Toronto Fringe Festival

It's that time of year again! Time to take risks with your entertainment and hopefully come up lucky. Yes, it's the Toronto Fringe Festival.

The Fringe is Toronto's largest theatre festival. Always in early July, this year it runs from July 6 to 17 and features over 140 different productions. At $10 a ticket, it's a cheap way to entertain yourself, and you can feel good that your money is supporting the artists - 100% of box office ticket sales goes to the performers. But it still costs money to put on a Festival as large as the Fringe, so be warned - before each and every performance, the stage manager or some other Fringe staffer will waive a watering can or some other pail-like object at you and implore you to donate whatever change is rattling around in your pockets. Should you wish to support the Festival, consider donating a minimum of $5 - that will get you a lovely blue Fringe button that you can then wear proudly all over town. It's also recognized by pail-wielders who will, upon seeing it, move quickly on to the person behind you. If you donate $10 or more, they will provide you with a form to fill out which will result in a tax receipt.

As for the performances, the thing to know about the Fringe is that it's all about creativity. As their website says, this is the festival for anyone with a story to tell. It doesn't have to be a straight up play, and it seems like few this year are. There are musicals, one-person shows, dance pieces, stand-up and fully  improvised performances. To ensure equal opportunity, plays for the Fringe are selected by lottery so sometimes you see things which should have been left in the oven a little longer. But there are also lots of gems, and when pieces go on to be picked up by the bigger theatre companies, it's fun to remember that you saw it at the Fringe.

If you're not convinced that the Fringe is for you, I say try it. Most productions are shorter than standard theatre offerings, with most having a running time of less than an hour, so even if your pick doesn't agree with you, you're not trapped for long. Plus, audiences are generally very supportive, which can sometimes be enough to salvage a performance. And finally, your Fringe ticket will get you special discounts at select merchants.

And the best deal of all this year is the Fringe Club, hosted around Honest Ed's at Bloor and Bathurst. It's the heart of the Fringe and features live music, art installations, talks and late night cabaret - and everything's free. What more could you want?

A few final notes:

• passes (for 5, 9 or 12 at-the-door tickets) are available at discounted rates
• while advance tickets are available (you pay an extra $1), they always reserve 50% of tickets for at-the-door sales
• at-the-door tickets go on sale at the show venue 1 hour prior to show time, cash sales only