Volunteer
With so many ways to get involved, it can be hard to know where to start. Take our new Volunteer Quiz to find your Fringe Festival match and discover the roles you might love!
Volunteer Applications for the 2025 Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival are now open!
NEW! Volunteer Fair
We’re thrilled to be hosting our first-ever Volunteer Fair to kick off National Volunteer Week on Sunday, April 19, from 12 (noon) – 4PM at the Fringe Grounds Café!
No registration needed! Drop in any time to meet Fringe Staff and Team Leaders, and explore the many ways to get involved across the 11 Volunteer Teams that help bring Fringe to life each summer. You’ll be able to chat about what role might be the right fit for you and ask us all of your burning questions.
Are you a returning volunteer? We would love to see you at the Fair! Come say hi and reconnect with familiar Staff and Team Leaders ahead of the Festival season.
If the application process has felt like a bit of a mystery to you, this Fair will be the right place for you; We are also going to be on-site that day to help assist with filling out volunteer application on the spot.
While you’re there, be sure to enter our door prize draw for a chance to win a mystery prize. Whether you’re brand new to Fringe or a seasoned volunteer looking to say an early hi to familiar Team Leader and Fringe Staff faces, we hope to see you there!
Fringe Theatre is a grassroots, DIY movement that cultivates ongoing collisions between community and art. Since our inception in 1982, Volunteers have been the beating heart of our organization.
Our Festival Volunteer Program
The Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival is North America’s largest, longest-running Fringe Theatre Festival. From August 13 – 23, 2026, we will host thousands of Artists and Patrons in theatres around Old Strathcona and across Edmonton. It takes a team of 1,000 Volunteers across our to make it happen! Learn more about our Volunteer teams here.
When you volunteer with us, you join a passionate, dedicated, and inclusive team united in their love for fringing, theatre, and community. Be part of something uniquely Edmonton that doesn’t exist quite the same anywhere else in the world, something that only happens because of the commitment of Volunteers like you. Joining our Volunteer team means you believe in the power of theatre and storytelling to change hearts and minds.
Our whole-hearted gratitude to Edmonton Transit Service, Blowers & Grafton, and Italian Centre Shop for supporting our Volunteers.
Over 180 of our Volunteers have been with us for 10+ years!
Are you ready to fringe with us this summer? Review the steps in your volunteer journey to the Edmonton Fringe. Then, read on to learn more about our requirements and available positions.
Requirements and Benefits
Volunteer Requirements
We welcome Volunteers of all backgrounds, abilities, and strengths. Our Volunteer program centers on teamwork, respect, and creativity. Each Volunteer team has its own set of qualifications, but we have some basic requirements that apply to all Fringe Volunteers.
All Volunteers must:
- Be 14 years of age or older at the start of Festival;
- Complete an online orientation course and attend team-specific training;
- Serve a minimum of 4 shifts (approximately 16 hours) during the 11-day Festival;
- Agree to and abide by our Volunteer Code of Conduct; and
- Fulfill additional team-specific qualifications, as outlined in the team descriptions.
Volunteer Benefits
When volunteering with Edmonton Fringe, you join a team of passionate theatre enthusiasts and arts supporters. In addition to meeting new people and connecting with the arts community, here are a few of the perks we offer to Fringe Festival Volunteers:
- Vouchers to redeem for tickets to Festival, Holdover Series, and Fringe Theatre Season shows;
- Access to Festival tickets given to Volunteers by Artists;
- Meals and snacks on the days of your shifts;
- Discounts in the beer tents, Fringe Grounds Cafe, and other on-site Vendors;
- Fringe-themed Volunteer t-shirt and Festival Guide;
- Collector’s edition Fringe-themed pin (available only to Volunteers!);
- Invitations to exclusive Volunteer events and parties;
- Name recognition around the Festival site; and
- Prize draws and other surprises!
Contact Us!
Our Volunteer Department is currently led by one staff member, Olivia Bogaard (right), Manager of Volunteers & Engagement, and supported by Rain Bossert (left), Coordinator of Volunteer Engagement. They are both here to help with any questions about our Volunteer program and to connect with you about your skills, interests, and any accommodations or role adjustments you may need. Feel free to reach out anytime.
Phone: 780-409-1922
Text: 587-409-0052
Email: volunteers@fringetheatre.ca
2026 Volunteers – most of your questions can be directed to your Team Leaders – our wonderful group of year–round Volunteers who schedule, support, and train Volunteers before and during the Festival. Your team’s contact information can be found on the homepage of your Better Impact account after your application has been accepted.
First group photo by Multimedia Volunteer Photographer, Alesya Puchko.
Second photo by Multimedia Volunteer Photographer, Anna Kuranicheva.
Volunteer Newsletter
Want to stay in the know? Sign up for our Volunteer Newsletter!