But, if the paid-for festival dies so does the fringe. If you want to do fringe things it's still a good idea to help support the parent festival. Simply buying drinks, food and accommodation doesn't do that.

The Edinburgh Fringe is not a fringe in the sense the word is used in the folk scene - everything about it costs money. (There is a fringe of the Fringe there which works on a less commercial model and doesn't have a name yet).