Vanessa Amorosi performs at The Empire in Toowoomba as part of Queensland Fringe. Photo: The Empire.
Queensland Fringe has wrapped its inaugural regional road trip after more than 4350 people turned out for its two day finale in Toowoomba.
The new statewide festival travelled through Charleville, Augathella and Roma before finishing at The Empire precinct in Toowoomba on August 6 and 7. The inaugural route, called The Wild West, covered a reported 1472km across regional Queensland.
The festival was created by the team behind Wynnum Fringe, which has grown over six years on Brisbane’s bayside, and marks the first stage of plans to establish Queensland Fringe hubs around the state.
Big names head west
The Toowoomba finale brought together live music, comedy, theatre, film and other performances across The Empire precinct and Walton Stores.
Music headliners included Vanessa Amorosi, Dami Im and Wes Carr, while comedian Jim Jefferies sold out his August 6 show at the Empire Theatre.
Queensland singer songwriter Sue Ray also launched a new album during the festival, while Mark Sholtez and Luke Kennedy brought their original music show Mockingbird to The Church at The Empire.
Carr travelled the full regional route as the festival’s ambassador, performing in Charleville on August 1, Augathella on August 2 and Roma on August 4 before joining the Toowoomba program.
The earlier stops deliberately used regional spaces rather than conventional festival sites.
Charleville hosted performances at the Cattle Camp Hotel alongside local bush poets and musicians, while the Augathella program took over the town’s bowls club. In Roma, artists performed at Western Queensland Spirits as part of a live music and tasting event.
More than 4350 attend Toowoomba finale
More than 4350 people attended the two day Toowoomba finale, with sellout shows among the program.
Festival founder and artistic director Tom Oliver said the response demonstrated strong demand for major cultural events in regional Queensland.
The festival model was designed to encourage audiences to travel between regional centres, stay overnight and spend money in the towns hosting performances rather than concentrating major arts programming in the capital.
The Empire partnered with Queensland Fringe for its first regional run, with the original festival plan describing The Wild West route as the first step towards establishing further Queensland Fringe hubs across the state.
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