Edinburgh Fringe Festival

So, as I’m planning our trip to Scotland, I’m finding one very big piece of information that’s pretty much affecting the entirety of the vacation: the Fringe Festival.

If you’re like me and have been completely unaware of basically everything and anything related to Scotland, you no doubt have no idea what this is. Allow me to inform you. It’s one of the world’s largest art festivals, and it happens every year in Edinburgh for pretty much the entirety of August. And because there’s nothing worth doing that’s not worth overdoing, Edinburgh also hosts the International Art Festival, an International Book Festival, and a world renowned military band festival in August, as well.

All right smack dab in the time that I’ll be in the country.

On the one hand: yay! That’s a ton of stuff you can only see once a year, and it’s going to be on right when we’re there! What an opportunity! But on the other hand: ACK! Edinburgh is bursting with people, and finding hotels at a decent rate is pretty much impossible. To make things even more fun, people who go to the Fringe Festival also typically go see the rest of Scotland, so . . . the entire country is more expensive during August. Let’s just say it’s a good thing I’m planning this trip now and not just a few months before. All the guides basically say to avoid Scotland in August if you’re not doing the Fringe Festival.

Well, this is unavoidable for me, as I’m going based around the dates of my conference. So right now I’m thinking of leaning into the Fringe Festival and not trying to avoid it or skimp out. Like I said above: it’s a once-a-year chance to see all sorts of awesome things. Yes, it means things will be crowded. Yes, it means things will be expensive. But it should be quite the adventure.

Have any of you fine people attended the Fringe Festival? Got any pointers?