During these hard times, don’t forget the Free Fringe - Steve Cardownie

Free Fringe shows have been staged on The Mound precinct by performers for decades.

With the summer festival season set to explode onto our streets (and West Princes Street Gardens) this weekend it would be remiss of me not to mention the Free Fringe which runs from 3 to 27 August.

With more than 7000 performances of over 350 shows this year, covering comedy, cabaret, theatre, kids shows, music and more, its website encourages would-be audience members to download its iPhone App “for the best way to find our shows, what’s on soon and what’s on near you when you’re on the move around Edinburgh in August.”

At a time when money is tight the Free Fringe is obviously affordable and has grown in popularity over the years. The shows operate a two-tier system; one, which is “Free and Unticketed”, promotes entry on a first come first served basis at the venue, you just turn up and donate to the show in the collection at the end, if you so wish. The other is “Pay What You Can”, where you can book a ticket to guarantee entry and choose your price from the Fringe Box Office up to 30 minutes before a show is due to start, then all remaining space is free.

The Free Fringe states that “As always, 100 per cent of the ticket price or donations for each show goes directly to the performer, which helps them benefit as much as possible from what audiences can give to them, after a tough couple of years for performers and show producers.”

So, once you’ve seen the street performers, take in a Free Fringe show and immerse yourself in the festival - at no or very little cost!