Just discovered this thread. When talking about fringe events, are the above people festival ticket holders or just 'freebies' looking for a free weekend and hanging on the coat tails of the event. Festivals cost a lot of money to organise and run. I know the 'fringe' can be important in some events, but I would be interested to know who you are. If you haven't paid for a ticket you have no right to moan about not having anywhere to play/sing, or what happens during the festival. I've seen it time and time again. People who expect a weekend's entertainment and enjoyment for nothing. If you want the event to be a success, get involved, offer to organise something you want to see. Then put in the commitment and see if it works. Sadly the number of organisers are getting older and there don't appear to be many people willing to take their place, there are plenty of people who want to 'perform' play/sing, but not many who want to take on the organisation. Don't just moan about it, do something about it.