Welcome Back Jimmy!
We had such a warm response to our man with the banana last year that we decided to bring him back! Created by Zuzia Juszkiewicz, our 2008 designer, the man, whom we call Jimmy, won the hearts of Fringers with his persistence to do things his own way, like talk on a banana phone and sign cheques with a rubber chicken. Zuzia was thrilled to spend time with her little friend and find more intrepid adventures for him like riding to the Fringe in his pedal plane. Along the creative journey there were many other versions where Jimmy rode hobby horses and even did yoga! Welcome back Jimmy!

Freshly Hatched: Meet our new design partner!
Question: what do you get when you cross a free-spirited designer and a clever entrepreneurial idea? No, not another reality show. The answer is Hatch Creative Group, a young but thriving design company run by the autonomous creative director and designer Jena Powell.

“Getting involved with the Fringe Fest was the only way I could work with Jimmy,” Jena says enthusiastically. Helping Jimmy, the Fringe’s cartoon mascot, look his absolute best has become Jena’s main focus. The collaboration between Hatch Creative and the Fringe came about because of a mutual interest in continually striving to create something out of the ordinary, something a little bit different. “Hatch is always evolving. [There are] no specific plans, only to do what feels right at the time,” Jena states.

Jena decided to start her own company when she realized that she enjoys working closely with her clients. “Having a boutique-sized firm allows me to do just that,” Jena explains.

The seven year old company is the Fringe Festival’s design partner this year and you can expect to see Jena’s work in this year’s program guide (available at the end of July) and in advertisements for the Fringe!

Happy Birthday to Us!
We’re having a party and you’re invited! If you’ve been around as long as we have, or almost as long, you will want to know about our 25th Anniversary party on July 16. Maybe you experienced your first night on stage in a Fringe production back in the day. Maybe you served on our Board of Directors, sat on a committee, volunteered for years, or have been a die hard fan forever. Come celebrate your Fringe history with us! We’ll be sharing Fringe stories, reminiscing over photos, and be having lots of Fringe fun!

The party will be held at Performance Works, on Granville Island on July 16. Tickets are $15.00 and include two free drinks. Start time is 8:00pm. There are a limited number of tickets available for this event. Get yours here.

Fringe Flashback
In honour of our 25th birthday, we decided to dig up some old photos to share with you. We’ll include a vintage Fringe photo in every newsletter!

Check out this doozy from the 1994 Fringe called “Pornographic Pentameter.”

BYOV 101
For the uninitiated Fringer, BYOV stands for Bring Your Own Venue. Performers who choose the BYOV option at the Fringe hearken back to the origins of all Fringe Festivals.

The Fringe Festival movement all started when eight uninvited theatre groups showed up at the Edinburgh International Festival in 1947. The next year the playwright and journalist Robert Kemp reported that, “round the fringe of the official Festival drama there seems to be a more private enterprise than before . . . I’m afraid some of us are not going to be often at home during the evenings.” The name stuck and the Festival and its successors have been called “Fringe” ever since.

Fringe performers who choose to BYOV have to find their own performance space and take care of their own technical requirements. In this way they really mirror the original Fringers!

Some BYOV shows are located on Granville Island, while others are scattered around the city. And don’t think they’re all traditional theatres either! You may find yourself watching a show in a church, someone’s basement, or in a tree!

The Vancouver Fringe Festival first instigated BYOVs in 1997, when we were located on Commercial Drive. The first BYOV was performed from a 1978 Volaré in the parking lot of the Cultch.

Having BYOVs accommodates those whose artistic vision goes beyond the scope of traditional theatre. It also helps to fill artists’ desires to be part of the Fringe as well as the audience’s need for variety.

This year we received over 60 applications for BYOVs! Although we’d love to accommodate everybody, we unfortunately have limitations based on administrative and volunteer capabilities as well as the distance from Granville Island. In the end, we will be featuring 22 BYOV shows.

Come September, keep a look out for BYOVs taking place at Arts Umbrella (their first time being part of the Fringe!), in a van, and in a hotel room at the Waldorf on East Hastings amongst many others!

The Whats and Whys of Our Silent Auction

For 25 years the Vancouver International Fringe Festival has successfully fulfilled its mandate to provide Theatre for Everyone. Since the Fringe is unique in its commitment to return 100% of the box-office revenue to the performers, you might be wondering: how do they do it? Well, we’re glad you asked! We count on major fundraising events such as our Opening Night Gala and the fabulous live and silent auctions held that evening. Because we are in the process of soliciting items for our silent auction now, you can get in on the action early. Your contribution could be a dinner out, a bed and breakfast stay, a gourmet basket, an art print, theatre tickets, spa packages, sports adventures, an eco tour, or a unique experience that only your company could provide, like backstage access for instance, or a brewery tour, or . . . well you get the idea! To donate an item, contact Pamela, our Events Coordinator, at events@vancouverfringe.com.

More new staff!
Last month we told you about our new seasonal staff who are planning and prepping for the 2009 Fringe Festival. And now we have additional employees who are taking us one step closer to Fringe Time!

Victoria Haynes – Volunteer Coordinator – Victoria took a year off from school and suddenly volunteers were her life, for the Fringe and a few other local non-profits. If there was more time in the day, she would be off on spontaneous camping adventures with her cat, Nori. Until that happens, barbecuing on the patio will suffice.

Teresa Weir – Volunteer Coordinator – Teresa is an actor, writer, and arts administrator. You may have spotted her working at a number of different festivals here in town. Having performed, written and produced for Fringe tours across Western Canada, she is thrilled to be a part of the Vancouver Fringe team!

Gosia Juszkiewicz – Box Office Manager – Gosia has been a big fan of the Fringe since she first started attending in 2003. She is excited to work with the Fringe team for the second year in a row, to see all of the fantastic theatre, and most of all, to busting moves at the Fringe Bar.

Luc Corbeil – Technical Director – Luc is one of the founding members of the First Vancouver Theatrespace Society and has been the Fringe Festival’s Technical Director for many years. He returns again and again but hopes to be all better soon.

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