WTF?! Are Fringe Festival Leaders Up To: World Fringe Congress 2026

A few weeks ago, I got to be a fly on the wall at the World Fringe Congress, a gathering of fringe festival directors from around the world. Like, WTF?! who gets to do that?! I was one of a few delegates not directly working with a festival.

For those not familiar with the World Fringe Congress, here’s a little background.

In 2012, Holly Payton-Lombardo (founder of World Fringe) had a vision to gather festival directors from around the world for a time of camaraderie and support. Since then, the World Fringe Congress has met every two years to connect and share ideas. This year, the Congress was held during the San Diego International Fringe Festival.

We all had a blast spending the week geeking out about fringe, and we got to see a few good fringe shows as well. While I can’t divulge all the juicy details (what happens at Congress, stays at Congress), I’d love to share a few things every fringe artist should know.   

All Fringe Festivals are Different

After performing at festivals all over the world, I can say without a doubt that each festival is unique. The common thread among fringe festivals is that they strive to uplift artists, provide a platform for new work, and make producing accessible. What makes each festival distinct is that it responds to a need within the community where it exists. Each city has a specific need, and each director brings a unique vision to meet it.

I’ve never been more convinced that, as an artist, you must choose your festivals wisely, because each festival has a different way to fringe.

For example, I didn't realize until hearing directly from the directors just how focused Hollywood Fringe is on supporting local artists. The festival is responding to a uniquely Los Angeles problem: the city is saturated with creatives who spend most of their time working in film and television, and Hollywood Fringe exists to give them a year-round theatrical community and a place to produce live work. Artists from outside LA can absolutely find success there, but the festival isn't built around them. For an out-of-town artist to get the most out of it, they will want to have connections in the community.

Sydney Fringe tells a completely different story. The festival runs throughout September, spread across different pockets of the city, due to some city regulations that I was unfamiliar with. What that means practically is that audience members are often drawn from their immediate neighborhood rather than traveling across the city. Venue location becomes a real strategic decision: a family-friendly show might thrive in one neighborhood while a late-night cabaret finds its people somewhere else entirely. It's a festival where knowing the map matters as much as knowing your show.

It’s truly fascinating to see so many festivals take the same concept of a fringe and interpret it in so many different ways. What rang true across all the delegates is that they deeply care about artists and want to see them flourish.

Right-Sizing A Fringe Festival 

One of the most honest conversations of the week centered on what the Congress dubbed 'right-sizing' a festival.

The delegates from Minnesota Fringe shared that a few years ago, the festival grew to presenting around 170 shows. The impacts diminished the festival experience for everyone: shows were not as well attended, audiences were overwhelmed by the number of choices, and finding and staffing venues became exponentially harder. The festival leaders decided to scale back and keep the festival to around 100 shows over 10 days. This has become the sweet spot, and the festival now feels ‘right-sized’ for the community.

It can be enticing to market a festival to the community with phrases like “this year was our biggest fringe ever!” While bigger sounds impressive, it is not always what is best. In my opinion, when a festival is too big for its community, everyone loses: artists, patrons, venues, and the festival. It was a conversation worth having, and I was glad leaders were entertaining the concept.

Fringe Festivals Are Here to Stay  

The arts are facing some considerable challenges right now, and if I'm honest, we didn't leave the Congress shouting from the rooftop, “fringe is here to stay.” But the passion and dedication of these leaders gave me so much hope.

One of the biggest challenges for festivals is funding (groundbreaking news, I realize). I am from the United States, where the arts are in a funding crisis, largely due to federal-level decisions. It was clear that a decrease in funding is also occurring worldwide. Funding has always been a challenge for the arts, but this season feels more difficult than the recent past.

What gave me hope was hearing this sentiment echoed around the room: artists know how to thrive under pressure and with little resources. It’s a gift artists possess. While funding may be a struggle, it will create an incubator where artists can get creative and produce fantastic work.

This Congress gave me hope. We had leaders who run fringes as volunteers, to leaders with budgets in the millions (and yes, they still have funding issues). And everyone was there to bond, share, and support. That is the spirit of fringe. Fringe is about creating something new. Fringe is about connection. Fringe is about doing something with almost nothing. Fringe is about the creativity alive in the human spirit. The challenges ahead feel real, but artists always find a way to overcome and thrive.