This year, as my son and I walked around the Saskatoon Fringe grounds he said to me, “Mom, I see why you love the Fringe so much.” It was music to my ears. For years, before my son, I would spend hours at the yearly festival – going to plays, eating the food, shopping and watching the street performers – and it’s been an honour to pass this love on to my son. Last year, I started taking him to the plays and we will continue every year. This year, we made it to all the “happy face” shows (the rating for all ages) and I cannot wait to tell you about our experience. The Fringe takes place in W. E. Graham Park and on 11th Street East and theatre performances are at The Refinery, The Broadway Theatre and The Cosmopolitan Senior’s Centre.
Our Guide to the 2024 Saskatoon Fringe
Outdoor Fringe Entertainment
If you can’t make the plays, there are many opportunities to see some entertaining shows. Performers visit Saskatoon from all over the world to provide us with shows so if you can tip them, it helps get them from place to place. We want to showcase two of our favourites.
Photo by Erin McCrea. Jason Circus
This is our second year watching JasonCircus perform. This year, he also has a show people can attend when he’s not performing in the outdoor Fringe. The crowd loves watching this man perform and he is always getting laughs and ooohs and ahhs! From balancing acts to juggling knives, Jason keeps us on the edge of our ‘seats’.
JasonCircus posing with my son. Photo by Erin McCrea.
He also makes time to speak to his fans little and big at the end of the show. My boy made sure to walk up to him anytime he saw him to let him know how much he enjoyed the show.
Jambo Brothers at the Fringe. Photo by Erin McCrea.
We’ve taken in two shows by the Jambo Brothers and my son has already said he would watch them again. Their performance will get the audience cheering, laughing and clapping!
Audience Participation. Photo by a very kind audience member.
My son’s favourite thing about any show is the chance that he might get invited on stage. He LOVES audience participation while his mom is only so-so about it. We got invited on stage to dance and skip in the first show and the second one, my son went all by himself (which is my dream.) I’ll admit, we both had a lot of fun dancing with the Jambo Brothers.
Fringe Theatre
Now for my favourite part. I enjoy the food and shopping, the games, the kid’s activities and the buskers but what I LOVE are the plays. My kid and I made sure to see all of the kid ones offered. Here are our thoughts from the first one we watched to the last.
Catch Me in the Kitchen Story Adventures
Cawing like Birds. Photo by Erin McCrea.
Our first play of the Fringe Season was Catch Me in the Kitchen Story Adventures. Two characters narrated and acted out two different stories in both French and English. We watched a reimagined Goldilocks and a reimagined Three Little Pigs. Both stories started with my kiddo saying “I KNOW THIS STORY” and ended with him saying “I LOVED THAT!” There was no chance to be called on stage but this play let the kids move around and make noise. They got to make bird noises, wind noises and more. My high-energy child loves any play that allows him to move around. They posed with him for a photo at the end and they’ve also been so kind to say hi to us when they see us exploring the Fringe.
Survival of the Spookiest
Making friends with the Werewolf. Photo by Erin McCrea.
Honestly, Survivor of the Spookiest was great for audience participation and laughs. I asked my son which play he would watch again and he said it was this one. I imagine it changes just a bit each time we watch it. This one consisted of a challenge to see which monster wins at the end and the audience got to vote and cheer on their favourites. We both enjoyed every moment of this one and had a lot of fun cheering on the monsters.
Super Funtimes Magic!
Super Funtimes Magic!
Super Funtimes Magic was a show with very little audience participation but what we lost in participation we gained in laughter. All I could think of while watching this show was how much I enjoyed our bumbling magician. Our performer was silly and while it seemed like he was making mistakes, he was impressing the entire audience with his tricks. This was one of the top shows for my son.
Absolute Magic
Pep talks and Absolute Magic. Photo by Erin McCrea.
Our next show was Absolute Magic and it was a hit. He has travelled the world (he’s even been to the Iceland Fringe more than once) to share his magic. Most Fringe shows have a strict ‘no camera’ rule but he encourages it (just not flashes) because you are going to want to get some video of your family member when they’re called on stage. Yes, my son was picked to go up on stage to draw a photo and he was pumped! The entire audience was amazed by the magic we saw. We talked to him after and he made sure to let my son know that being normal is boring and we need to embrace who we are.
El Diablo of the Cards
Magic Magic Everywhere. El Diablo of the Cards. Photo by Erin McCrea.
We grabbed our tickets as soon as they were available and we were lucky because this was a SOLD OUT SHOW. El Diablo of the Cards had a table up at the front for audience participation. We sat in the front row so we didn’t get the full participation experience but that didn’t stop my son from loving the action. We first saw him while waiting for another show when he poked a hole through my pass and then it disappeared. My son was ecstatic when I told him we would go to that show next. It did not disappoint. The magic WOWED the audience but we also spent most of the experience laughing. It was a unique experience and I assume he’ll have a few more sold-out performances.
Fun for Kids
I need to add a few more shoutouts because there are a few things that my son would like me to share.
Games! Photo by Erin McCrea.
They have a spot for carnival games. You can buy tickets and exchange any gold coins you win for prizes.
Collaboration Station
My son got to help add to the Yellow Brick Road at the collaboration station. They were preparing for a production of The Wizard of Oz.
Reverse Bungee
This, unfortunately, was one day only but my son was thrilled to be a dare-devil while participating in some reverse bungee. He was quite loud with his excitement and they thought maybe he should stay longer because he was good for business.
The Saskatoon Fringe continues this year until August 10, 2024. Find out more about the Fringe here.
If you’re looking for more summer fun, look no further than our Summer Fun Bucket List.
