In the heavy weeks following the Pulse nightclub tragedy in 2016, George Wallace, executive director of the LGBTQ+ support resource The Center, didn’t attend any of the memorials or vigils. Instead, he says the first time he felt any sense of healing was at an art center for a benefit show, watching Broadway artists perform in honor of the 49 victims of the shooting.
Ten years later, the arts continue to have a profound impact on Wallace’s life. Most recently, he’s been working to stage this year’s Orlando Out Fest, a curated weekend festival produced by Orlando Fringe to celebrate queer stories, artists and history.
“The governor and the current politicians are trying to erase us, whether it be a sidewalk or a mural or a light or whatever it may be, a bridge,” Wallace tells Orlando Weekly. “They’re just trying to make us kind of go away, and we’re not going anywhere. So now is really a crucial time to be able to platform and elevate voices in the queer community because we’re not going anywhere.”
As the former executive director of Orlando Fringe, he was also tasked with selecting the acts for Orlando Out Fest, returning for a second time after a hiatus in 2025.
“I wanted to make sure that there was a really great cross-representation between people who have been part of Fringe for years and years and years, and new emerging artists, and then also make sure that there was burlesque and comedy and storytelling and solo shows and just a really good mix of the art scene here in Central Florida. Because we have such a robust, great art scene to make sure that there was representation,” Wallace explains.
With an overarching goal of highlighting and supporting queer artists, Out Fest represents the full spectrum of the LGBTQIA community. Each production in the 16-show lineup connects to the community, from campy comedy shows and drag queen stand-ups to intimate, heartfelt pieces about queer experience.
A majority of ticket sales will also be donated to various nonprofits and scholarship funds and go back to the artists themselves.
For Tempestt Halstead, artist director and festival producer for Orlando Fringe, the main mission of Out Fest is to provide equitable spaces for queer artists to make money and to give back to a community in need of visibility.
“This is a way for those individuals to have a voice when they don’t have a voice, or a platform to be able to perform it,” says Halstead. “This is their free speech, this is their truths, this is their lived experiences. Art does so much for so many people, and it is really a bridge to connect all of humanity. So it’s not just about one particular story. It’s about saying, ‘Hey, these folks need more support and more visibility right now, and we’re going to give it to them.’”
As the LGBTQ+ community has been at the forefront of targeted political attacks and stamped with harmful stereotypes and misconceptions over the last few years, Halstead says that it’s vitally important for the arts community to fight back in the opposite direction.
“There is always a priority to give platforms and highlight marginalized communities, and so of course there needs to be visibility, and there needs to be opportunities,” Halstead says. “The work is not done; it’s never going to be done. I think these last couple of years have really shown us how many steps we can take backwards, and we need to be progressing forward. We need to say we’re here. We’re not afraid to platform these artists.”
Halstead began her arts career in college, after majoring in theater stage management and production, where she “instantly fell in love with it.”
“The first time I was on stage was at Fringe, and I totally didn’t understand that this was such a unique way to produce as a solo producer and artist,” Halstead says. “Fringe is very unique, and it’s extremely affordable. It’s extremely accessible. Fringe subsidized so much of the cost to be able to produce and let the artist be the artist and take 100% of the ticket sales, and that’s like the main Fringe.”
The same will remain true for Out Fest, where ticket prices range from $5 to $18. Unlike the other fests produced by Orlando Fringe, like their International Fringe Theatre Festival or Winter Mini Fest, audiences do not need to purchase an entry button in addition to tickets.
“Just buy a ticket and come,” Wallace says. “We say show up on time. We want to make sure that the artists and the integrity of the arts is at its best, so we don’t really allow late seating. Definitely show up on time, and then just hang out and talk to people. Our audiences love to talk about what they’ve just seen, or if there’s a buzz going on.”
Wallace says another great aspect of Out Fest is the ability to support businesses that are supporting Fringe and The Center. In partnership with local LGBTQ+ nonprofits and community partners, the shows for Out Fest will be held at Savoy Orlando, the Renaissance Theater Co. and (of course) The Center Orlando.
“There is going to be a sellout, so definitely get your tickets early,” Wallace warns.
Halstead’s final piece of advice for new audiences that may be skeptical is to simply take a chance on unknown art, artist or genre.
“You’re going to walk away from that experience with something,” Halstead says. “It might be a good something. It might be a bad something. It might be a retrospective something. It might be a heartfelt something. But you’re going to walk away with something. So I say just take a chance. It’s extremely cheap. It’s extremely affordable. Even if you just go on the website and just pick randomly, all of this benefits such good causes and benefits artists.”
Thursday-Sunday, Sept. 10-13, Various locations, orlandofringe.org, $5-$18.
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This article appears in Sept. 9-15, 2026.
