Fringe Festival

What started twelve years ago as a modest performing arts festival has swelled into an eleven-day extravaganza, a tribute to the seamy, steamy, and sometimes hilarious underbelly of the local theater community. This year’s lineup features visual arts, kids’ events, podcasts, “site-specific” performances (such as a frilly production of The Virgin Diaries at Via’s Vintage Wear in Minneapolis), and, of course, an endless stream of kitschy, questionable, and downright freaky performances. With 168 events, simply deciding what to see is a central part of the Fringe experience. The festival guide creatively groups performances into categories like “puppetry” and “nudity,” but if nothing grabs you there, try a “solo” show (see Over the Coals, page 69) or something from the “cartoonish violence” lineup. 651-209-6799; www.fringefestival.org