They try to make eye contact but you look away. Savvy fringe-goers even dig out summer-camp lanyards to don like chains of garlic in hopes of keeping them away. They have a show and they want you to know about it, but in the biggest arts festival in the world, you just don’t have the time. Here’s why those pieces of paper are worth collecting anyway.
1. You never know when you’re going to need to send a ransom note. Fringe flyers come with a wide range of fronts and images to choose from the next time you’re cutting out letters to paste together. Times New Roman may be functional, but if you want your mate to take your threats to their Xbox seriously, you’re much better off with the vintage vibes of a letter hand-crafted from an undiscovered performer’s dreams.
2. Fringe is a busy time of year. It’s important to take some time out for yourself, to relax and just breathe. Origami is a perfect way to do that, and why waste money on expensive paper when they are handing out colours and patterns galore on the street? Simply fold one corner down so that it is aligned with the side and chop off the rectangular strip at the bottom: perfect square paper for folding!
3. Students waste up to one-third of their university lives doing dishes. Get that time back with paper cones! All you have to do is fold your flyers into a cone and put whatever you’re about to eat inside. A fork or a spoon and you’re good to go. Chips, baked potatoes, beans, rice, cereal: they all fit inside of a paper cone. Yes, there could be some leaking, but while dirty dishes are distasteful, food stains on yourself just show that you’re cultured and well-fed. Bon appetite!
4. During Fringe, clubs are open until five in the morning, making parties all the more potent. For a cheeky addition to your next gathering, cut those flyers into strips and paper mache yourself a pinata. With just flour, water and something like a balloon to give you shape you’ll be good to go. For an advanced sesh, cut those flyers into triangles and string them up for a bit of bunting, or go all out with the scissors for some old-fashioned confetti.
5. August might be the best time of the year in Edinburgh, with beautiful strangers coming from near and far for the festivities, but the fun doesn’t have to end! Save a stack of flyers and fold them into envelopes for quick and easy postage to wherever your Fringe-buddy goes next. If you’re too lazy to write letters, keep the summer romance alive by simply mailing other Fringe flyers inside of the Fringe flyer envelopes you made, to remind them of the good times.
