June 3, 2022 - The first Cres Fringe Festival had its grand opening on May 30 on Croatia's largest island with a varied and rich cultural and artistic programme. The festival is set to continue until this Sunday, and attendees can still enjoy its diverse content until then.
The Cres Fringe Festival is a festival that connects, educates, and supports performers, all kinds of art, music, culture, filmmakers, artists, and locals. But it‘s more than this. There are fringe festivals all over the world, with the first one being the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, which started 70 years ago. The Cres Fringe Festival is one of a kind as it is the very first in Croatia, the only difference is the kind of art, the compilation, and its singularity. The Cres Fringe Festival is running in parallel to the Creski Kaić, which takes place on the main square of the city, while the Cres Fringe Festival present its shows in different venues around the city of Cres.
Those who attend will have the chance to connect with artists, producers, and many interesting people from diverse backgrounds. Lots of international performers, drag shows, singers and artists are currently in the city of Cres. In addition, visitors be able to attend a film festival whose programme revolves around the pandemic and the psychological effects produced as a result of it. Likewise, attendees will not just be spectators, since they'll also have the opportunity to share, perform and celebrate their own art. Numerous exhibits will be available at the festival, as will street art, and attendees can also visit the marketplace to buy handmade goods, traditional art, photos, and designs.
International performers and artists, such as Deaby De Lux, will be present at various venues around the city of Cres.
If you are at the Cres Fringe Festival, you can also attend different workshops, presentations, and discussion panels. An entertainment programme is also guaranteed, with the possibility of seeing shows, the circus, cabaret, and much more. The festival will also allow those from abroad to get better acquainted with Croatian culture up close, as well as many other types of cultural exchanges. As if that weren't enough, those present can win prizes throughout each day as well. Finally, considering the great weather at this time of the year, Cres Fringe Festival attendees will be able to enjoy a great location on a beautiful Croatian island, excellent food and drinks, and the gorgeous sea around Kvarner Bay.
You can go home with a tattoo done at the Festival itself!
Additionally, there will be a tattoo artist at the festival for those who wish to take home a unique and very permanent ''souvenir'', as well as a live artist, who will draw the attendees or even the artists while they perform on stage, finishing their incredible drawings in small time frames of between 3 and 5 minutes.
The organisers are also pleased to announce that this year, the Cres Fringe Festival has been held in collaboration with the European Burlesque and Variety Congress.
The talented Koes Komo will be in charge of portraying attendees and artists in less than five minutes.
One might wonder why all this would take place on the island of Cres, of all places. The answer lies in the fact that the island the founder's home, and she always dreamed of bringing more art and diversity to the island while also doing something for the local residents there. Those behind the organisation of the first-ever Cres Fringe Festival want to start the season earlier, bringing more people to the island and the city, as it‘s an opportunity for property owners on Cres to accommodate people by renting out their apartments and houses for the duration of the festival.
Cres, Croatia's largest island and one of the most beautiful, is ready to become a hotspot for Fringe tourism.
Those who benefit will be not only property owners but also venue owners, who will be able to have world-class entertainment and performers at their venues, completely organised by the festival's producers.
Among the main venues of the Cres Fringe Festival are Arsan, Luna Rossa, Cine Cres, Vina Miramar, and Plavica Bar.
The organising team for the first Cres Fringe Festival includes Croatian founder and producer Celeste de Moriae, and her co-producers Amanda Blyth from the UK, Sylwester Biraga from Poland, and Wini Di from the Netherlands. Also part of the team are Larisa Štefančić from Croatia and Magenta Lust from Scotland, as well as Miss Botero from France as a consultant.
As part of the objectives of the organisers, it's worth highlighting the intention to promote and grow fringe tourism in the country and thus be part of the World Fringe Community. But, above all, the aim is to attract more tourists and make both the island and the city of Cres more popular destinations by bringing a unique world event to the island.
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