Armidale to host a fringe festival in 2022

Event organiser Phillip Aughey has launched Bush Fringes which features entertainment-based festivals in Armidale, Dubbo, Newcastle and Wagga Wagga.

While Newcastle and Dubbo have hosted the events before, this year will be the first time the event has been held in Armidale and Wagga.

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The Fringe festival expanded to Dubbo last year after starting in Newcastle back in 2016 and Mr Aughey said the event's success led to the decision to add the two new towns this year.

"My philosophy when I started the Newcastle Fringe was keep it small and therefore the artists have a better chance of a financial return," he said.

"Dubbo Fringe went well last year, the feedback was good so we thought we'd start Wagga and Armidale because of their positioning in the state.

"I approached them both and they were both very favourable to the plan so that was good."

Mr Aughey believes the new festivals will help talented artists, comedians and other entertainers grow more comfortable performing in front of bigger audiences while also giving audiences something they may have never seen before.

"The main thing is I appreciate people with talent in rural areas for them there's nowhere really to expand," he said.

"They can do it at high school so the idea of doing these fringes is so little Susie who plays the guitar has a platform to have a go.

"This becomes a stepping stone for them, they can appear at any of the festival and they get good feedback.

"I'm hoping that will give them the confidence to go further places.

"Fringe festivals bring a different sort of entertainment, there is no censorship."

The festivals also are aiming to provide rural artists a platform to express themselves on.

The Armidale Fringe festival will be held across four days from October 6-9 with callouts for artists now underway.

Anyone who is interested in learning more or would like to perform can find the relevant information on the Bush Fringes website.

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