FRINGE SUNDAY 2009 WAS CANCELLED, following the loss of a major sponsor.  It's unclear whether the event will return in 2010 - check back with us for further updates.

Slap-bang in the middle of the festival season comes Fringe Sunday, by far the biggest event of the Fringe and one of the highlights of Edinburgh's year. Set on the Meadows - the public park and playing fields just to the south of the city centre - and featuring over 150 acts, the vast, free, outdoor shindig is a perfect introduction to all the festival has to offer.

The character of the day depends, of course, on whether the weather is kind. On a glorious sunny afternoon there's no better place to be, but it's still worth a visit if the rain's coming down; there's plenty you can see while keeping a (canvas) roof over your head.

In the tents

Aside from a couple of worthy charity trucks and a few stands selling CDs, the weather-proof part of the action takes place in the giant marquees erected for the occasion - signposted as the Comedy Tent, Music Tent, and so forth. The basic format is simple: performing companies are allocated 15-minute slots in the tent, the names and times are chalked up on the board outside, then the audiences simply come and go as they please.

You could, if you wanted, spend a whole afternoon in a single tent, enjoying many solid hours of your chosen style of entertainment completely for free. It's fairly hit and miss, though, as a slot at Fringe Sunday is by no means a guarantee of quality. A better approach is to use the 15-minute performances to vet acts for a future visit; flit from tent to tent, note down the names of any acts which interest you, then check out their "real" shows later on.

You'll also find teams from the major venues deployed on the Meadows to hand out their glossy programmes, all of which makes a trip to Fringe Sunday a highly effective way to get up to speed on the Festival.

Outdoors

The second big reason to come to the Meadows is to catch the outdoor performances, which occupy the vast expanses of grass which separate the tents. There are a couple of music stages, including one exclusively for artists performing their own music, but the majority of the park is given over to street performers - expect more jugglers and acrobats than you'll ever have seen in one place before. On a gorgeous summer's day there's no better place to be; but if the rain comes down you'll have no time for such antics, as you trudge between the tents across a windswept swamp.

Whatever the climate, expect long queues at the food stalls, which cluster on the far side of the Meadows from town. If you're organized enough, it's better to bring a picnic - or you could make a sortie across the park and into the pleasant suburb of Marchmont to pick up supplies. The temporary washrooms also tend to be over-subscribed; there are permanent public conveniences at the top of Middle Meadow Walk, the path which joins the Meadows to George IV Bridge and the city centre beyond.