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Six years ago I was debating whether or not the move I had made to Cincinnati was the right one. I had left my friends, family, community and a job that I loved to take a position at the Cincinnati Ballet. The move was predicated on the urging of a good friend of mine who had convinced me a change to the Queen City would be good for me. Always lured by the curiosity of what is possible down the road not traveled, I took the leap. Life is ironic. And within two months, my friend was fired from his position as executive director and I was left with few friends and no real assurance of what was going to happen next.

In some ways the scene was set for something big to happen and it did.

I was lucky enough to find my way into a community of artists and other lost souls looking to dedicate some time, passion and energy into something larger than themselves. Every once in awhile, the universe provides us with the right combination of opportunity, talent and timing. When that happens, you turn off the part of your brain that asks "is this the most practical thing to do?" and instead listen to the voice in your gut that tells you "take the leap, this is going to be more fun than being safe."

It was within these serendipitous months that I met Jason Bruffy who had the idea to create a festival dedicated to experimentation and innovation. Dates were already set. A little money had been identified. A small group of people were interested. That's really all that it took to launch what is now a festival that employs hundreds of local, regional, national and international artists and sees over 6,000 curious butts in seats all over town.

Over the course of the next few days I'll use these blog pages to provide a little bit of history on how a rag tag group of poor non-profiteers launched their festival as well as why building community through endeavors such as these are important to progressive cities.

The Fringe is much more than just twelve days of theatre, film, dance and visual art. It is the essence of what we all seek – a community working towards a common goal. It is a movement in every sense of the word. It has momentum, it is unpredictable and it is transformative.

If you've never been, I encourage you to take a chance and see what it's all about for yourself. It's a way to see your city through someone else's eyes.