“34 of 36”

Is the number of years I’ve been attending, volunteering, and reviewing out of the 36yr of Fringe experiences.

I have enough stories for a play on its own. Back in the summer of 1990 I walked onto the Old Market Sq., a friend said something’s going on (Fringe started in ’88). Living on Bannatyne, I figured I’d check it out. Chinese cultural ctr, 2 magicians performing real hokey gross tricks, then a screen came down, and a film flickered, with one person pulling down their pants, then proceeded to put shaving cream on their naked posterior, followed by a shaving! I was hooked.

I came back in 91′ as volunteer (My volunteer# was…..101!), 16 yrs later running the beer tent with a ton of stories…another script on its own. The King’s Head was a one floor bar and unbelievably cramped. As it expanded, they would later take on letting the Jenny Revue, and hosting the Jenny Award’s in the wonderfully top floor dark venue, there were many other historic venues for the Jenny Revue awards show in the past, but the King’s Head would become their home, for over 10 years.

After my volunteer tenure ended, I was asked to join the wacky Jenny Revue show. After 12 days of reviewing, We’d meet at King’s Head on the last Saturday to make fake categories list in order to be nominated for an honorable and much cherished Jenny award.

The Jenny Revue was also involved with the Dr. Caligari’s Midnight Cabaret, (usually right in the middle of the fest) where you saw some cream of the crop talent along with some wacky amateurs and til this day is lit by flashlights in this 2 hrs. Cabaret.

One other highlight was when the early Fringe pioneers, Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie, doing a benefit for Wpg. Fringe Festival, where Tim Hogue(master of King’s Head) and I (Capt. of the beer tent) were on stage at Tom Hendry sitting in a mock beer gardens on stage as patrons as Wes and the gang did a hilarious parody of the “Fringe circuits”.

There are treasure trove of mind boggling, hilarious, riveting and emotional stage plays that will be permanently burnt in this ol’ memory banks. Along with some amazing talent through the decades, and some who I’ve gotten to know, that come to entertain us Winnipegers year after year! Add in the kinship with the volunteer core, the vets who keep coming back year after year. This community that has been in me heart for 12 days in July for the last 3 decades.

Now go Fringin’

Kevin Campbell