Send the Spirit of the Fringe to Edinburgh

In September of 2021, I was surprised to win the Spirit of the Fringe Award at Elgin Fringe. Definitely a warm fuzzy feeling. Maybe I cried a little. This August (2022) I have the chance to participate in in the the original festival - the oldest and largest international performing arts festival in the world for their 75th anniversary. Coincidentally, this August will also mark my 20 year anniversary of Fringe festivals (I was a volunteer at FringeNYC in 2002). My round trip flight is booked and paid for. My dorm is booked and paid for. But due to the current advisory from the festival, I am in a bit of a panic. You see they have started checking bank accounts at customs in the UK due to an influx of refugees and um... my bank account looks .. empty. Let's be honest. It looks empty. Cause it is . What if I got off a ten hour flight and got turned away at customs because they don't think I have the money.

"Evidence you can support yourself while in the UK without recourse to public funds, eg a credit card / bank statement showing available funds. "

That is the exact wording from the e-mail the festival sent us.

But not a dollar amount, which maybe doesn't matter because the exchange rate is not in our favor anyway.

I know nobody has a ton of money so anything you can give is really appreciated. I have never tried to crowdfund anything before in my life. Due to some unexpected medical expenses earlier this year, I have zero dollars saved for this. But I am taking notes and will continue to take notes so that I can help others go to Edinburgh in the future. Some people in the Fringe community consider it a pilmgrimage of sorts. Certainly a once in a lifetime chance for many of us.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.