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Chunky Fringe 2023

Harrow Arts Centre, 29th July, 11:00 - 17:30.

Updated 04-05-2023.

Chunky Fringe is somewhere dry for the old technology lovers to mingle, perform and demonstrate their work. It will feature teletext, old and new, plus actual video game content. It was strategically located to snare Digitiser Live punters who couldn't find the main hall, but now includes an extra performance space that is even easier to miss.

Everyone visiting Harrow Arts Centre that day will be welcome to dip in and out of our exhibition room as they please, no tickets required. Our performance room will provide context via a live episode of the Teletext Sofa Club, to be followed by a special and slightly secretive presentation.

Where

Harrow Arts Centre is on the leafy outskirts of London. It is spacious, with step-free access, and toilets are dotted around the site. The site is adjacent to playing fields and a supermarket, covering all your needs for solitude and affordable fizzy pop.

Our primary room, the Hatch End Suite, is the place to see and poke vintage technology. It will be open from 11:00 to 17:30. Our secondary room, the Boiler House, will be hosting panels and presentations in tandem at certain times. There will be a video link for those who want to stay in the Hatch End Suite.

The Hatch End Suite faces the main car park, around the corner from the front steps where the cool kids hang out. The Boiler House hides around the back of the Hatch End Suite, sporting a tall chimney. Please let us know if you would like to reserve priority seating for any Boiler House events.

What's On

The Teletext Crew, who form the backbone of these events, will bring their old televisions, remote controls, and video tapes to the Hatch End Suite. Chunkytext, our very own teletext service, may also be refreshed for 2023. Here are our confirmed attendees:

More exhibitors are welcome, full details here.

Join us in the Boiler House for:

Play Safe

Harrow Arts Centre reserve the right to display "life drawings and other images which may challenge some customer's sensitivities". This also applies to historic teletext services and attitudes, so parental discretion is advised. Unattended children will be returned to the 1970s.

Despite the best efforts of those using blockchains to make sharing blocks more difficult, there's no money in the modern videotex scene. Even if you used to work in teletext for a living, the most fame you can expect is five minutes with Angela Rippon. This ensures that the prospect of commercially-motivated malicious or vexatious behaviour at this event is vanishingly small.

However, this is a public venue, so please do report anything that seems wrong to ourselves, to Harrow Arts Centre, or to Team Digi. Mr Biffo's continued freedom demonstrates that social awkwardness is not a crime, but we will gather impartial evidence regardless. Genuine misunderstandings are expected, and for the rare exceptions, we will be prepared to report exactly what we saw in court.

While Chunky Fringe is no substitute for broken mental health services, it is a pleasant place to meet people pursuing niche interests for their own sake. Vulnerable adults who aren't starring in Digitiser Live must be accompanied at all times, but the venue is otherwise accessible to all. We might have missed something though, so please let us know if you have any concerns or requests.

Questions?

David Walford (that's me) is the idiot responsible for this event. I occasionally appear in the Teletext Discord, but prefer email because it's harder to miss. Address at the bottom.

Chris Bell is our respectable social media face who remembers his hand-coded HTML roots. Follow him for all the latest news, because it probably won't matter by the time I add it here. You can also join the Facebook Event Page (thanks Jason.)

Mr Biffo and Sanja are the authority on Digitiser Live and our sort-of hosts, so we defer to their judgement in all matters overlapping our event. Ask them first if your question straddles both camps.

Mr. T will not be appearing for security reasons.


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