Welcome to the fabulous
Nelson Fringe Festival

5-14 March 2026
We’re an annual festival that takes place every March in Nelson Whakatū, New Zealand, giving a stage to actors, comedians, storytellers, dancers, musicians and more.

At the moment we are adjusting the widgets and tapping the pipes so that we can open applications around August 2025. If you are local with an idea we'd love to hear from you and support you to being part of the Fringe.

Click here to find out more about us.

Check out the winners and nominees for the 2025 Fringe Awards!
Click here to see the festival programme
that happened in March 2025.
We pick our festival dates so that we're nestled in between NZ Fringe in Wellington and Dunedin Fringe Festival - like a little fringey three-way cuddle.

This means that fringe artists can tour to all three NZ fringes, as well as the the big ones in Oz: Perth Fringe WorldAdelaide Fringe and Newcastle Fringe Festival.

What's happening

Fringe merch!

T-shirts, singlets, a hoodie & a tote bag. We could all be lookin' so fancy! Order through Printmighty and your…

14 February, 2025

News

We have a new venue!

We are absolutely ecstatic to announce that Yaza Café in Montgomery Square will be our new Comedy Club for the 2025 Fringe. Yaza will stay…

21 October, 2024

News

The Elephant in the Room

Join us for a reading of Breffni O'Rourke's new play, The Elephant in the Room. If you're curious about how a…

6 September, 2024

News