Photo story: Whinge! Festival hits Ybor City

Jay Nolan | Tuesday, December 19, 2023

Aline Trionov performs during the first annual Whinge! Festival, which the founders of the Tampa International Fringe Festival organized at the historic Ybor Kress Building on December 16th and 17th. Photos by Jay Nolan

Aline Trionov and the other performers at the Whinge! Festival, were required to be trying out acts for the first time. Trionov’s piece was based on a poem “Love Is A Fire That Burns Unseen.” Photos by Jay Nolan

Elizabeth Mitchell performs a reading during the Whinge! Festival at the historic Ybor Kress Building. Mitchell’s piece is titled “Lessons Learned Long Ago.” Photos by Jay Nolan.

Elizabeth Mitchell performs during the first Whinge! Festival. The co-founders of the Tampa International Fringe Festival and Fringe Theatre launch the event as a venue for performers from the Tampa Bay area to test new ideas. Photos by Jay Nolan.

Ed Derkevics takes the lead as “Raoul the Witchdoctor” during the Whinge! Festival. Photos by Jay Nolan.

Attendees rush from one performance to another during the Whinge! Festival in the historic Ybor Kress Building. Presented by Tampa Fringe, the event requires performers to try out acts for the first time. Photos by Jay Nolan.

Brittaney Taylor and Ashleigh Robinson take a short snack break during the Whinge! Festival at the historic Ybor Kress Building. Photos by Jay Nolan

Babs Vitale dresses in complete black for her performance “Imagine” during the Whinge! Festival at the historic Ybor Kress Building. Photos by Jay Nolan

Tampa Fringe co-founder Will Glenn takes part in a group discussion during the first Whinge! Festival. The Tampa Fringe co-founders have launched Whinge! as a place for performers to test out new ideas before a live audience. Photos by Jay Nolan

Performers Emily Pizano, Michael Montana and "Ben Not James" with Ed Derkevics, aka "Raoul the Witchdoctor." Photos by Jay Nolan

The first-ever Whinge! Festival is a testing ground for performers to try out new ideas in front of an audience. Photos by Jay Nolan

The first Whinge! Festival hit multiple venues inside the historic Ybor Kress Building on December 16th and 17th.

Attendees rush from one performance to another during the Whinge! Festival in the historic Ybor Kress Building.The co-founders of the Tampa International Fringe Festival and Fringe Theatre have launched Whinge! as a place for performers from the Tampa Bay region to try out new ideas before a live audience.

The two-day event includes group discussions about the performances and the arts scene in Tampa Bay. Photographer Jay Nolan captures scenes from the festival in the photo story in the slideshow above.

Read more articles by Jay Nolan.

Jay Nolan is an award-winning photographer and visual storyteller based in the Tampa Bay Area of Florida. A former Tampa Tribune photographer, his images have appeared in the Tampa Bay Times, Associated Press and Der Speigel. He also covers events for clients such as Hillsborough Community College, Tampa General Hospital and the University of South Florida. He attended the University of Minnesota and now lives in Tampa. View more of his work at Jay Nolan Media.