The Toronto Fringe Announces New Design And Programming For Festival Patio

The Toronto Fringe hosts the largest pop-up patio in Toronto. Formerly known as the Fringe Club, POSTSCRIPT, brought to you by KOHO, is the reimagined and redesigned festival hub of the Toronto Fringe, located in the parking lot and hockey rink at the Scadding Court Community Centre (707 Dundas Street West). This is the second year at this location - the Fringe Club was previously located at Honest Ed's, up the road at Bathurst and Bloor.

POSTSCRIPT will be open to the public from July 4 to 15, 5pm-2am on weeknights, 12pm-4am on Saturdays, and 12pm-2am on Sundays. Programming includes opening ceremonies on July 4 to kick off the Toronto Fringe; the POSTSCRIPT Music Fest, featuring Toronto favourites Bonjay and The Sorority among other local bands; a Friday the 13th Silent Disco; a 1989 Prom Party (in a real gymnasium); and a Comedy Night featuring some of Toronto's top stand-up comedians.

POSTSCRIPT is a lounge-in-a-park, an artistic hub, a community space, and a full-service bar and food station. It is a space that is free to enter, and open to everyone. Visit POSTSCRIPT pre or post Fringe show, soak up the summer sun, enjoy the programming on the outdoor stage and interactive art installations, and treat yourself to featured drinks from Steam Whistle Brewery, 13th Street Winery, Northern Temple vodka and gin, Brick Brewery, and Jimmy's Coffee. POSTSCRIPT's signature food vendor, Kanto by Tita Flips, will be serving up Filipino classics like beef tapsilog and lumpia alongside Canadian favourites like burgers and fries every day of the festival.

The Toronto Fringe launched this redesign of its outdoor festival hub to celebrate its 30th year as Ontario's largest theatre festival. With the Matthew Cohen Design Collective (MCDC) leading the rebranding and design, POSTSCRIPT will animate the downtown intersection of Dundas and Bathurst like never before, while still creating a space for the Fringe and surrounding community.

POSTSCRIPT is brought to you by KOHO, a no-fee reloadable card and integrated app that sends you real-time insights into your spending. They want Canadians to be able to travel more, retire sooner, and live richer lives. The Toronto Fringe is very excited to have KOHO as the patio's title sponsor and is looking forward to continuing to work with the fintech company. As an art-appreciating start-up invested in creating and fostering community interaction, KOHO is a perfect partner for POSTSCRIPT.

Besides sponsoring the outdoor stage, KOHO has made it possible to offer free Wi-Fi to everyone on the patio. Those who already hold an account with KOHO are offered a "Jump to the Front" express line at the bar and other fun perks. KOHO will also be premiering a game-changing short film directed by Fleur Fortuné (Drake, Travis Scott, M83) on Friday the 13th at 10pm.

"The arts play a critical role in society, from providing fantastical experiences and escape, to balancing the narrative in a world that can at times be out of balance. The Toronto Fringe has a proven track record of providing an outlet for incredible stories to be told and heard. As a company whose purpose is to Restore Balance, we are beyond proud to sponsor the Toronto Fringe for their 30th festival," says KOHO's Chief Creative Officer Jason Chaney.

Lucy Eveleigh, Executive Director of the Toronto Fringe shares, "We feel so lucky to have found such great partners in KOHO. We could not have asked for a more supportive team to work alongside as we launch POSTSCRIPT. The Toronto Fringe sincerely believes that our patrons, and our artists, will be very keen to discover this new app and what its platform has to offer. We hope in between shows everyone will be able to come and enjoy the summer on this cool new pop-up patio."

Programming Highlights (PS: everything is free!)

July 4: Opening Ceremonies

Join Fringe artists as they parade through Kensington Market to POSTSCRIPT, wearing their costumes and showing off their show posters. After remarks on the stage by Executive Director Lucy Eveleigh, and other special guests, Lunacy Cabaret will take over the outdoor stage with live performances including circus, sketch comedy, and burlesque.

July 5: Bad Dog Theatre Company

This Toronto-born improv and sketch company uses its comedic talents to hilariously recreate show pitches from this summer's Toronto Fringe program guide - come and see how close they get to the real shows.

July 6: International Day

After hosting a private Citizenship Ceremony, the Toronto Fringe and Scadding Court Community Centre invite the public to warmly welcome these new Canadians and their families, and enjoy performances from multi-cultural dance, music, and entertainment groups.

July 7: Comedy Night at POSTSCRIPT

Late night laughs with some of the best comedians Toronto has to offer. Featuring Daniel Woodrow, Dena Jackson, Rhiannon Archer, Nick Reynoldson, Barry Taylor, and Jen Sakato.

July 8: Yoga For Everyone

Join YogaTree for a free, outdoor yoga class at the Fringe patio. Bring your own mat and get ready to stretch it out for the final week of Fringe.

July 10 & 13: #UrgentExchange

In partnership with the Toronto Fringe, Generator hosts discussions on important and timely issues for indie artists. One topic will be crowdsourced using the hashtag #UrgentExchange and @GeneratorTO. The other has been picked from important artists' concerns.

July 10: Music Bingo

Combine your love of music with bingo dabbers. Hosted by Fringe favourite, Kaleb Robertson.

July 11: Youth Takeover Night

The Toronto Fringe is passionate about providing a platform for young, emerging artists. Discover some of Toronto's newest performers from the AMY Project and Paprika Festival as they take to the stage to perform their latest work.

July 12: Awards Ceremony

CBC's Ali Hassan will host the Toronto Fringe Awards Ceremony at POSTSCRIPT, announcing this year's winners of Patron's Picks, Best of Fringe - Orangeville, the Tosho Cutting Edge Award, the Comedy Bar Award for Best Comedy, the David Seguin Memorial Award for Accessibility in the Arts, and more.

July 12, 13, 14, 15: POSTSCRIPT Music Fest

With a hit lineup curated by our partners at Wavelength, Venus Fest, Futuro Libre, and Slaight Music, you won't be able to find this quality and quantity of FREE live music anywhere else in the city. Featuring: The Sorority, Bonjay, Moon King, Saye Skye, Obuxum, Kirk Diamond, and many more local bands and DJs.

July 13: Silent Disco

Party late into the night without annoying the neighbours. Headphones will be available free of charge for anyone who wants to dance to DJ sets only you and your friends can hear. Come early and see the premiere of a new short film at 10pm by our pals at KOHO.

July 14: Teen Fringe

The Toronto Fringe and Edge of the Sky have partnered to present the Teen Fringe program for a second year. See performances by the participants of the 2018 cohort and be blown away by their musical, acting, and dancing talents.

July 14: 1989 Prom Party

Grab your shoulder pads, neon, and sequins, and come party like it's 1989! In celebration of the Toronto Fringe's 30th festival, we are hosting our very own prom in the gym at Scadding Court. Featuring Good Enough Live Karaoke and hosted by Johnnie Walker. Come dressed to impress: the winner of our Costume Contest goes home with a totally tubular prize pack from The Hideout.

For more information and to purchase tickets, go to fringetoronto.com

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