Old Greeny Fringe Fest is a week-long celebration of strange stories, creative gatherings, and community by the water. Inspired by fringe festivals and rooted in the local legend of Cayuga Lake’s most elusive resident, the festival brings performances, art, and interactive events to traditional and non-traditional spaces along the waterfront trail.
Some events are ticketed. Some are free. All of them are a little unexpected.
You might stumble into a performance. You might follow a sound. You might scan a QR code and hear a story someone swears is true. You might just sit by the lake and watch the water for a while.
That counts too.
How It Got Started
Like most good ideas, Old Greeny Fringe Fest started with a question:
What if we took the stories seriously—not as fact, but as folklore?
The legend of Old Greeny has been written about in newspapers, passed down by fishermen, whispered among locals, and revisited again and again over the years. Instead of trying to prove or disprove it, we wondered what would happen if we used the legend as an invitation.
An invitation to gather.
To tell stories.
To make art.
To walk the trail.
To notice the lake. To honor the land and it’s stories.
From that question grew a festival shaped by curiosity, sustainability, and care for place. A festival that doesn’t live in one building or one night, but stretches along the water—emerging at The Head, winding through the week, and disappearing at The Tail.
Why a Fringe Fest?
Fringe festivals are about accessibility, experimentation, and community. They make room for artists to take risks and for audiences to encounter something new without needing to know what they’re getting into.
That felt right for Old Greeny.
The legend itself is unfinished. It belongs to everyone. A fringe festival lets us honor that by keeping things open, playful, and a little strange. Performances pop up in unexpected places. Artists and audiences share space. The line between observer and participant blurs.
Just like the story.
By the Lake, On Purpose
Cayuga Lake isn’t just a backdrop—it’s part of the festival.
Old Greeny Fringe Fest takes place along the waterfront trail and nearby venues, encouraging people to move between events on foot or by bike, to slow down, and to experience the lake as a living presence. Sustainability, accessibility, and low-waste practices are built into how the festival operates, not added on later.
We believe caring for the land and water is part of telling the story responsibly.
Do You Believe?
You don’t have to believe in Old Greeny to attend the festival.
But you might leave believing in shared stories.
In gathering by the water.
In the idea that some legends stick around because they give us a reason to show up for one another.
Old Greeny Fringe Fest runs between The Head and The Tail, with events unfolding along the way.
Follow the trail.
Watch the water.
And decide for yourself.
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