Orlando’s Fringe Festival just celebrated 27 years as our city’s “most unique cultural experience.” Festival organizers bill it as a 14-day arts festival founded on being 100 percent uncensored, accessible, inclusive and unjuried. Plus, all money made from the festival is given back to the artists.

Okayyyyyy Orlando Fringe Fest, you have our attention.

WHAT’S THE FRINGE ALL ABOUT?
The idea behind fringe festivals is to provide a venue for all independent artists to make and present their art to a broad audience. Where’d the idea come from? In 1947 in Scotland,  a group of performing artists who weren’t invited to the Edinburgh International Festival decided to put on their own show instead. They performed outside of the established fest – on the fringe to be exact. So the “Fringe philosophy” is all about providing a judgement-free zone where all oddities and idiocracies are fostered and further encouraged.

HOW’D IT COME TO ORLANDO?
In 1991, Terry Olson, who heads up our Orange County Arts and Cultural Affairs department, started the Orlando Fringe Festival with two other people. While it was originally staged in Downtown Orlando storefronts, it eventually made its way to Loch Haven Park and has stayed there to this day.

WHY SHOULD I GO?
This year’s event starts on Monday, May 15 and runs through Monday, May 28. The shows are typically anywhere from 30 to 120 minutes long and are performed mostly at Loch Haven Park but also in surrounding neighborhoods.

The Orlando Sentinel put together this awesome tribute to the Fringe a couple years ago on its 25th anniversary. Broadway World said the Fringe is like taking a Disney ride you’ll never forget. (Like more unforgettable than the “It’s a Small World” theme song?!)

HOW CAN I GET INVOLVED?
Also, if you really want to help out with the Fringe, we heard they’re still looking for volunteers. Send ‘em a message on Instagram or here.

Lastly, if you’re planning on fringing, then this page is for you. And if you’re better at listening than reading, this podcast tells you how to Fringe like a pro.

If you’re fringing it, we want to know about it. Tag #pulptown in your best Fringe photos or shoot us an email at hello@pulp.town. We’ll be over here (im)patiently waiting.

You know how we do it. Every Monday we update our May Pulptown Spotify playlist and today’s updates are (fire emoji). Put the buds in, not all lyrics are SFW but hey, we tried! 🤷🏼‍♀️

“It overwhelms you.” Senator Bill Nelson visited Pulse this weekend to see the nightclub’s new memorial for the victims of the shooting. Nelson said the monument reminded him of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and that it made him want to continue pushing for gun control. (Orlando Sentinel)

A little too lit. The Maleficent dragon parade float at Disney caught fire Friday and the video went super viral. No one was hurt, but the incident did lead to a bit of meme magic aimed at the Magic Kingdom. (Teen Vogue)

Parking wars. We love East End Market as much as the next gal, but some residents near the popular food hall are fed up with the street parking sitch and have posted no parking signs in their yards. Street parking is technically fair game in the neighborhood, so you can park if you wanna, but perhaps parking elsewhere would be a more neighborly thing to do. (The Daily City)  

Put to rest. FSU is getting rid of a statue of Francis Eppes, a plantation owner who donated land for the school and who owned dozens of slaves. Orlando’s Greenwood Cemetery has offered to place the statue on its grounds near Eppes’s grave, just a short walk from the confederate statue that used to stand near Lake Eola. (Bungalower)

She’s no Yogi. State wildlife officials captured and killed a bear in Longwood on Friday that had killed dogs, totaled an SUV, and was a suspect in a garage break-in. The bear was euthanized because she posed a danger to humans, but the officials did release one of her cubs into the Ocala National Forest. (WFTV)

LISTEN…

If you’re not already following this Instagram account, you’ve been missing out. These beauties are majestic AF.

Enjoy!

– Pulptown