Regina Fringe Festival cancelled this year, expected to return in 2026
Jeffery Tram | CBC News | Posted: March 18, 2025 9:52 PM | Last Updated: March 18
Announcement made on festival's website
The Regina Fringe Festival has cancelled its 2025 edition, but promised a return in July 2026.
The festival shared the news on its website alongside an image of three sad clowns. The announcement comes a week after the Regina Folk Festival permanently shut down operations.
For Vanessa Prevost, a theatre artist and comedy writer, the cancellation was a major disappointment.
"It was a bummer when I got the email ," Prevost said.
Prevost and her friend had planned to submit a Saskatchewan-based sketch show as "not only a love letter to Saskatchewan, but a roast and a farewell."
"We don't know what to do with it now."
Toronto-based playwright Laura Piccinin, who premiered her show Go at the 2023 festival, emphasized the importance of smaller Fringe festivals.
"It would be a huge loss if the Regina Fringe Festival didn't come back," she said.
Prevost said she hopes the festival returns in 2026 and does more to highlight Regina's local arts scene to visiting performers.
"The performers never knew what to do outside of festival times," se said. "Having a little bit more set in place to showcase the city would be important."
Festival organizers have not responded to requests for comment.