Kids Fringe Provides Free Shows And Activities For Families

Orlando Fringe, producers of the nation's longest-running, independent Fringe theatre festival, recently announced details for this year's Kids Fringe. During the two weekends of Orlando Fringe, Kids Fringe is offered in and around Orlando Garden Club.

Kids Fringe will occur on both Saturdays and Sundays, May 22, 23, 29, and 30. Both sessions will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day. Activities for the sessions will be centered around the theme "Happy Birthday, Fringezilla!" Fringezilla is the fun-loving dinosaur mascot of Orlando Fringe. Fringezilla first came on the scene in 1994 and has been part of Fringe and a friend of Kids Fringe for many years. The free event will include live performances, workshops, and art activities. Performances will be thirty minutes or less and include plays, music, puppetry, and magic.

New shows coming to Kids Fringe this year are Beautiful Blackbird by Lovely Day Arts, Paul Strickland - Adventure Stories!, and Purple People Storytime with Joyce and Mandy. Beautiful Blackbird is a puppet performance based on Ashley Bryan's classic children's book of the same name. Purple People Storytime teaches kids that "Purple People" are fun people and show how kids can be a "Purple Person." Paul Strickland - Adventure Stories! is an interactive musical with a fun, silly story from award-winning storyteller Paul Strickland.

Returning favorites are Mad Science LIVE! and Mr. Richard and the Pound Hounds. Mad Science LIVE! features cool and exciting experiments that are easy and safe for little ones. Mr. Richard and the Pound Hounds is Orlando's only rock band just for kids and plays fun tunes that will make you want to dance.

One of the newest events at Kids Fringe will be Fringezilla's Scavenger Hunt, where families will find clues and complete activities to earn a rainbow of Fringezilla stickers. Activities in the hunt include art-making, dancing, acting, and exercising.

"I'm so excited to welcome the community and our family of Kids Fringe artists back to Kids Fringe this year," said Education Coordinator Genevieve Bernard. "We've reimagined the festival in a way that everyone can have fun safely. For everyone, COVID has presented challenges, and for us, it has created opportunities to rethink how we do things. Some of these changes have resulted in really positive adaptations of our programs."

Because the pandemic and safety are on the top of everyone's minds, there will be social distancing measures in place and limited capacity performances. Adults and kids over two years old must wear masks at all times.

Free tickets will be required to attend shows at Kids Fringe. Tickets will be distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis, beginning fifteen minutes before each performance outside the Orlando Garden Club.

For more information about Kids Fringe, visit orlandofringe.org/may/kids-fringe.