Southside Fringe Christmas Night on December 10 Southside Fringe organisers want to get the 2015 festival all wrapped up with a Christmas fundraising gig. The community led organisation was established in 2013 to celebrate local venues, performers and artists. And for those of you who can't wait for the festival to kick off next summer, the Fringe will be coming early with a special showcase at the Glad Cafe on December 10. The Southside Fringe Christmas Night will be used as a way to generate cash for the 2015 festival, which organisers anticipate will be the biggest and best yet. The Rum Shack will also be throwing The Get Go event on December 3, where locals can meet the organisers and find out how to get involved in next year's festival. The Southside Fringe Festival, along with a large group of local volunteers, is headed by organisers Corinna Currie and Crawford Smith. "The Southside is buzzing with new venues at the moment such as Rum Shack, Loks and McMillan's," Corinna said. These fantastic new destinations compliment the existing businesses in the area and we can't wait to extend the Fringe family this year. We're also hoping to host big open air events at the Queen's Park Arena, depending on licences granted and funding being in place. We'd love these to be free and accessible to all ages in our community so any help out there would be massively appreciated. To date, the Southside Fringe festival has been entirely self-funded and has received no public funding. Last year's festival cost close to £10,000 which was raised through donations, registrations, fundraising events and goodwill from local businesses and the community. To kick start fundraising, the Southside Fringe Christmas Night will be hosted by The Wee Man (comedian and actor Neil Bratchpiece). Also taking to the stage at the Glad Cafe is 2013's Scottish Comedian of the Year Larry Dean, Southside band Howlin Radio, Irish born singer songwriter Aisling Quinn and Glasgow band Junebug. And with such a stellar lineup of acts booked even before the main festival, does Corinna think the Southside Fringe is giving the West End Festival a run for its money? "I think the Southside Fringe and the West End Festival really complement one another," she said. We both give the good folks of Glasgow the opportunity to enjoy culture, art and live entertainment right on their doorstep. We anticipate a steady increase in the programme we'll have on offer over the next few years and it'll not be too long before we're matching the same figures as the West End Festival. Already planned for next year's Southside Fringe is the return of the Rags to Riches This is not a Fashion Show and Sarcassy Sneak will be back in the Shed with cabaret and burlesque acts. Plus there will be bigger food and drink events next year along with a host of bands and theatre performances. "The Southside is the home and working base for many of the talents in Scotland's creative industries, they deserve a platform of their own," said Corinna. We want to get the Southside Fringe on the map to create this platform for national exposure to springboard much of this local talent into the successes they deserve. Tickets for the Southside Fringe Christmas Night cost £8 and are available to buy from here.