It is now Friday as I write this and we are finally getting into the swing of things. Like a bear coming out of hibernation, it can take a little while for the Jenny to wake up and start foraging. We’ve got a somewhat decent selection of Shameless Self-Promotions and the cadre of Jenny reviewers, and some much appreciated members of the public, have started to fill out our list of shows that have been reviewed which appears at the bottom of the homepage. We are still working out a few issues with our mobile-friendly version, but for now to see it (somewhat) correctly use this link. We even have a new cartoon from Jenny illustrator extraordinaire Dave Pruden. If you are not sure what the Jenny is about you can click on our FAQ an article from last week which helps give you an idea on what we are about.

Orange you glad I didn’t say barricade—The city has really outdone itself in stepping up the annual construction around Fringe Central. Between the half finished new bike lanes and other road diversions and closures such as Waterfront Drive and James Avenue it is making it a real challenge to get from point A to point B. Make sure to give yourself extra time and remember there are a lot fewer parking spots around. Also remember the hourly rate for that on street parking is also higher this year.

New King of the King’s Head—Big thanks to new King’s Head owner Chris Graves who is continuing the 15 year tradition of hosting the Jenny Awards on the last Sunday of the Fringe upstairs at the King’s Head. Also thanks to Jay Khanuja who supported our motley crew over all those years.

Ch..Ch..Ch..Changes—I am liking the new one piece tickets the Fringe implemented this year, though I have to be more careful about remembering where I put it as they are a little more likely to hide in a pocket due to the smaller size. Being a pack rat, I do miss the days of the printed tickets, but since it has been several years since we last saw those, I have learned to let go. The change to using the stage of the Pantages as the venue with the entrance on Main threw me off at my first visit there, so if you are headed there for a show just remember it has changed. There are a few more changes but I’m turning over the rest of the page to Jenny Coordinating Reviewer Ray Yuen who will mention some of them.

Murray Hunter

Tips for the Veteran Fringers

For those of you who have Fringed for years, this year’s festival has a couple of new initiatives that you might want to digest.

• Fringe lands and Old Market Square are now completely smoke-free. For us non-smokers, that means no longer having to sit before the blue waft and not having to shove aside the smelly ashtrays. For the smokers, sorry, now the smoking crowd stands just outside the fence, near the temporary bicycle racks.
• Speaking of bicycles, the Fringe now offers supervised bicycle parking, opening at 10 am and closing at midnight. Just visit the grounds adjacent to the Centennial Concert Hall, across from MTC to park and register your bike. You still need to bring a lock to secure to the racks but there are people monitoring who gets into the area. I’m an avid cyclist (closing in on 1000 km this summer) and I know locks only work as a deterrent to professional thieves. Wednesday, I parked my bike on the racks across from The Cube, thinking it was safe, especially secured with seven different kinds of locks (SEVEN!). So what happened? They stole my mounted lights. Fringe, thank you for the supervised bike parking; I will use it for the duration of the festival.
• This should be a tip for everyone in public: please try to be scent-free. Unfortunately, I sat proximate to someone doused in perfume—and I gagged the entire time. Ironically, you wear this stuff thinking that it makes you smell more attractive. However, the truth is that you are repulsive and you drive those around you to want to get away. Some of the venues are very small and cramped—please respect others’ air and go scent-free.

Ray Yuen
Coordinating Reviewer