UPDATE from ROCKFORD FRINGE
In light of the presidential election, Rockford Fringe is concerned for the safety and well-being of many our friends and neighbors. As such, we made the decision to pause our public hike-n-share series for the months of November and December. We feel it is prudent to create public events that are as welcoming and safe as possible.
During this time, Rockford Fringe will be researching, practicing and learning how to build — and be — a safer and more welcoming space for our community.
We will still host our annual Winter Solstice Poetry Caroling Festival on Saturday, December 21, 2024 and our public hike-n-shares will resume in January 2025.
Until then, we will share occasional updates and resources about our progress here and on social media. Thank you!
-Rockford Fringe @rockfordfringe on Insta and Facebook
Hike-n-Share Stats
Since 2022, we’ve hiked:
- more than 300 miles
- with 31 people and seven leashed dogs
- in the rain (four times)
- during snowfall (three times)
- during sub-zero temperatures (once)
- barefoot (24 times)
- at dawn (once)
- dusk (six times)
- in the night (five times)
- in the woods and prairies (13 different forest preserves in northern Illinois)
- in the city (both west and east sides)
We’ve shared:
- original poems
- published poems
- spoken word
- paintings and sketches
- guitar
- cello
- khaen
- anecdotes
- short stories
- and more!
We’ve seen:
- deer, cottontail rabbits, red-tail hawks, barred owls, coyotes, possums, raccoons, skunks, snakes, squirrels, chipmunks; and countless birds
- mushrooms
- wildflowers
- fall colors, winter wonderlands, summer splendor and spring ephemerals
So what is a hike-n-share?
It’s simple: We hike and then we share.
Hikes range from a short mile on flat pavement, to a rugged four-miler in the forests of northern Illinois. After each hike, we share something we created. It can be a poem, story, song, drawing, painting or whatever! We believe our hike-n-shares loosen the creative spirit in each of us in different ways so all forms of creativity are encouraged!
COMING SOON: The 4th Annual Winter Solstice Poetry Caroling Festival
We love “caroling in” the winter solstice with poetry. That’s when we take a night hike and carol each other with darkness-themed poetry. This “snow or shine” event is our favorite night of the year and is free and open to the public. The 4th Annual Winter Solstice Poetry Caroling Festival is Saturday, December 21, 2024. Save the date!
ABOUT US — Our History
The Rockford Fringe started in 2022 with a “Forward for Fun” grant from the City of Rockford. With the grant money, we produced the inaugural Rockford Fringe Festival at Walker Park. It was an all-day outdoor celebration of the performing arts and featured theatre, music, dance and parkour. It was a blast!
Through two more grants from the Rockford Area Arts Council, we produced our Winter Solstice Poetry Caroling festival, Ugly Jam Session and our Rockford Fringe Podcast.
Here’s a fun podcast episode with 14-time Emmy® award winner Will Clinger.
In 2023, we launched our popular Hike-n-Share series. Since then, we have hiked hundreds of miles through the woods and prairies of northern Illinois and enjoyed all kinds of creativity along the way!
Most Rockford Fringe events take place outside. We occasionally produce indoor events to keep the momentum going and to meet new people. All of our events are free and open to the public.
There are numerous ways to engage with the Rockford Fringe. Join us at one of our weekly hike-n-shares. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and X @rockfordfringe. Listen to our podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
The Rockford Fringe is produced by Connie and Jesse Kuntz with tremendous support from Jocelyn Kuntz, Essamuel Kuntz, Fern Kuntz and Angelo Kuntz.
MEDIA
We’re grateful to 89.5 WNIJ (the NPR station for northern Illinois) for this coverage.
Thank you to Rockford Buzz for this amazing promo.
Thank you to WTVO for this shout out!
And thank you to 3rd Ward Alderman Chad Tuneberg for speaking at the Rockford Fringe Festival and praising us in the Churchill’s Grove newsletter.
The Rockford Fringe Podcast is free and there are zero ads! It’s a great way to get to know a little bit about outstanding artists.
Please follow us on social media:
Constance Kuntz 