The Minnesota Fringe Festival was created as part of a trend of fringe festival establishments in the United States . The country 's first fringe was the Seattle Fringe Festival , founded in 1991 , followed by the Orlando International Fringe Theater Festival and the San Francisco Fringe Festival in 1992 and 1993 , respectively . Founded by Bob McFadden and operating with a budget of around $ 35,000 , the Minnesota Fringe Festival first ran from June 23 – July 2 , 1994 , in several theaters around the West Bank neighborhood of Minneapolis . In spite of the festival 's name , the Minnesota Fringe did not serve as the fringe festival to any larger , more mainstream theater event . The first annual Fringe was described by Mark Pizzato as " quickly organized and underpublicized " , with low attendance reported at its 53 shows , each of which cost six dollars or less and ran under 90 minutes . It drew 4,600 theatergoers and featured shows from companies hailing from three continents ( North America , Asia , and Europe )
San Francisco Fringe Festival
San Francisco Fringe Festival
Minnesota Fringe Festival