For fans of new and experimental theater, the Philadelphia Live Arts Festival and Philly Fringe is the event to catch each September. As the Fringe’s reputation spreads, its 16 days of premieres and juried and non-juried works are like old home week, attracting artists from around the world.

Almost 700 dance, theater, visual arts, music and spoken-word presentations are performed in traditional venues, but also on street corners, cars, galleries, cabarets and restaurants. It’s offbeat, daring and avant-garde with lots of artistic cross-pollination.

After the shows, hang around and rub elbows with the performers. Family-friendly shows, and there are many, are specially noted.

History

Influenced by Edinburgh, the granddaddy of all Fringe Festivals, five Philadelphia artists banded together in 1997 to create an outlet for other contemporary and experimental performers to present their works. What began as a five-day event has grown into more than two weeks of high-quality, highly innovative artistic presentations.