The first-ever Beverly Fringe Festival runs June 5–20, 2026, filling downtown Beverly with two weeks of bold theater, improv, comedy, and brand-new work. The anchor programming happens June 11–19 at The Bower, the new 36,000-square-foot creative complex at 248 Cabot Street in Beverly’s Cultural District. Montserrat College of Art organized the festival in partnership with Beverly Main Streets, The Cabot, and the artists of The Bower. Shows include Popcorn Falls (June 12–14), The Sound of [Improvised] Music (June 11, 17 & 19), Come Get Start Over (June 16, 17 & 19), Fringe Comedy Nights (June 16 & 18), and a one-night Bard Crawl at Gentile Brewing on June 12. Tickets are available at bower.montserrat.edu/events. Our Creative Collective team works from an office upstairs in The Bower — so yes, we’re a little biased.
What Is the Beverly Fringe Festival?
The Beverly Fringe Festival is two weeks of theater, dance, puppetry, music, and visual art across multiple venues in downtown Beverly. It runs June 5–20, 2026, and it’s the first festival of its kind in the city’s history.
Fringe festivals started in Edinburgh in 1947, when artists who weren’t invited to the official festival staged their own shows on the edges — the fringe. Subsequently, the model spread worldwide: open applications, bold work, small venues, low ticket prices. Beverly’s version follows that spirit. Applications were open to both performers and host spaces across the city, so the footprint stretches well beyond a single stage.
Montserrat College of Art organized the festival with Beverly Main Streets, The Cabot, and the artists of The Bower. That partnership matters — more on that below. For full festival details, visit bevfringe.org or follow @beverlyfringefestival on Instagram.
What’s Playing at The Bower June 11–19?
The Bower’s first-floor performance space hosts the festival’s anchor lineup. Here’s everything confirmed, show by show.
Popcorn Falls — June 12, 13 & 14. The sleepy town of Popcorn Falls is broke, and a neighboring town wants to turn it into a sewage treatment plant. Their only hope? Open a theater. Two actors play more than 20 characters in this 90-minute farce by James Hindman, produced by and starring Michael Gravante. Honestly, a play about art saving a small town is about as on-brand as a fringe festival gets.
The Sound of [Improvised] Music — June 11, 17 & 19. Ella McGaunn Geiger and Devereux Geiger of Interlude Music / Intermission Players create a Golden Age–style musical completely on the spot. Think Rodgers and Hammerstein energy, invented in real time from audience suggestions. 75 minutes, different every night.
Come Get Start Over — June 16, 17 & 19. Jes Algard’s new play follows a young woman through a year of changes — work, relationships, and personal loss — blending monologue, movement, and light magical realism. It’s a 60-minute piece recommended for teens and up, with themes of grief and transition.
Fringe Comedy Nights — June 16 & 18. Stand-up comedians and improv teams from across the North Shore share one stage, with plenty of audience interaction.
Tartuffified — Wrong Door Theatre Company. A high-energy, improv-style spin on Molière’s Tartuffe, full of physical clowning. Check bevfringe.org and the festival’s social channels for dates and times.
Tickets and details for every show live at The Bower’s events page.
Bard Crawl Brings Shakespeare to Gentile Brewing
One festival highlight happens entirely outside The Bower. On Friday, June 12, Theater in the Open takes over Gentile Brewing at 59 Park Street — steps from the Beverly Depot train station — for a one-night “Shakesbeerience.”
Here’s how it works. The audience votes on which Shakespeare play gets performed. Then a squad of actors tears into it with cue scripts in hand, performing around you — no stage, no dress code, no hushed-theater rules. It’s pay-what-you-will, produced by Lydia Brende.
For instance, this is exactly the kind of programming we love to see: a festival deliberately sending audiences into a local small business. Gentile pours the beer, the actors bring the chaos, and downtown Beverly gets another reason to stay out late on a Friday.
What Is The Bower — and How Did It Come Together So Fast?
The Bower is a 36,000-square-foot creative complex at 248 Cabot Street, developed by Montserrat College of Art in partnership with The Cabot and Beverly Main Streets. Three floors, three purposes. The third floor holds 30+ affordable artist studios, a gallery, and collaborative lounge spaces. The second floor houses gallery space, meeting rooms, and nonprofit offices — Beverly Main Streets, The Cabot, and Creative Collective all work from this floor. The first floor is a flexible performance space for concerts, theater, dance, and community events. That’s where Fringe Fest shows happen.
Here’s the part of the story that still gets us. The Bower came together in weeks, not years. Reportedly, the whole thing started with a chance street-corner encounter between the leaders of Montserrat, The Cabot, and Beverly Main Streets.
But here’s the thing — “weeks” only tells half the story. Beverly spent 15 years building the foundation that made fast possible. The Beverly Arts District launched in 2014. The state Cultural District designation followed in 2015. Year after year, those three organizations kept doing joint work, building trust before they ever needed it. So when the opportunity appeared, nobody had to start from scratch. The relationships were the infrastructure.
As second-floor neighbors, we’ve watched the building fill with working artists, gallery shows, and now a full festival. Furthermore, we’d argue The Bower is one of the best recent examples in Essex County of what collaborative infrastructure can do.
What Else Is Happening in Beverly This June?
The Fringe is the headline, but June 2026 might be the busiest arts month in Beverly’s history. Plan accordingly.
Endicott Community Arts Exhibition reception — Thursday, June 18, 5–7pm. The Manninen Center for the Arts at 406 Hale Street hosts a curated exhibit of local artists’ work, with remarks from Endicott College and Beverly Main Streets. Additionally, it serves as the official kickoff for Arts Fest.
Arts Fest Beverly — Saturday, June 20, 10am–5pm. The Fringe wraps the same day as this free outdoor festival on Cabot Street, now in its 23rd year. Expect 125+ juried artists and crafters, food trucks, free kids’ activities, and live performances. Beverly Main Streets produces it, rain or shine.
On Your Feet! at North Shore Music Theatre — through June 14. The Gloria and Emilio Estefan musical opens NSMT’s 2026 season at 54 Dunham Road. Tickets at nsmt.org.
In other words: theater in a brewery, a brand-new fringe festival, a major outdoor arts fest, and a Broadway-scale musical — all in one city, all in one month.
Why the Beverly Fringe Festival Matters for Essex County’s Creative Sector
For our members and the wider creative sector, Beverly’s June is more than a good calendar. It’s a case study.
First, the festival is grassroots and community-built. Open applications meant independent artists and local performers — not touring acts — fill the schedule. The dollars and the spotlight stay local.
Second, the festival drives foot traffic beyond its own walls. Bard Crawl at Gentile Brewing is the obvious example, but every show night puts people on Cabot Street before curtain and after bows. Restaurants, shops, and bars feel that.
Third, the policy infrastructure is working. Beverly’s state Cultural District designation (2015) brings priority state funding, highway signage, and tourism recognition. Consequently, the city built the conditions where a brand-new festival could launch and succeed in year one.
Creative Collective exists to strengthen exactly this kind of ecosystem across Essex County — and as Bower tenants, we get to watch this one grow from the inside. Come see a show. Vote for a Shakespeare play in a taproom. Look around the room. This is it.
Beverly Fringe Festival FAQ
When and where is the Beverly Fringe Festival? The festival runs June 5–20, 2026, across multiple venues in downtown Beverly, Massachusetts. The anchor shows run June 11–19 at The Bower, 248 Cabot Street, with additional programming at spots like Gentile Brewing at 59 Park Street.
How do I get tickets to Beverly Fringe Fest shows? Tickets for shows at The Bower are available through bower.montserrat.edu/events, with individual ticket links for each production. Bard Crawl at Gentile Brewing is pay-what-you-will. For festival-wide info, visit bevfringe.org or email info@bevfringe.org.
Is the Beverly Fringe Festival family-friendly? It varies by show. Fringe Comedy Nights and Popcorn Falls lean all-ages fun, while Come Get Start Over is recommended for teens and up due to themes of grief and loss. Check each show’s listing before booking.
What is The Bower at Montserrat? The Bower is a 36,000-square-foot creative complex at 248 Cabot Street in Beverly, developed by Montserrat College of Art with The Cabot and Beverly Main Streets. It holds 30+ affordable artist studios, galleries, nonprofit offices, and a first-floor performance space.
How do I get to downtown Beverly without a car? The MBTA Newburyport/Rockport commuter rail line stops at Beverly Depot, a short walk from Cabot Street. Gentile Brewing sits steps from the station, and The Bower is an easy walk into the Cultural District.
About the author: John Andrews is Founder & President of Creative Collective, covering the creative economy across Essex County. His team works from an office on the second floor of The Bower in downtown Beverly.
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