Brightest Young Things

All words and photos by: Chris Svetlik.

I went to this event on a sultry hot DC evening with a friend of mine who works at Washingtonian; we were trying to find people for a "going out fashion" column she does. In the end apparently no one was dressed cute enough for this plan to pan out (step it up next year, Fringe Festites), so we just sat back and enjoyed the event for what it was.

And what it was was: a pretty sweet outdoor venue consisting of a makeshift patio, bar, and tent-enclosed theater space collectively called the Baldacchino Gypsy Bar Tent (a name likely conceived in a pretentious acid flashback). The space was complete with dozens of colored doors lying around, a sexy Roman statue with a lei, obligatory abstract art statue out front, and a bar serving beer out of taps constructed out of 90s-looking Coleman coolers, and also serving a variety of tasty and cheap food. Next door is the Fringe Fest headquarters building, a whimsical little space worth checking out.

When we got arrived there was a theater performance going on under the big tent, but they wouldn't let us in for that. So we waited around for the main event - the awards ceremony. As it turns out, we were probably the only people in the crowd that hadn't produced, directed, or acted in one of the productions for the festival, but it was fun watching them. People gulped in nervous anticipation. Beads of sweat formed. The air was tense. Then the winners were named and everyone seemed super, super excited about everything announced - pretty cheerful crowd. Obvious now that I should have actually gone to some of the Fringe Fest shows, but there's always next year I guess.