Bridge collapse reverberated into festival attendance

The 2007 Minnesota Fringe Festival has reported its lowest attendance since 2002 -- although the final figures turned out better than preliminary reports. The 11-day festival sold 38,211 tickets, down 17 percent from 44,862 last year. Box-office receipts were off 23 percent, resulting in a deficit of about $28,000 for the organization. In addition, the number of Fringe buttons (required for admission, and the best indicator of how many people attend the festival) was off 17 percent, to 13,078. That result, separate from ticket income, will add $9,600 to the deficit.

The Fringe, in its 14th year, was in some measure a victim of circumstance. It opened Aug. 2, one day after the Interstate 35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis. Traffic patterns were affected, but an even bigger factor may have been that the mood of the metropolitan area was dampened.

Maud Lovell, executive director of the Uptown Association, said attendance was "affected a little bit" at the Uptown Art Fair. And Dean Seal reported that the small performing-arts focused Manna Fest at Augsburg College sold about 2,000 tickets, 10 percent below projections.

Robin Gillette, in her first year as Fringe executive director, said the organization will use credit and fundraising to cover the deficit before its fiscal year ends Sept. 30.

"One of the weaknesses that I've always known Fringe has is our reliance on earned income (roughly 80 percent of this year's $650,000 budget)," she said. "One big event in the outside world -- be that a power outage or a tornado or a bridge collapse -- has the potential to do great damage to us, and unfortunately, that's exactly what happened."

The Fringe Festival had grown steadily since 1997, with double-digit increases in the early part of this decade and more limited growth after the number of shows and performances were capped more recently. This year, 162 troupes presented 874 showings across Minneapolis.

The performers were chosen by lottery last February. As a result, several veteran Fringe acts were left out. Too, the festival was spread out this year, with locations from northeast Minneapolis to Powderhorn Park. Gillette said average capacity at all venues was 39 percent, off slightly from 43 percent last year. However, attendance at four locations on the West Bank averaged only 25 percent.

She said the organization would present a "Best of Fringe" minifestival Nov. 8-11 at the Hopkins Center for the Arts. Four shows will be selected by lottery from the festival's top-sellers. Gillette said those shows will be announced in September.

Graydon Royce • 612-673-7299

Graydon Royce • groyce@startribune.com