Pittsburgh
Fringe Festival
March 19th-28th, 2026
What is Fringe?
The Pittsburgh Fringe Festival is a vibrant celebration of creativity
and innovation that thrives on the edge of mainstream culture.
As part of a global tradition of Fringe Festivals, it serves as an open platform for artists, performers, and audiences to connect through diverse and boundary-pushing art forms.
Want to Get Involved?
If you don’t have a fully produced show ready to go, but still want to take part – we will have a number of smaller opportunities to participate in!
Want to try your hand at Storytelling? Try our StorySlam! Have something more involved (skits, circus, a piece of a show?) try our Yinzer Variety Show! We also have full shows and group shows for Visual Artists!
Show applications are now open for 2026!
19 March – 28 March 2026
The annual Pittsburgh Fringe Festival will return in March 2026, taking place primarily within multiple venues in Pittsburgh’s Penn Avenue Art Corridor. This year, we also hope to expand more into the Lawrenceville and Downtown areas. The festival is happy to showcase a variety of theatre (physical, street, musical), comedy, visual arts, puppetry, family entertainment, music, dance, spoken word, opera, poetry, literature and shows we haven’t even thought of yet!
Do you have a show to bring to next year’s festival? Get started by reading our 2026 Artists Guide!
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We are looking for….
We want your show!
Theatre
Live Music
Dance
Magic
Puppets
Visual Art
Comedy
Storytelling
Circus
Interactive
Children’s Shows
Poetry
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Join us for our 13th year!
March 19th – 28th, 2026
Interested in past festivals? Check out our Archives!
“Because attending the Fringe Festival is so much like unearthing buried treasure, it’s important to have a few shows in particular to orbit your Fringe experience around.”
Pittsburgh in the Round preview of the 2018 Pittsburgh Fringe
“Audience members who commit themselves to an entire day or weekend of theater binging should come prepared to feel, more or less, unprepared. Many of the shows are unknowable until experienced, and few adhere to tradition.”
