthly pledge. Plus, he donated a camera to us so we could take photos whenever we want!
“You’re unlikely to give money to any other group that is as appreciated, and will be as well used, as when you donate to the Fringe,” Jim explains. That, combined with the Fringe’s mandate to provide all artists the opportunity to present their work, is why Jim thinks donating to the Fringe is valuable. “It’s so important that there are these kind of spaces and events,” Jim says.
Thanks Jim!
