family time on the fringe

Took the brood to the Tampa Fringe Fest yesterday. I never heard of it before but got an email somehow and was intrigued. It was inside and not that expensive – two must haves right now because it’s hot and we’re trying to be money conscious* which is so fucking hard with 4 daughters with mouths that want to eat and bodies that want clothing. Damn humans.

Anyways, if you were like me and never heard of the Fringe Fest, it’s local performers whose acts haven’t found a home yet. They operate on the “fringe” circuit until they get a spot on the main stages (if that’s their goal). The event is in Ybor which is a cool balance of indie vibes mixed with fear of getting shot. I like it though. Has character. And all the roosters running around freely like stray dogs gave me plenty of opportunities to make “cock” jokes. Fun fact, you can adopt a cock in Ybor. 

Anyways, seeing local performers isn’t something we do too often. Especially acting because my kids aren’t “theater kids.” For some reason, they think theater kids are strange….and yeah, I guess they are a little strange. But that’s what makes them cool. If we were all the same, that’d be pretty fucking boring. I was in musical and plays when I was younger. Theater kids were funny and some of the kindest people I’ve met.

I can’t force my kids to feel the same way as me. But I can force them to broaden their life experiences. One of the benefits of being a parent is forcing them to do things, right?! So, to the Fringe we went!

We saw 3 shows. One about the experiences of a former Big Top clown, a family of acrobats, and an improv prop show. Vince also loves this type of shit, so he was down. If you don’t know, he was also in musicals and even took an improv class a couple years ago. He loves the stage – which I guess isn’t really that surprising because he is an attention whore after all.

Gianna was along for the ride and really only like the acrobats, but I did manage to mom-pressure Scarlett into volunteering for the prop show! I think she enjoyed that…she didn’t bitch too much about it and I swear she smiled once.

While the older two grudgingly attended, Evie was HERE FOR IT. Child volunteered for everything and nailed it on stage. I was a little apprehensive when the former circus clown handed her a french baguette and asked, “what else could this be besides a loaf of bread?” My gut sank…. she’s gonna say penis isn’t she. All of these penis references are going to come back to haunt me right now as my 4-year-old stands in front of this kid-friendly show.

But huzzah! She didn’t. 👏 [got to admit, I was relieved but also slightly disappointed Evie didn’t say penis and hold the limp bread in front of her like a watering can. Think of the laughs, folks!]

Rating on the Fringe; 4 out of 5 ⭐. I’d go again. Would be cool to see some of the adult shows and I like performers. They have passion and aren’t afraid to get weird. And I think it’s good for my kids to see this.

*[edit: while the cost of the Fringe Fest was super reasonable for a family of 6, I ended up dropping more money while in Ybor. First at the antique shop. Gawd, why is old stuff so damn expensive? Then, because I can’t take these humans anywhere for longer than an hour without them getting hangry, we stopped at a pizza shop to feed their pie-holes. Gotta say though, the pizza was delicious. Closest thing I’ve ever tasted to what I had in Italy.]