Fringe Homestay Program
The Toronto Fringe Festival Homestay Program
THE PROGRAM
We are establishing a homestay program for artists who travel to the Toronto Fringe Festival from out of town, in line our mission to support the national and international indie artists who travel to the Toronto Fringe Festival.
HOMESTAYS
Often called a billet, Homestays are members of the Toronto arts community who host artists, for free, in their homes for the Toronto Fringe Festival for up to 14 days the end of June/mid July.
WHO IS A HOMESTAY HOST
A member of the Toronto Arts Community (artist, volunteer, patron, supporter, etc), with a spare room or couch or air mattress in your home. Homestay Hosts are top tier volunteers and will receive volunteer perks throughout the festival! When you sign up to host, we’ll match you with artist(s) that suit your living space. Whether you have a guest room, a pull-out couch, an air mattress, pets, kids or roommates we will find artists for you to home.
THE ARTISTS
The Toronto Fringe Festival features 100 independent companies (or 1000’s of artists) every year from all over the world, during first two weeks of July, at the height of tourism season in Toronto. These independent artists, operate on shoestring budgets. Approximately 20% of these artists are either national or international artists who travel to Toronto for the festival.
The Toronto Fringe’s mandate includes giving 100% of ticket costs back to artists. Our out-of-town artists usually have more costs to cover, including travel and accommodations. We do our best to help mitigate these costs through programs like this so that our Artists retain as much profit as possible.
THE PERKS
All homestay hosts will receive a 6-show pass, per person (up to a maximum of 2/household) that allows you to book tickets in advance, as well as a rush pass to see shows on a last-minute basis. We also include some Fringe merchandise, a lanyard with special VIP perks and an invite to the volunteer recognition event during the festival.
THE AGREEMENT
All artists and volunteers participating in this program will be required to sign an agreement.
HOW TO SIGN UP
If you are interested in becoming a Homestay Host at Toronto Fringe, we invite you to start that process with us by completing this questionnaire: https://fringetoronto.wufoo.com/forms/mscve8j1wpxqad/
From there you will receive a follow up from Toronto Fringe.
THE PROCESS
With the goal of this program being the best possible experience for both hosts and participants, both parties will undergo a series of short interviews with the Toronto Fringe. These will be information gathering interviews for everyone involved, and a chance for potential hosts to learn more about the scope of the program.
From these interviews, we will be able to match participants and hosts with the best possible fit for the Festival.
If you have any questions about this program, please contact Suzanne, Associate Producer, at suzanne(at)fringetoronto.com