World's Largest Street Art Festival Rolls On
Performers from all over the world cram into Braveheart's land.
EDINBURGH, Scotland, Aug. 21, 2008 -- The largest street art festival in the world is taking place in the Harry Potteresque town of Edinburgh. It's called the Fringe, and it's spicing up the streets of Scotland 's capital until Aug. 25, in the land that brought you William Wallace a.k.a. Braveheart, kilts, shortbread and the Loch Ness Monster.
From Susan Sarandon to Christian Slater, from one-woman shows to casts of hundreds, the Fringe is a hub where Hollywood stars mix with up-and-coming talent.
There are more than 2,000 shows scattered in more than 200 venues. Almost 20,000 performers will pop up in old churches, parks, pubs, movie theaters, restaurants, courtyards and in every corner of the historic Royal Mile, the main street that cuts through the old town center.
The festival has come a long way since its beginning in an abandoned pub with a leaky roof. It all began in 1947 when the Edinburgh International Festival was launched.
After World War II, the festival was meant to reunite Europe through culture. It was so successful that there was not enough room for all the artists willing to participate.
Aware that there would be a good crowd and press interest, six Scottish and two English companies decided to turn up uninvited and fend for themselves.
The result is that decades after it started, the 62nd Fringe festival doesn't take a break. Shows run from 10 a.m. till 4 a.m., giving everyone a chance to express their artistic flair.
Direct from New Hampshire, David Graham and Tobin Renwick, who have the look of Hollywood stars -- young, blond, incredibly handsome -- are, in fact, amazing acrobats. Surrounded by a huge and hypnotized crowd, they suspend themselves horizontally in the air while clutching the top of a wobbling ladder. It's their grand finale, and the public goes wild.
But it's not like this when the performers start. "The beginning of the show is an interesting moment," says Graham, explaining that when there is no one around people keep walking and it's harder to catch their attention.
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