\n\tThe stage is set for Old Strathcona’s annual theatre extravaganza.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe 42nd iteration of the Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival begins in earnest on Thursday, with 186 indoor shows staging 1,558 performances at 37 venues, 21 outdoor performers, 18 artisan vendors, 17 food vendors and five patio\/beverage tent spaces set to bring the area alive over 11 days. Indoor shows begin Thursday, Aug. 17, at 8 p.m.<\/p>\n
\n\tFor Fringe artistic director Murray Utas, this year’s festival — theme: The Answer Is Fringe, inspired by Duglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy — should be memorable if only because it features the return of many artists who last graced Fringe stages years ago.<\/p>\n
\n\t“I look at that as such a positive sign of health, recovery and community,” Utas told CTV News Edmonton on Wednesday night during a kickoff event at the site. “I think there’s something here that has a spirit that’s kind of hard to describe, but you feel connected. There’s a magic. SOmetimes in theatre, you go to a show then you leave the show, but the Fringe, you don’t leave. You go see a show, you stay, and then there’s an artist you saw and you’re talking to them about the show you just saw. It’s an instant collision between those two wonderful things that allow people to stay around.”<\/p>\n
\n\tThe Fringe site is located in the bosom of Old Strathcona, in the area bounded by 104 Street\/Calgary Trail to the west, Gateway Boulevard\/103 Street to the east, the alley between 82 and 83 Avenues to the south, and 86 Avenue to the north. That said, a number of venues host shows outside the main site.<\/p>\n
\n\tAll tickets are general admission: first come, first served.<\/p>\n