Fringe director and CEO Heather Croall promises “a feast of entertainment and celebrations” throughout the weekend, with the parade along North Terrace on Saturday evening featuring 80 floats and more than 1500 participants.

“There will also be hundreds of shows to choose from and people will take to the streets to embrace the party atmosphere,” she says.

More than 110,000 tickets have already been sold for the 2017 Fringe – about 3.5 per cent above the same time last year.

The total number of events for the February 17 to March 19 festival is up just slightly – around 1160 compared with 1122 in 2016 – with 5250 artists presenting works across genres including comedy, music, theatre, circus, magic, film and digital art, and dance.

There are also more than 100 new venues, and Croall is urging Fringe-goers to be adventurous in seeking out a range of different shows and spaces.

Photo: Tony Virgo

Opening weekend events include:

• Tindo Utpurndee – Sunset Ceremony on the South Australian Museum lawns at 8pm tonight (Friday).
• Digital Walls – from 8.30am until midnight on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, large-scale projection masters Illuminart will turn the museum, library and university buildings into “canvases of light” with sounds, animations and interactive projections.
• Parties – The Fat Tuesday Street Carnival (a New Orleans French Quarter-inspired street party) will bring Vardon Avenue in the East End to life with live jazz bands and New Orleans-inspired food and drinks from 6pm to 11pm on Friday, while Sugar Nightclub in Rundle Street will host a Dark Matter party, featuring space-themed games, food, drinks and more from 5pm until late. Fringe venue The Henry Austin will hold a post-parade party on Saturday with mariachi band The Skulls.
• Fringe Parade – There will be pre-parade entertainment along North Terrace from 7.30pm on Saturday before the parade begins at 8.30pm, travelling down the street from King William Street to Frome Road. More than 60,000 people are expected to attend the parade, and Fringe has put together a list of tips, including parking and road closure information, for those attending.