The The Desert Fringe Theater and Cultural Arts Festival is happening right now and going through Sunday, and it is taking place entirely in Twentynine Palms this year. Up Close Show host Gary Daigneualt spoke with Desert Fringe Theatre and Cultural Arts Festival founder Miri Hunter and she explains that while the hi-desert version of the Fringe Festival been around in various forms for years, fringe festivals themselves have some older origins..
Miri: “So the idea of a Fringe Festival started in 1947 and it started in Edinburgh, Scotland. They were having a festival and they had so many performers, entries, etc. that people ended up setting up performance places around where the actual performance takes place… on the fringe of the festival. And there was born the Fringe Festival.
“Fringe Festivals take place all over the planet in different places. No one is actually monitoring what a Fringe Festival does or how you run it… but they’re run in different ways. Some festivals you pay per show. Some festivals you pay a fee and get to go to all the shows.”
You can listen to the full interview here:
This year the Desert Fringe Festival is free – with no one turned away for lack of funds. They are always accepting donations though, and you can score a swanky T-Shirt if you donate $25 or more. The Desert Fringe Theater and Cultural Arts Festival is also being supported by Visit29.Org
This year the festival is acting like a roving stage throughout Twentynine Palms. You can find a full schedule for Saturday and Sunday here:
Saturday afternoon: Theatre 29 73637 Sullivan Rd 29 Palms CA
2:15 – 3:15 Lauren Wolpert, I Thought I was a People Person, Then I Met People (Performance Art)
3:30 – 4:00 T. Hammidi, Instinct (Theatre)
4:15 – 5:15 Sharianne Greer and Joe Rego, Paperwork (Theatre)
5:30 – 6:00 Mojave Dance (Dance)
6:00 – 7:00 Playwriting/Directing Workshop featuring a new play by Scott Morrill
Saturday evening: Theatre 29 73637 Sullivan Rd 29 Palms CA
7:30 – 9:00 Fringe Festival Band featuring Arturo “Rooster” Perez from Redbone
FRINGE SUNDAY MARCH 30, 2025
Sunday morning and early afternoon: Oasis of Mara 74485 National Park Trail 29 Palms CA
10:45 – 12:00 Walking Poetry Hike in the Park: Writing the Walk
12:00 – 1:45 At Conclusion of hike there is a No Host Brunch & Poetry Reading at 29 Palms Beer Co. 73565 29 Palms Hwy 29 Palms
Sunday afternoon: Theatre 29 73637 Sullivan Rd 29 Palms CA
2:00 – 2:30 T. Hammidi, Instinct (Theatre)
2:45 – 4:00 Madeline Sayet (talk/discussion on Native American Theatre)
4:15 – 5:15 Sharianne Greer and Joe Rego, Paperwork (Theatre)
5:30 – 6:00 Miri Hunter and Harry Taylor, Just Some Songs (piano/vocal)
6:15 – 7:00 Lauren Wolpert, I Thought I was a People Person, Then I Met People (Performance Art)
Sunday evening: 29 Palms Visitor Center 73484 29 Palms HWY 29 Palms
7:30 – 9:30 Closing Party and open MIC, sponsored by MACC, hosted by T.
