Standing ovation for 35th Edmonton Fringe Festival

It was like the entire city of Winnipeg visited Edmonton to catch a show.

During its 11-day run, the 35th Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festivalsold almost 122,000 tickets, and a total of almost850,000 people visited the famed fringe grounds, organizers say.

"Every year, it's so exhilarating to see the theatre community converge in OldStrathcona," artistic director MurrayUtas said in a statement. "For over three decades, Edmonton Fringe has led the pack when it comes to creating a space for artists to get their work to the masses."

Utassaid that he was blown away by the crowd on the first day.

"Our first Saturday was the busiest I've ever experienced this site before," he said. "It was just wall-to-wall people. It was beautiful."

Countless performers took over 45 venues to put on more than 1,600 shows this weekend.

Tickets sales brought in $1.3 million. All the money, Utas said, goes to the artists.

The success of this year's festival took Utassomewhatby surprise. He saidhe expected the poor economy to be reflected in the attendance.

"People are always looking for stories," he said. "In times when things are a little tougher, or money's a little tighter, they're always looking for stories.

"The weather couldn't have been better, the attendance ... everybody just seems to have had a wonderful festival, whether you were a patron, a volunteer, a staff member, an artist.

"To be able to say we did that in this time is amazing."

In fact, the poor economy didn't hurt the attendance of Edmonton's festivals in any way. Almost all the festivals in Alberta's capital were rousing successful with several, including the Fringe and the Edmonton Marathon, setting new attendance records.

Utas feels this reflects how supportive this city truly is.

"It blows my mind every year the way Edmontonians get behind festivals."

Fans who missed out on the festivalduring it's official 11-day run still have the chance to experience four of the top shows. The holdover series runs fromAug 24-27and includesFalling Awake, Nashville Hurricane, Little Orange Man and Gordon's Big Bald Head.