The Asheville Fringe Arts Festival is back, returning for its 23rd year to present experimental, unusual, and out-of-the-box art. More than 40 performances, including dance, theater, puppetry, music, and things that defy definition, will take place March 16 – 23, 2025.
Asheville’s arts scene has changed dramatically post-Helene. Several of the beloved venues were lost to the floods, but in the aftermath, our community banded together with renewed strength and solidarity. During the process of recovery, organizers formed new relationships with other arts organizations, and they are more committed than ever to the mission of cultivating strange and wonderful work that lies outside the mainstream.
This year, Fringe is proud to be working again with the Sly Grog Lounge (back after a 4 year hiatus!), as well as the return of Fringe favorites like Fleetwood’s, Story Parlor, The Bebe Theatre, and LEAF Global Arts. Fringe is thrilled to be partnering with Asheville Community Theatre to bring you adventurous, original performances in both of their wonderful downtown spaces.
Fringe is also partnering with legendary local troupe Surreal Sirkus for a night of acrobatic storytelling and trippy performance art, at Asheville’s newest immersive art space Third Room – this will be the biggest and wildest afterparty yet!
Asheville Fringe remains committed to cultivating an inclusive space for creative expression where everyone feels safe and valued. They believe in the power of the arts as an agent of societal change, and they know that diversity of all kinds is crucial in that mission. As a queer-led organization, they will always work to amplify unique and vulnerable voices, while curating experiences that expand the minds and hearts of our audiences.
Asheville Fringe are grateful to have been awarded both the Grassroots Arts Program Grant, and the Hurricane Helene Relief Grant. These funds will allow Fringe to raise the rate of pay for artists working behind the scenes as well as for artists who present free shows. They are also grateful to this year’s major sponsors: Sugar Hollow Solar and EarthStage.
2025 brings back old favorites like Toybox, Edwin Salas, Skysail, and Asheville Contemporary Dance Theatre; while infusing new energy with puppetry artists Shadow Girls Cult from Seattle, as well as two local drag performers: Milo Mawile and Flamy Grant.
The Asheville Fringe Arts Festival offers the best of the unexpected. See the full schedule and buy tickets at AshevilleFringe.org.
Written by the Asheville Fringe Arts Festival.