People at Ventnor fringe festival

WATCH: Ventnor Fringe Festival marks tenth anniversary with documentary short

This year, the brilliant Ventnor Fringe Festival marks its tenth anniversary. The annual arts festival, which transforms this small town on the south coast of the Isle of Wight, was formed by a group of then-teenagers keen to do something special in the place they grew up in.

Ventnor Fringe Festival has become the highlight of the year for many who live and visit Ventnor. Never attempting to be bigger than it could handle, the Festival has seen steady growth and along the way picked up glowing reviews from national newspapers and magazines.

Telling the story
To mark the tenth anniversary, Glass House Productions have created this great five minute trailer (see below).

It features additional footage from Luke Bridgeman and photographs by Isle of Wight photographer, Julian Winslow.

Turn up the sound and click on the full screen icon to see the film in full size.

Festival Co-Director, Jack Whitewood, said,

“After ten years the Ventnor Fringe has come of age, and now offers a massively diverse, vibrant programme that can compete with city offerings, but presented in spaces and in ways that only the Isle of Wight can do.

“This year we’ve worked really hard to create new venues, improve our ticketing systems and have better accessibility so everyone can enjoy the Fringe.”

Glasshouse: It’s a really fun weekend
Charlie Fennimore from Glasshouse Productions told OnTheWight,

“I went into this project not really knowing a lot about the Fringe.

“In all honesty, it did open my eyes to what it’s all about and what the Fringe has to offer and all the amazing things that it does.

“I had no idea that all these artist come down to the Island. It’s a really fun weekend for everyone to get involved and work together and help each other out.”

OnTheWight proud to be a supporter
OnTheWight is proud to have been one of the first major supporters of the Fringe, throwing all resources at promoting the Festival in the early years, with interns dedicated to covering the event for several years, and over 120 articles published here in that time.

We can’t wait wait for this year’s Festival, with nearly 150 performances of over 90 different shows, spanning music, theatre, comedy and more. See the Website for full programme.

Well done to all involved and here’s to another ten years!

Image: © Julian Winslow