Important Dates

Applications open: October 14 2026
Applications close: November 9, 2026
Touring Lottery draw: November 12, 2026
Successful artists notified: Within 1 week of the draw
Tour contracts signed: Within 1 week of receiving
Festival Fees due: November 30, 2026

Regional Tours

To enter a Regional Touring Lottery, you must have previously participated in at least one Fringe Festival.

Experience participating in or touring to more than one Fringe Festival is strongly recommended, but not required.

National and Cross-National Tours

National and Cross-National Tours are intended for artists with demonstrated Fringe touring experience.

To enter a National or Cross-National Touring Lottery, you must have previously participated in at least three Fringe Festivals within a single Festival season.

If you have not participated in three Fringe Festivals in one season but believe you have comparable professional touring experience that has prepared you for a National or Cross-National Tour, before applying, please contact Sheiny at admin@fringefestivals.com by October 29, 2026 to discuss your eligibility.

When entering a Cross-National Touring Lottery as an international artist, experience crossing multiple borders during a tour is strongly recommended. All Artists considering a Cross-National Tour should research the applicable requirements before entering the Lottery and allow enough time to complete any necessary processes.

You must have performed in or produced a show in a Fringe Festival, or have equivalent experience to participate in the CAFF Touring Lottery. Please email Sheiny at admin@fringefestivals.com before submitting your application

$45 CAD per 3 tours
+$10 per additional tour

All Touring Lottery application fees are charged in Canadian dollars and are non-refundable.

Equity-Seeking Reduced Application Fee

In order to reduce barriers to artists and uphold our commitment to access, CAFF is offering an Equity-Seeking Reduced Application Fee option for all artists who self-identify as members of equity-seeking or marginalized groups who face financial barriers. For the purposes of this application, equity-seeking may refer to, but is not limited to, Indigenous, Black, person of colour, queer, trans, non-binary, Two Spirit, living with a disability, D/deaf or H/hard of hearing, blind or low vision, cultural or religious marginalized group.

Any self-identifying artist may choose to pay the Equity-Seeking Reduced Application Fee without prior approval.

Equity-Seeking: $30 CAD per 3 tours
+$8 per additional tour

Individual Festivals may or may not offer reduced participation fees for equity-seeking artists. Refer to the details listed for each Festival tour when applying. Please only select the Equity-Seeking Reduced Application Fee if you self-identify as a member of an equity-seeking or marginalized group who faces financial barriers.

Tour Selections

Please select the tours that you would like to apply for.

One application fee includes up to any 3 tours. Additional tours are +$10 per tour, or +$8 per tour for Equity-Seeking Artists.

For every Touring Lottery tour, artists must meet the show length requirements for each festival in the tour, and be available for all Festival dates included in the each tour.

Each CAFF Touring Lottery tour must be accepted in full at the time of signing your contract. By entering a lottery, you are confirming that you are prepared to participate in every Festival included in that tour if selected, to the best of your ability and circumstance.

Individual Festivals cannot be dropped from a tour, except in extraordinary circumstances. If circumstances arise that prevent you from participating in one of your CAFF tour stops, we encourage you to contact CAFF as soon as possible, as well as the Festival in question. Should it be the case that the extraordinary circumstances can’t be resolved, then the Artist will be able to drop that stop with no consequence from CAFF.

Please reference the 2027 CAFF Tour Listings prior to making your selections for festival dates and estimated costs of each tour.