Interview: Caleb Corkery of LANCASTER FRINGE FEST at

The arts are thriving in downtown Lancaster! Among many upcoming events is the city’s first-ever Fringe Fest, organized by local theatre aficionados Caleb Corkery and Frith Rooney. The festival will take place over the weekend of May 21-24 this year, and it is not one to miss!

BWW: So, what is Fringe Fest?

Corkery: Fringe started in 1947 in Edinburgh, Scotland.  It was two years after the war, and they wanted to bring normalcy back to the culture. This was a signal that things were back to normal. So, they sponsored a high-profile arts event and brought Europe together in Edinburgh to represent that normalcy and that return. Meanwhile, there was a thriving working class arts community in Edinburgh and around that community that were feeling a little left out, and they decided to make a festival all through the town around the official festival, and they called it a Fringe. 

If there’s one thing we can all agree on, it’s wanting a return to normalcy. Corkery and Rooney have sought out to achieve just that by bringing together over 40 of Lancaster’s artists and 20 local businesses. Attendees can expect a wide range of art forms, from theatre, to music, to dance, to writing, and much more. As Corkery shared, “The arts are often limited to the more elite. This is very much a grassroots - for everyone - affair.” 

For those interested in participating in the event and meeting the creative minds behind it, there will be a fundraiser this Thursday, February 12th at West Art, starting at 6:30pm with various performers. On that same night, the Fringe Fest team will be launching their website, where community members can sign up to volunteer at the festival. 

Corkery: We are always eager for anyone to get involved because we just love the community, with what the community can bring, and how the community would like to get involved and shape this event. So, not only are we interested in it, we are that. That’s who we are.

2026 Theater Fans' Choice Awards - Live Stats

Best Orchestrations - Top 3

1. Anders Eljas, Brian Usifer - Chess

22.3% of votes

2. Ethan Popp, The Rescues - The Lost Boys

20.3% of votes

3. William David Brohn - Ragtime

11.8% of votes

Vote Now! View Live Stats