Carolina Theatre Launches Inaugural Durham FRINGE Festival Across Downtown Durham

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More than 50 Durham-based artists will transform over 20 venues during the 10-day festival, October 30 – November 8

DURHAM, N.C. — September 15, 2026 — Durham FRINGE Festival is not a typical Fringe festival where art on the fringes finds its light predominantly on its own accord. This inaugural festival reimagines what a Fringe, and community, can be: a citywide celebration of artistic experimentation, a meaningful investment in Durham-based independent artists, and an invitation for audiences to experience downtown Durham in compelling and unexpected ways. Created and presented by the Carolina Theatre of Durham as a core component of its Centennial programming, it is set to become one of Durham’s signature performing arts festivals.

Although the Carolina Theatre is presenting the Durham FRINGE Festival, none of its performances or installations will take place inside the theater itself. Instead, the festival will transform more than 20 venues across downtown Durham, presenting the work of more than 50 artists over ten days, October 30 through November 8, 2026, following a special Opening Night celebration on October 29.

Durham FRINGE Festival offers a holistic approach to artist-led production. Traditionally, Fringe festivals provide artists with a venue, date, and time, leaving them largely responsible for managing the logistical, financial, technical, and promotional demands of producing their work. Durham FRINGE is building a different model, designed to give locally based artists the resources they need to bring experimental ideas to life. Depending on their project needs, participating artists receive administrative and logistical support, financial investment, technical assistance, marketing, and ticketing services while retaining the creative agency and entrepreneurial spirit at the heart of the Fringe tradition.

“Economic development is an important part of the Carolina Theatre’s mission,” says Carolina Theatre President and CEO Randy McKay. “By promoting Durham FRINGE beyond the Triangle and North Carolina, we are inviting new audiences to experience the work of Durham-based artists while also supporting the city’s hotels, restaurants, bars, and retailers. This new signature festival will strengthen Durham’s arts community and contribute to the economic vitality of the city by placing the festival in small businesses and local venues throughout the downtown.” Prior to Durham FRINGE, McKay has created major festivals in multiple cities.

Durham-based producer Myra Weise, founder and director of Proxemic Media, has played an integral role in planning the festival. Drawing on nearly 20 years of production experience, Weise is coordinating a complex network of artists, venues, technical production partners, and community stakeholders while shaping a cohesive and welcoming audience experience.

“We have been working diligently to bring this festival to life, not only for its inaugural year, but in a way that will allow it to grow and thrive for years to come,” says Weise. “Durham’s independent artists don’t need another opportunity to simply self-produce their work. They need opportunities that provide administrative, financial, and logistical support. It is an extraordinary honor to help guide this vision to fruition.”

At once an arts festival, an artist development initiative, and a celebration of place, Durham FRINGE Festival will connect artists, audiences, businesses, and neighborhoods through work that is inventive, accessible, and distinctly Durham.

The inaugural festival is supported by the Centennial Capital Campaign, Durham Next’s Impact Fund, the City of Durham, Measurement, Inc., Duke Community Affairs and Duke Arts, Virge Yoga, Durham Merchants Association Charitable Foundation, Downtown Durham, Inc., CT Wilson Construction, and Agile Ticketing Solutions.

Additionally, Centennial sponsors providing support for all Centennial programming include NC Arts Council, F.M. Kirby Foundation, Fox Family Foundation, and Forest at Duke.

The 2026 lineup reflects the range and vitality of Durham’s artistic community, bringing together more than 50 artists working across dance, theater, music, comedy, visual art, literary art, and interdisciplinary performance.

A sampling of festival performances and installations include:

Anna Schroeder Smashable Poems Smashable Poems is an interactive performance where audiences smash handmade ceramic objects to reveal poems hidden inside, exploring fragility, release, and the joy of letting go.

Anthony Otto Nelson Jr. IKIGAI IKIGAI is a live mixed-media performance blending traditional Japanese Shodo Calligraphy painting and dance movement.

Brooks Emanuel liminal animal (blip) liminal animal (blip) combines movement, projection, and a natural sound score composed of the artist’s field recordings in an immersive meditation on humans’ existence as biological beings, our short time on this planet, and our place in the natural world.

Candy Carver Find Your Glimmer Find Your Glimmer is an upcycle, multimedia, black light activated, art installation that conveys neon filled moments of positivity that envelops its viewers.

Christopher Vitiello The Language is Asleep The Language Is Asleep” is an interactive performance installation by Chris Vitiello (Durham Poet Laureate/Poetry Fox) that creates a dream space for language to rest, recover, and rejuvenate after hostile, divisive politics has exhausted it.

D’Vorah Dance Arts B-SIDE B-SIDE is an intimate, interactive dance work set at a 1990s sleepover, where audiences choose the music and help shape a journey through adolescence, identity, friendship, and finding one’s voice.

Greg Palmer / Beaver Lodge Local 1504 Everything Is Coming Up Beaver Staged by the Beaver Lodge Local 1504, Everything Is Coming Up Beaver is an adults-only variety show that features furlesque, song and prance, and comedy that will make you laugh your tail off.

Katie Rebich Chip Chip Hooray! A vulnerable, hilarious solo clown journey where potato chips, big feelings, and life’s tiny moments collide. Content warning: Contains themes of eating disorders, grief, death, and trauma. Recommended for mature audiences.

Matt Sandbank’s Shadow Factory Still Life and Other Stories Still Life is a collection of short, absurdly-comic shadow puppetry vignettes.

Micaela Shanyce Bundy How Glory Goes: An Exploration of Artistic Inheritance Through the Repertoire and Artistry of Audra McDonald A theatrical concert exploring how one artist’s legacy becomes another artist’s voice.

RECITAL RECITAL (Ms. Victoria’s Version) In RECITAL (Ms. Victoria’s Version), iconic off-off-off-off-off Broadway Star Ms. Victoria performs her “one-woman show,” a comedic take on the hero’s journey featuring song, dance, drama, and definitely no other performers.

Takiri Folclor Latino Takiri presents a vibrant multidisciplinary celebration of Latin American culture, blending traditional folkloric dance with a fantasy folkloric fashion runway inspired by the region’s rich cultural heritage.

The Southern Brothas THRILLAH Block Party The TSB THRILLAH Block Party is a free, all-ages Halloween takeover of downtown Durham’s CCB Plaza, headlined by GRAMMY Museum honoree DJ NABS and hosted by the coldest band in the land, The Southern Brothas (TSB).

Tori Grace Nichols Squirrel of Silayville: A Drag Opera A storybook version of a drag opera where a young protagonist finds courage in creativity to take on the fearmongering bullies in a nearby town attempting to steal their community’s light.

For the full project descriptions, schedule, locations, and ticketing information, please visit: durhamfringefestival.org.

ABOUT THE CAROLINA THEATRE OF DURHAM Carolina Theatre of Durham is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that manages the city-owned Carolina Theatre at 309 W. Morgan Street, Durham, NC 27701. The Carolina Theatre of Durham is dedicated to presenting vibrant, thought-provoking film and live performances that contribute to the cultural and economic vitality of downtown Durham and the Triangle Region. Visit carolinatheatre.org for more information.

MEDIA CONTACT Megan Farrell Marketing Manager, Carolina Theatre of Durham megan@carolinatheatre.org