![](https://media.nbcwashington.com/2025/01/Screenshot-1.png?resize=320%2C180&quality=85&strip=all)
After nearly 20 years, Capital Fringe, a beloved cultural hub for local artists, announced it would no longer produce its annual Fringe Festival showcasing plays, musicals and other stage shows from independent artists.
Securing new, reliable venues for the annual festival has become more difficult in the face of rising costs, Capital Fringe said.
"Unfortunately, there is no apparent long-term solution to this trend, and to continue to fight this battle annually is not sustainable," the nonprofit said in a press release.
The nonprofit organization, which aims to serve aspiring and established artists, first hosted the downtown D.C. festival in 2006 with DowntownDC Business Improvement District and has moved through various venues, recently setting up in empty retail spaces in Georgetown and across D.C.
We've got the news you need to know to start your day. Sign up for the First & 4Most morning newsletter — delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up here.
“It is with a heavy heart that Capital Fringe announces it will no longer produce the annual Fringe Festival,” the statement reads. “We are immensely proud of the impact twenty years of an open-access Fringe Festival has had on DC’s arts scene and are deeply grateful to the artists, audience members, volunteers, community members, festival and program staff, and partners who have supported and created with us over the decades.”
Capital Fringe has been a cornerstone of the District’s arts community, fostering creativity and collaboration through its annual, open-access Fringe Festival and year-round programming. Over the years, Capital Fringe has engaged 87,000 artists, attracted 497,000 audience members and generated $3,294,714 in artists revenue,” the release says.
Capital Fringe said the years of mounting obstacles were only addressed with short-term solutions. The statement added that operating a small to mid-sized arts organization in the District requires constantly overcoming challenges to secure space. Coupled with rising costs and difficulty finding reliable vendors annually to support their unique open-access programming, Capital Fringe said to “continue to fight this battle annually is not sustainable.”
The Scene
The most fun things to do and places to be in D.C., Maryland and Virginia
To continue its mission, Capital Fringe will launch an annual cash artist award this fall to celebrate and support the creative uniqueness of the D.C. arts community. Full details will be revealed in July.