OUR COMMUNITY

Founded in 2008, Fringe by the Sea is a not-for-profit, 10 day multi-arts festival set in the beautiful town of North Berwick bringing together like minded people who share a passion for the arts.

Originally created as a community arts festival with a limited number of local acts and attendees, the event has grown over 14 years and now delivers over 200 events to nearly 60,000 visitors bringing more than £6.5 million economic benefit to the local area.

Community remains at the heart of the organisation with a core objective to widen and strengthen community involvement year on year.

East Lothian has a thriving arts community. From painters to musicians, choirs to dance groups, local crafts to world renowned authors all on our doorstep.

The Fringe by the Sea programme pulls together people from all of these strands to sit alongside national and international performers.

Our overarching theme for 2023 is Weaving Wonder.  We’ll be working on this theme with a number of local organisations and groups throughout the year, culminating in work to be presented at the festival.

Whilst our area is vibrant and motivated, there are also pockets of deprivation and given our rural location, isolation. Fringe by the Sea acts a catalyst for cross community connection to allow the breadth of the population to be involved in the event.

The festival allows us bringing our community together under an umbrella of shared passion for the arts.