Minnesota Fringe Festival hopes to rebound
by The Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS -- It's just about show time for the 15th annual Minnesota Fringe Festival.

The Fringe bills itself as the largest performing arts festival in the Midwest. It opens July 31 and runs through Aug. 10 at 18 venues in Minneapolis.

There will be 156 different shows with more than 800 performances. Shows include comedy, drama, kids' shows, dance and puppets.

Attendance dipped at last year's Fringe, which opened 24 hours after the Minneapolis bridge collapse.

But Executive Director Robin Gillette expects the number of tickets sold this year to rebound to the 45,000 to 46,000 range.

On the Net:
Fringe Festival: http://www.fringefestival.org