There’s no better way to ease into fall than the Georgia Straight Fringe-For-All, the opening-night festivities for the annual Vancouver Fringe, and a chance to preview all the plays you want to pack into the next 11 days—all at lightning speed.

With hosts Sara Vickruck (shown here at left, with costar Anais West, in their show Poly Queer Love Ballad) and magician/actor/improv comedian Travis Bernhardt (Unscriptured), the evening whips through 40 previews that last two minutes or less each. They do the work, you nosh on hors d’oeuvres and desserts while deciding whose shows are worth a look. 

The Georgia Straight Fringe-For-All is at Performance Works next Wednesday (September 5).

High five: Five events you just can’t miss this week

Tidal Traces
September 1 on the 600 block of Granville Street
Nancy Lee shows how dance and VR make a powerful combo at TaiwanFest.

The Kessler Academy
August 30 at Pyatt Hall
The smashing Microcosmos Quartet leads rising young string stars.

Operas & Arias
September 3 at Bard on the Beach
Beautiful singing under the stars on Vanier Park’s waterfront.

Body Language
To January 13 at the Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art
Witness the reawakening of Indigenous tattooing.

Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition
To January 11, 2019, at Richmond’s Lipont Place
Everything a Titanic superfan could want.