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The Fringe Festival Flies High With The First Weekend Underway

Fred SanFilipo
/
for WXXI News

The HSBC Building in Rochester was once again the backdrop for one of the most popular events at the First Niagara Rochester Fringe Festival.

Grounded Aerial, a New York City-based high-flying act did their dancing on the side of the 21-story building, with a big crowd of people packing Martin Luther King  Jr. Park at Manhattan Square.

When the ‘Fringe’ started four years ago, a similar act, BANDALOOP, also drew big crowds to that venue.

Overall, the Fringe Festival has grown a lot since it began in Rochester in 2012. Last year it drew  about 60,000 people in and around Downtown Rochester and the East End.

This year it consists of more than 500 performances at various venues. It began Thursday night and runs through Saturday, September 26th. Almost a quarter of the events are free.

Among the main attractions, a Spiegeltent, which has its roots in the traveling dance halls of theearly 1900’s. It’s located at Main and Gibbs Streets.

For the first time at Fringe, Gibbs Street will be closed between Main St. and East Avenue to traffic for the two weekends of the festival, with free music on the Gibbs St. Main Stage.

You can get more information on the festival events at: rochesterfringe.com

Randy Gorbman is WXXI's director of news and public affairs. Randy manages the day-to-day operations of WXXI News on radio, television, and online.