Visit our Events tab to register for a Hike-n-Share.
The 3rd Annual Winter Solstice Poetry Caroling Festival
We had a wonderful evening “caroling in” the winter solstice. We shared poems, ate solstice cookies and went for a three-mile night hike. This “snow or shine” event is one of our favorite days (nights!) of the year. The 4th Annual Winter Solstice Poetry Caroling Festival is Saturday, December 21, 2024. Save the date!
Click here to see our Poetry Caroling Highlights!
UGLY JAM SESSION (summertime)
We hosted our second Ugly Jam Session at The Annoyance Theatre in mid-August. This jam featured music, storytelling, spoken word and comedy songs from the following artists: David Zane Criner, Robbie Ellis, Clancy Fraher, Gail Gallagher, Kerri Killeen, Phelisha Levi, JJ Smith. Connie Kuntz hosted and it was a blast.
We have more photos from the jam posted on our social media pages and hope you visit them there. Find us @rockfordfringe.
HIKING WITH THE ROCKFORD FRINGE
Thank you to everyone who barefoot-hiked, sang, sketched and wrote with us over the summer and spring. We hiked more than 50 miles and shared a little art each time.
We’ve been hosting “hike-n-shares” every Sunday and Monday. They are so much fun! Check out our Events Tab for the information and schedule. They are free with RSVP.
We have been “hike-n-sharing since” the spring of 2023. Here are a few pictures from our warm weather events.
WHAT DID THE ROCKFORD FRINGE DO BEFORE THE HIKE-N-SHARES?
In March 2023, the Rockford Fringe hosted its first-ever Ugly Jam Session.
Q: What’s an “ugly jam session?”
A: That’s when professional musicians, comedians and spoken word artists gather in an “ugly” space or explore an “ugly” theme…and jam!
The first-ever jam took place in the basement at the legendary Annoyance Theatre in Chicago. It featured an incredible lineup of top Chicago talent: JJ Smith, Jake Dewar, Robbie Ellis, Heather Styka, Aviva Jaye, Clarence Fraher, Phelisha Levi, Matt Keeley and Andy Rowell. Each artist performed 15 minutes of their original music, poetry, comedy, and/or rap. Take a look at some pictures of the artists from the Ugly Jam Session.
Q: They look amazing! What else has the Rockford Fringe been up to?
A: Winter Solstice Poetry Caroling.
Q: Huh?
A: Poetry caroling is like Christmas caroling. Instead of caroling folks with Christmas carols, the Rockford Fringe carols homes and businesses with acoustic poetry! Here are some pictures from our 2nd Annual Winter Solstice Poetry Caroling event.
Q: Looks fun. Who’s that in back?
A: That’s Chugro. She’s the local poetry witch who emerges once a year on the winter solstice to share poetry in the streets of Rockford. Here’s a video that shows her getting around town.
Q: Cool. So, how often do you do this?
A: Every year on the winter solstice. The 4th Annual Poetry Caroling will take place on Saturday, December 21, 2024. The time is TBD. Save the date.
Q: I will! So, what else have you done?
A: We produced the first ever Rockford Fringe Festival at Walker Park. It was an all-day outdoor celebration of the performing arts! We had plays, music, parkour, performance art, poetry, dance, stretch, spoken word and more. It was free and open to the public…and a blast!
It was an eclectic mix of theatre, radio plays, comedy songs, spoken word, dance, stretch and parkour. Artists came from Rockford, Rock Island, Beloit, Freeport, Chicago and Minneapolis.
We are grateful for the media who covered the Rockford Fringe, including Jake from Rockford Buzz, WTVO and 89.5 WNIJ, the NPR station for northern Illinois.
Fringe Festival Gallery
Thank you for taking the time to read about the #RockfordFringe. We hope you join us at an event, either onstage or in the audience. Until then, stay up to date by following us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or listen to Rockford Fringe Podcast on Apple, Anchor or Spotify Podcasts.
Here’s a fun podcast episode with 14-time Emmy® award winner Will Clinger.
Rockford Fringe 