Last year the event brought more than 40 artists to Ashland and more than 2,000 visitors
By Lee Juillerat for Ashland.news
After a successful first year, the Ashland Fringe is accepting artist applications for the 2026 Ashland Fringe Festival.
“Creatives of all disciplines are invited to apply for the opportunity to showcase their work during one of Ashland’s most adventurous and innovative arts events,” Gianna McCardell, the festival’s marketing director, said in a news release.
She noted that in its first year, the 2025 Ashland Fringe Festival hosted 42 artists from Ashland, Medford, Eugene, Portland, Idaho, and Georgia, “who helped us bring in over 2,000 audience members to experience free performances, art installations, workshops and community events.”
McCardell termed Ashland Fringe Festival is “a fantastic opportunity to present bold art that thrives in unconventional spaces. Whether you’re a seasoned artist or you’ve never presented your work, there’s a place for you! Artists from all backgrounds and communities are encouraged to apply. In a town vibrant with art, Ashland Fringe provides visibility for creatives on the outskirts of the mainstream, offering space for risk taking, experimentation, and voices that might otherwise go unheard.”
The 2026 Ashland Fringe Festival will take place Friday, May 15, to Sunday, May 17, in Lithia Park and downtown Ashland.
McCardell said the idea for creating the Ashland Festival was inspired by the World Fringe Movement, and termed the Ashland event as an offspring of the 11-year-old Oregon Fringe Festival.
The Ashland Fringe is a grassroots organization led by a team of Southern Oregon University alumni with a goal “to bolster under-represented voices and connect artists and audiences from all walks of life to bold expression.”
The Ashland festival, a free and “all-encompassing arts event” that seeks to “unite the Rogue Valley community in celebration of unique creativity produced by professional and student artists, both local and visiting.”
During the three-day festival, “artists and the community come together to showcase original work in an extensive range of disciplines; music, theater, visual art, performance art, dance, story-telling, creative writing, film and more.”
The festival’s organizers mission “cultivates community, provides a platform for uniquely creative voices, and bolsters unconventional new art. Ashland Fringe connects artists and audiences from all walks of life to bold expression through a lens of inclusivity, accessibility, and sustainability.”
The application deadline is Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. For more information, visit ashlandfringe.org.
Email freelance writer Lee Juillerat at [email protected].
Related stories:
Ashland Fringe Festival unites community with inclusive art (May 4, 2025)
‘The Initiation’ debuts at the Oregon Fringe Festival on Saturday (April 26, 2024)
Unconventional Spaces: Oregon Fringe Festival returns to showcase innovative arts (April 22, 2024)
