NEPA Scene Staff

Scranton Fringe Festival hosts COVID-19 vaccine clinic at AfA Gallery on April 22

Scranton Fringe Festival hosts COVID-19 vaccine clinic at AfA Gallery on April 22
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From a press release:

The Scranton Fringe Festival is partnering with the Rite Aid of Hamlin to host a COVID-19 vaccine clinic for the general public on Thursday, April 22 at the AfA Gallery in downtown Scranton from 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

A minimum of 200 doses of the Pfizer vaccine will be administered by representatives from Rite Aid. Anyone 18 years old or older, or 16 and older with a legal guardian present, can register. All Pennsylvanians are now eligible to register for vaccination beginning April 13. Everyone who receives their first dose on April 22 will be scheduled for their second dose on Friday, May 14. Advance registration for this free vaccine clinic is required and can be found here.

Both clinics at the AfA Gallery (101 Penn Ave., Scranton) will feature live music provided by regional musicians in Scranton Fringe’s continuing efforts to support the creative industry of Northeastern Pennsylvania.

Registered participants must bring a valid government-issued photo ID, their medical insurance and prescription insurance cards, and their social security number. Upon registration, a confirmation email will be sent with a full list of materials needed and forms that need to be completed prior to arriving. Insurance is not required to receive the vaccine, but registration is necessary.

“We want to encourage everyone to register and get vaccinated – especially artists, arts educators, gig workers, and everyone else in the creative sector. The pandemic has hit the creative sector especially hard,” said Scranton Fringe Executive Director and co-founder Conor Kelly O’Brien said.

“Access to health care is vital to our community. We want to help as many people get vaccinated as we can,” Scranton Fringe Managing Director and co-founder Elizabeth Bohan added.

In tandem with this event, the Scranton Fringe is launching a poster design contest to encourage people to get vaccinated. Winners will be selected by a committee, win a cash prize, and receive a percentage of sales from the posters. Rules and more information can be found at scrantonfringe.org.

As an arts and culture nonprofit organization, the Scranton Fringe is an incubator of creative new ideas dedicated to creating a bold and engaging platform for creative and thought-provoking art with minimal risk to artist and audience. The main event is a large annual arts festival supported by special year-round events and various expanded programming.

The 2019 Scranton Fringe Festival, the last held before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, played host to over 10,000 unique individuals and more than 50 performers and performing groups. In 2020, the festival pivoted to create numerous outdoor and digital-based programs, which caught the attention of regional media as well as national publications such as The Washington Post and even Vogue magazine.

The Scranton Fringe will continue to provide artists with safe opportunities to perform their work this fall. After a sold-out run in 2020, Fringe Under Glass, an innovative walking tour of live performing arts staged behind the windows of various storefronts, will return on Thursday, Sept. 23 through Sunday, Sept. 26. Artist applications can be submitted at scrantonfringe.org until Friday, April 23.

The Scranton Fringe also launched an emergency fund for local artists and creative gig workers impacted by COVID-19, which has distributed over $10,000 throughout NEPA, and created numerous digital programs such as a series of independent virtual theatre called Social Distant-Scene.