Featuring more than 7000 artists and 1210 events across 361 venues, the party that brings a city to life will once again challenge and enchant audiences for the 60th anniversary of Adelaide Fringe running from 14 February to 15 March 2020.
Adelaide Fringe Director and CEO Heather Croall said the substantial growth this festival has seen in the last 60 years has solidified its place as the largest arts festival in the Southern Hemisphere. “We can’t wait to flood the city with the joy and mayhem that comes with Adelaide Fringe,” said Ms Croall.
“It’s a time to be entertained and snuggle up under the cultural blanket we throw over Adelaide. The open and inclusive nature that goes to the very heart of Fringe really does mean that everyone can participate and there almost certainly will be something in the program for everyone”
Also announced today is the signature project for 2020, Yabarra: Dreaming in Light – an immersive Aboriginal storytelling experience held at the Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute.
“At Adelaide Fringe we see First Nations participation as vital to the arts, I’m so proud of our organisation’s signature project for 2020, Yabarra: Dreaming in Light, which speaks to this core value,” said Ms Croall. “Thanks to the support of the State Government of South Australia we have also given out $100,000 in grants to support the voices of First Nation artists to present works at the 60th anniversary of Adelaide Fringe.”
Building on the success of the 2019 Yabarra: Gathering of Light, the new iteration is moving indoors to Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Centre where an immersive Dreamtime experience will be created.
This will provide more opportunities for school groups, families and other diverse audiences to experience the project with daily opening hours running from 10am to 10pm. Working in collaboration with Kaurna Senior Custodian Karl Telfer, Yabarra: Dreaming in Light tells the Dreaming story of Tjirbruke, an ancestor of the Kaurna people.
To celebrate the diamond anniversary a range of free and family-friendly events have been planned. The Fringe Walk, located on North Terrace between King William Street and Frome Street, will allow Fringe lovers to take a trip down memory lane with all 32 Adelaide Fringe posters being displayed in large format from 25 January to 15 March.
The Giant Sing Along, located at Lot Fourteen, will provide an opportunity for the young and the young at heart to sing along to 50 different classic hits through one of 32 auto-tuned microphones in a month long mass karaoke session. Giant Sing Along will be open every day of Fringe from 12noon.
The 2020 event will kick off with its dazzling opening night festivities on Friday 14 February, including the Tindo Utpurndee – Sunset Ceremony at Rymill Park, Yabarra: Dreaming in Light opening, Baker Boy at RCC and East End road closures providing the perfect stage for audiences from all over to celebrate the return of Fringe in its 60th year.
This year a variety of Fringe ‘hubs’ will span across suburban and regional Adelaide – from Gawler to Port Noarlunga and Whyalla to Mount Gambier – with more than 60 per cent of Adelaide Fringe venues popping up in regional and suburban areas.
Outdoor hubs Gluttony and The Garden of Unearthly Delights will return to the city’s eastern parklands, while RCC will reappear at The University of Adelaide. Of the 361 venues hosting festival attractions, more than 100 newcomers are joining the festivities including a new hub at the heritage listed Ayers House on North Terrace.
Serving as a permanent reminder of the auspicious year, Adelaide Fringe have produced a limited-edition coffee table book that looks at the event’s history and highlights across the past six decades, the book can be purchased at www.adelaidefringe.com.au.
Adelaide Fringe Chair David Minear said the Fringe is infamous amongst artists and audiences across the globe and considered an incubator for the arts.
“Our city wouldn’t be the same without Adelaide Fringe, it’s an incredible injection of colour into South Australia and really puts the state on the map,” said Mr Minear. “We can all take immense pride in being the second biggest Fringe in the world and the Southern Hemisphere’s biggest arts festival.”
The pop-up Rundle Mall box office is located at outside of Kmart in Rundle Mall and is open daily (except public holidays) from today until 15 March. For more information and to view the full program, visit: www.adelaidefringe.com.au for details.
Image: Yabarra: Dreaming in Light – courtesy of Adelaide Fringe