On July 15, ERA was pleased to donate 16 computers to the Vancouver Fringe Festival. The computers will be used to help the festival continue to host one of the most popular events in Vancouver. We were thrilled to be met by the group’s team, all of whom were excited to receive the donation and exceptionally grateful. Nearly 500 volunteers work tirelessly to make the event happen, and we can see why!
VANCOUVER FRINGE FESTIVAL
The Festival is an annual celebration of all kinds of theatre that occurs for 11 days in September. With over 500 volunteers supporting 700+ performances and attracting over 40,000 attendees, the Vancouver Fringe Festival is consistently voted Vancouver’s Best Arts Festival.
The Fringe employs an “everyone is welcome” selection technique—the Mainstage shows are literally drawn out of a hat, giving all artists, from novice to veteran, a chance to participate.The Fringe strives to break down traditional boundaries and encourage open dialogue between audiences and artists by presenting live un-juried, uncensored theatre in an accessible and informal environment. All artists receive 100% of regular box office revenues generated during the Festival.
“Donations from ERA help keep our organization running. These donations ensure that more money goes into the pockets of the artists and toward enriching the Vancouver cultural community,” says Shantini Klaassen, managing director of the Vancouver Fringe Festival. “They also allow us to employ more up and coming arts managers in the community and begin new projects like Theatre Wire. ERA helps lift the burden of worrying about big-ticket hardware expenses, which makes an incredible difference to a small non-profit like the Fringe.”
The best part about this donation is that it allows the festival to continue providing the artists who perform at the event with proceeds from ticket sales, ensuring they aren’t using funds to cover necessary equipment.
“This donation is extremely exciting for us,” says Bojan Paduh, founder and president of ERA. “It’s so rewarding to see equipment used by the group responsible for an event that positively impacts so many people. People may not realize that Vancouver Fringe Festival is a charity – 100% of proceeds from ticket sales from the festival are passed on to artists – so they don’t have a budget for computers. We are happy to step up and fill that need.”
Thanks to the festival’s team for giving us such a warm welcome – we wish you the best of luck for this year’s festival and thank you for all the amazing work you do to support artists and their dreams!