Rochester Fringe announces 2018 dates, expansion 

[
      {
        "name": "500x250 Ad",
        "insertPoint": "5",
        "component": "15667920",
        "parentWrapperClass": "",
        "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
      }
    ]

The KeyBank Rochester Fringe Festival keeps on growing. Organizers on Thursday announced that the 2017 Fringe was its largest event so far. Attendance at the approximately 500 performances and events is estimated at more than 78,000, which is a 15 percent increase over 2016. This has prompted organizers to add an 11th day to its 2018 festival, which is scheduled for September 12 through September 22.

In particular, French street theater troupe Plasticiens Volants packed Parcel 5 each night for the “Friday and Saturday on the Fringe” performances of its show “Big Bang.” Organizers estimate the combined audiences over the two nights to be more than 20,000 people.

Parcel 5 has been an important outdoor venue for Fringe’s free headliner performances the last two years. This raises questions about where Fringe will hold its large-scale, downtown spectacle events if the parcel is developed.

For updates about the Rochester Fringe Festival, keep an eye on rochesterfringe.com.