Reading has had several Fringe Festivals over the years. The first Reading Fringe Festival was started in 2005 in
Reading, Berkshire
Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, England, and the county town of Berkshire. It is the United Kingdom's largest town, with a combined population of 355,596. Most of Reading built-up area, its built-up area lies within the Borough ...
, after a group of several musicians,
producers and
promoters decided to showcase Reading's musical talent in the week running up to the
Reading Festival
The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading, Berkshire, Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend ...
. The concept was to bring the local promoters and
venues
A venue is the location at which an event takes place. It may refer to:
Locations
* Venue (law), the place a case is heard
* Financial trading venue, a place or system where financial transactions can occur
* Music venue, place used for a conce ...
together for one week of gigs promoted by the
fringe
Fringe may refer to:
Arts and music
* "The Fringe", or Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest arts festival
* Adelaide Fringe, the world's second-largest annual arts festival
* Fringe theatre, a name for alternative theatre
* Purple fri ...
committee. Unfortunately, it ran for a few years and decided to not continue the concept.
In 2012, three Reading enthusiasts, with a background in the arts decided to start up a new Reading Fringe Festival. It was started by Thomas Sellwood, a playwright and director, Gemma Wells, a marketeer and Zsuzsi Lindsay, a producer and project manager. The first Reading Fringe Festival under new manager kicked off in 2013, with nine venues, 20 acts over five days. It is now in its seventh year and works with 18 venues, over 100 events and runs over 10 days.
It has won a number of accolades since starting including, Reading Cultural Contribution Award and the Pride of Reading Awards, the Alt Reading Festival of the Year Nominee, Festival of the Year at the Reading Cultural Awards, and they have also been nominated for the Queen's Service Award.
External links
Can you help the Reading Fringe Festival?Reading Fringe Festival 2007BBC - Berkshire - Entertainment - Reading Fringe FestivalRichfield Avenue » 27 - 29 August 2021Reading Fringe Festival
Reading and Leeds Festivals
Music festivals in Berkshire
Rock festivals in England
Fringe festivals in the United Kingdom
Music festivals established in 2005
Theatre festivals in England
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