Beginning on Thursday, the city of New Orleans has been hosting its 4th annual Fringe Festival. This Festival attracts avant-garde performers, independent theatre productions, circus acts and its own (unusual) parade. According to the Festival’s site, this 4 day event seeks out the “wild, weird, fresh, and original. Anything can be performed: we let the audiences decide what is excellent, astonishing or brilliantly insane.”

Audiences this year are doing just that! With a litany of shows ranging from comedy, to dance, through puppetry and burlesque, the New Orleans Fringe Festival has certainly got the local arts community talking!

Nola.com indicates that a lot of the shows at this event are far from “family friendly”. However, in a recent article they outline some of the most kids-oriented events, such as the parade, and painting party. In contrast, the more mature audiences will probably prefer what the Gambit has to say about some of the evening’s comedy shows. Some of the more daring productions are scheduled for late in the evening, some not even beginning until around midnight. If you are interested in checking out any of the shows, definitely read the description to see what you’re getting yourself into!

Crowd favorites from this year include the one woman show, “Girls! Girls? Girls.”, and also the comedy “La Concierge Solitaire”. The latter, is a show about a lonely hotel employee who imagines a strange cast of hotel guests to help his day go by faster. Many of this year’s productions touch upon more series themes, like race and sexuality. However they are told in such an artfully abstract way that the audience can find the shows entertaining, and even funny. The Fringe Festival here in the Crescent City helps keep the momentum of New Orleans as a cultural mecca, and attracts national- and international attention!

For ticket information, visit the event’s website!