The District Fringe indie theater festival is returning to Van Ness this summer (Updated)

This article has been updated to remove references to a January 31st launch party. Because of the snow, District Fringe will reschedule the event.

In July 2025, District Fringe transformed Van Ness Main Street office at 4340 Connecticut Avenue into a pop-up bar and box office.

Last July, UDC opened its doors to the nascent District Fringe theater festival. The celebration of local, independent theater will be returning to the university’s Van Ness campus this summer.

Van Ness Main Street Executive Director Gloria Garcia and ANC 3F Commissioner Adrian Iglesias were part of the community that “stepped up” last year when the new indie theater organization stepped in for Capital Fringe, which closed after 20 years of producing Fringe festivals in DC.

“The support from the UDC and Van Ness community has been completely generous and was instrumental in making our inaugural festival an astounding success,” District Fringe producer Karen Lange wrote in an email.

Forest Hills Connection is an editorially independent program of Van Ness Main Street.