A Festival Unlike Any Others

Head to Burlington, Vermont for the 17th annual Festival of Fools on August 2 – 4, 2024. The festival features over 100 free performances on Burlington’s historic Church Street and City Hall Park. Enjoy buskers, acrobats, dancers, sketch comedians, and more!

Burlington is known as a town for the arts, which makes it the perfect location for this fun and quirky festival. The festival is sponsored by Burlington City Arts, whose mission is to make the arts accessible in greater Burlington, with the festival offering completely free events for anyone and everyone to enjoy!

A full schedule of events will be posted on the Festival of Fools website, so be sure to check back for updates on a detailed schedule, This festival is a celebration of circus arts, music, and comedy fit for all family audiences.

The festival will wrap up on Sunday, August 4 with a massive performance featuring all the performers of the festival.

You won’t want to miss the incredible Acrobat shows! | Photo courtesy of facebook.com/BTVCityArts

Schedule of Events

The Festival of Fools kicks off on Friday, August 2. Because all performances will take place outdoors, times and locations are subject to change. For the latest information, you can download the Burlington City Arts Events app to get updates as they come through.

All performances are completely free to view unless otherwise noted.

This year’s will feature the return of some of last year’s favorites! Coming back is Mutts Gone Nuts, a performance featuring some of the world’s most talented furry, four-legged friends! The dogs featured are all rescues or shelter dogs who now travel the world, from Tokyo to Las Vegas, bringing the fun everywhere they go!

Mutts Gone Nuts at last year’s festival | Photo courtesy of facebook.com/BTVCityArts

Burlington City Arts

Burlington City Arts has cemented Burlington, Vermont as one of America’s most livable cities for the arts. For over thirty years, this nonprofit has worked to provide city-wide festivals, events, concerts, films, artist markets, and more. BCA has a three-level, year-round exhibition space, the BCA Center, that hosts art classes, camps, and studio hours. The organization is focused on supporting local artists while also expanding access to arts-based education and experiences. by centering the arts in the community. They also place Burlington in center stage by presenting exhibitions and events with performers from everywhere, like the Festival of Fools, which offers performers from around the country to submit to be a part of this one-of-a-kind experience.

Take Amtrak to the Festival of Fools

Experience the festival via Amtrak to Burlington Station. The station is only 0.5 miles away from Church Street, making it an easy and convenient option to get to the event.