ACT Fringe Fest axed; Corinbank to Support Canberra Artists and Musicians

If you’re a Canberra local, you may have heard by now about John Hargreaves’ plans to axe the Canberra Fringe Festival. He also plans to redirect the $30,000 of funding to the National Folk Festival to “do something Fringey”. Now, we at lip love the Folkie, but given the nature and accessibility of the two festivals, surely there’s still room (and a community need) for both?

At least we’ll still have Corinbank.

“It was a real shock to hear of the demise of the stand-alone Fringe Festival in the last few days,” says Mark Bradley, Corinbank Artistic Director.
“Fortunately, we still have Corinbank which will continue to help local artists thrive.”

Online music applications are now open and close 14 September 2009, while visual and performance arts applications open shortly.

The festival, now Canberra’s leading alternative arts and music festival, is on again from 26-28 February 2010. Set in the pristine Corin Forest Mountain Resort and just a 45 minute trip from the city, Corinbank showcases some of the best emerging musicians and performing artists in the Canberra region.

“More than 2000 people partied all weekend in 2009 and next year we anticipate even more,” says Mark. “Corinbank is all about community. At the festival, we help weave a rich tapestry of arts and artists, music and musicians, founded on self-expression, self-reliance, community and participation.”

Pre-sales tickets for 2010 will be available from mid-September — but get in quick, as 2009 tickets sales increased by a massive 80% from the first event in 2008, and while organisers have managed to increase capacity by a small amount for next year, they expect to sell out well in advance of the festival this year.

Visit www.corinbank.com for more info

Photo credit: Asher Floyd