About Us

The Rockford Fringe started in 2022 with a “Forward for Fun” grant from the City of Rockford. With the grant money, we produced the inaugural Rockford Fringe Festival at Walker Park. It was an outdoor celebration of the performing arts and featured theatre, music, dance, parkour and comedy.

Through two more grants from the Rockford Area Arts Council, we produced our annual Winter Solstice Poetry Caroling festival in December and Ugly Jam Session in March. In the spring, we hosted new artist interviews on our the Rockford Fringe Podcast.

Last summer (2023), we launched two new creative endeavors: Our “twarts” were outdoor adventures with a twist of art. We also introduced Barefoot Hikes to the public and produced a summertime Ugly Jam Session at The Annoyance Theatre in Chicago.

In the fall, we put our shoes back on and launched the popular Hike-n-Share series. Every week, we hike three miles through the woods and then share something creative with each other.

Most Rockford Fringe events take place outside. We occasionally produce indoor events to keep the momentum going and to meet new people. All of our events are free and open to the public.

There are numerous ways to engage with the Rockford Fringe. Join us at one of our weekly hike-n-shares. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and X @rockfordfringe. Listen to our podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Read our weekly blog.

The Rockford Fringe is produced by Connie and Jesse Kuntz with tremendous support from Jocelyn Kuntz, Essamuel “Sam” Kuntz, Fern Kuntz and Angelo Kuntz. And we are especially grateful to fringe regulars: Richard Crooks, Jake Marinelli and Brandon Simmons.