Never Mind The Creepy Unicorns In Adelaide, It's All Part Of The Fringe Fest Fun

If you’re around the Rundle Mall or East End of Adelaide this evening and see a bunch of unicorns prancing towards you, don’t worry, you’ve not lost your marbles.

This “blessing” of magical horned ponies is taking to the streets of the South Australian capital to celebrate the unveiling of the 2017 Adelaide Fringe Festival program, which features more than 5250 artists appearing in more than 1100 shows from 17 Feb to 11 Mar next year.

If you think those numbers are impressive, get a load of these. 2017’s Fringe program — its largest ever — includes 290 comedy shows, 143 theatre productions, 132 cabaret shows, 89 visual arts and design exhibitions, 65 children’s events, 60 special events, 43 circus and physical theatre events, 38 dance shows, 25 interactive events, 17 magic shows, 10 film and digital events, and 248 music events including performances by Ash Grunwald, Ella Hooper, Katie Noonan and Taasha Coates.

To accommodate this mega haul of Fringe delights, more than 100 new venues have come on board for 2017’s Fest, including Adelaide Oval, Station Underground, The Henry Austin and Hindmarsh Square. Additional Fringe ‘hubs’ are also sprouting up in the suburbs of Adelaide and regional SA including Stirling Fringe, Playford Palace and Fleurieu Fringe in Port Noarlunga.

“With a record number of shows on offer and exciting venues to explore, we encourage everyone to get out there and take a risk with their show selection,” Adelaide Fringe Director and CEO Heather Croall said.

Ever the innovators, next year audience engagement enters the 21st-century. Fringe-goers will be encouraged to explore all of the festival’s 300 venues via the new GooseChase scavenger hunt game for smartphones. Beginning on January 7, 2017, the competition’s overall winner will receive return flights to attend the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe, widely considered to be the world’s most prestigious fringe festival.

In addition to the smorgasbord of live performance, the Street Art Explosion program will be transforming blank walls into beautiful artworks, with 2017 Adelaide Fringe Ambassador and internationally renowned visual artist James Cochran (aka Jimmy C) set to create a new mural. Next year’s other Fringe Ambassadors are none other than Adelaide-born actor and musician Hugh Sheridan and New York-based performer Adrienne Truscott.

Adelaide Fringe Chair David Minear said the annual arts festival would have been unable to reach its status as the second-largest of its kind in the world “without the support of the State Government, Adelaide City Council and our corporate sponsors”.

“The Adelaide Fringe also owes its success over the decades to the thousands of artists who step up and showcase their talent, along with the local and visiting audience members who join us for what is a month-long magical ride,” he said.