The 37th annual Toronto Fringe Festival wrapped on July 13 with a reported $577,500 returned directly to artists — the highest payout in the festival’s history.
Over 12 days, the 2025 festival sold nearly 49,000 tickets and presented 106 shows across 22 stages — approximately a 25 per cent increase in programming compared to the 2024 iteration, which featured 76 shows on 15 stages.
Average house capacity reached 62 per cent. Three shows sold out their runs in advance, and the festival closed with a record number of sold-out performances.
“Artists are taking home more than half-a-million dollars, and many have sold out their first shows as professional creators,” wrote Toronto Fringe executive director Rachel Kennedy in a press release. “We are proud of our staff, volunteers, and artists for this accomplishment.”
The festival’s annual Tip the Fringe campaign, a community donation initiative supporting the Fringe, raised over $48,000 (also a record). Donations remain open year-round.
At the Fringe Awards Night on July 11, over a dozen prizes were handed out, recognizing artists from across Canada and beyond. Patrons’ Pick winners — the productions with the highest ticket sales over the first four performances in each venue — received encore performances on the festival’s final day.
Two Best of Fringe series are scheduled for this summer. TO Live Best of Fringe runs from July 18 to 20 at the Meridian Arts Centre’s Studio Theatre in North York, and Theatre Orangeville presents North(519) Best of Fringe from August 8 to 10 as part of its Summer Arts Fest.
Intermission reviewed more than 60 productions at this year’s festival — browse our full 2025 Fringe coverage here. And you can read more information about the winners here.
Toronto Fringe Festival is an Intermission partner. Learn more about Intermission’s partnership model here.
WRITTEN BY
Krystal Abrigo
Krystal is Intermission’s Publishing and Editorial Assistant. A Scarborough-based writer of Philippine and Egyptian descent, she graduated cum laude with an Honours BA in Professional Writing from York University, specializing in Book Publishing and Corporate/Organizational Communication. She enjoys reading bell hooks, Audre Lorde, and James Baldwin. At any given moment, you can probably find her at a concert or on a long walk somewhere in Toronto.
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