The Orlando Fringe has cancelled its Winter Mini-Fest scheduled for this weekend due to the latest Omicron surge. 

It is with great sadness that we let you know that due to the omicron we are cancelling the 2022 in-person Winter Mini-Fest. All in-person gatherings and events are cancelled.

As the Omicron variant is spreading extremely fast, we feel the most responsible action is to redu… pic.twitter.com/gt5YPmMby9

— Orlando Fringe (@OrlandoFringe) January 6, 2022

The annual theater festival that was originally scheduled to take place this Thursday through Sunday has been cancelled due to the highly infectious Omicron variant. 

Fringe Director Alauna Friskics says all in-person events and gatherings have been postponed, but a Mini-Digi-Fest scheduled for January 19th through the 23rd will continue online.

“And so we are going to put all our efforts into making that a fantastic event. So we’re currently looking at ways to expand and enhance that festival. So you can check out our website for the latest details.”

Friskics says all performances that are part of Digi-Fest can be watched on demand with other festivalgoers.

“So you can log on at your convenience and watch shows on demand and get a great experience on your own timeline and with your own experience. We’re also going to have some watch parties. So you can watch it at the same time as other people and potentially have some talkbacks with some artists and just really make it as community friendly in a digital space as we can.”

Fringe employees are reaching out to people who have already purchased tickets about refunds.

Read Friskics’ full statement on the cancellation below:

It is with great sadness that we let you know that due to the omicron we are cancelling the 2022 in-person Winter Mini-Fest. All in-person gatherings and events are cancelled.

As the Omicron variant is spreading extremely fast, we feel the most responsible action is to reduce contact with each other. And, as a festival that relies on out-of-town artists to fulfill a robust festival, it is not responsible to ask them to travel here at this point in the pandemic.

But wait! There’s still Mini-Digi-Fest! We have a fantastic lineup of digital shows available for you. We are working to bring you an enhanced digital experience, so be on the lookout for additional info in the coming days.

If you have purchased tickets, we will be reaching out to you shortly. Please be patient as we work through these details.

Stay safe,

Alauna and the Orlando Fringe Team