There can be no ESL Rochester Fringe Festival without the Spiegeltent, the signature mirrored hall that houses many of its shows. Indeed, the Spiegeltent will return for the fest in September. But this year’s Fringe also brings a slew of outdoor acrobatics, trapeze and aerial arts performances to downtown venues like Parcel 5 and Gibbs Street, organizers announced this week. The program is called “Circus in the City,” and it’s part of the 715 performances Fringe will offer during the fest’s run from September 15-26. That’s 150 more performances than Fringe staged in 2025, for those keeping track. And a few more numbers: 297 productions at 45 venues across Rochester makes Fringe a dynamic, potentially head-spinning endeavor. Founding festival producer and CEO Erica Fee said that’s intentional. “At the heart of it, ESL Rochester Fringe Festival offers an abundance of experiences, and sometimes people say to us, ‘It’s overwhelming,'” she said at the July 14 reveal at the George Eastman Museum’s Dryden Theatre. “We say, ‘That’s the point.'” ESL Rochester Fringe Festival shirts are laid out for the festival’s lineup reveal at the Dryden Theatre on July 14, 2026. Credit: PHOTO BY OLLIE BUTLER Take “Circus in the City,” a spectacle spanning jugglers, acrobats who center their show around an old school bus, high-flying athleticism involving ladders, hip-hop artists doing pop-ups and more. The performers come from Quebec, North Carolina and Vermont and will make downtown Rochester their stage. “Circus in the City” is made possible in part by a state tourism grant funded through Empire State Development and I LOVE NY. The partnership makes sense: Fringe’s scope helps stimulate the region’s economy, according to the Finger Lakes Regional Office of Empire State Development’s deputy director, John Connors. “Events like Rochester Fringe are true economic magnets,” he said. “They draw both domestic and international tourists to the Rochester region, and more so, the Fringe solidifies our region’s place as a cultural hub.” Other headliners this year include Matt and Heidi Morgan, whose “Cirque du Fringe” is an annual favorite. The nautically themed 2026 show is a murder mystery called “Anchors Away,” and they’ll be back on deck for the beloved “Shotspeare” as well. This year, the show takes on “Othello.” “Saturday Night Live” veteran stand-up Pete Davidson was previously announced as a the fest’s comedy headliner and will perform on July 25. He was due to appear at the 2024 fest but canceled a month before his show. Fee said diverse programming is the entire point of Fringe. This year’s lineup includes a sauna outside a church, a show inside an RV camper, a music concert taking place in Washington Grove, and more. “You can meet Mark Twain,” she said. “You can travel to the depths of the Titanic. You can experience a show completely in the dark or even in the belly of the whale.” Find out how to do all of that (and much more) at rochesterfringe.com. Tickets are on sale now. The post ‘Circus in the City’ anchors Rochester Fringe Festival 2026 lineup appeared first on CITY Magazine. Arts. Music. Culture.. ...read more read less