That's how things are done at a thriving organization that has made "bigger and better" its unofficial mantra for the last 21 years. Since 1999, only once has the artistic free-for-all in and around Old Market Square not set a new high for indoor ticket sales. The latest record was last summer, when 71,921 took in venue shows.

"Yes, I feel the pressure to continue the success," said the downtown resident who succeeded Nick Kowalchuk last fall.

"We believe we should keep growing by a couple of thousand tickets every year and it's my plan to continue that. Our target this year is to hit 75,000."

Interesting number.

"We could beat them one year -- that's my goal," McEwen said. "It's not so much about beating Edmonton but to be able to say we are the largest fringe festival (in terms of ticket sales) in North America. That would be great."

He takes the reins of an impressive feat of human engineering. Involved are:

75 employees (only two of them year-round);

700 volunteers, filing more than 3,600 shifts of four to five hours in length;

75,000 expected attendees.

Viva Las Fringe, the festival's nickname in honour of its Vegas theme this year, is loaded with headliners: master monologist TJ Dawe, power poet Jem Rolls, the always impressive Eyewitness Theatre from England, American Randy Rutherford, Montreal's Keir Cutler and those Teutonic Aussies Die Roten Punkte. Along with the typical offerings, you can watch movies, magic, opera, puppets, Daniel Barrow's manual animation, baton twirling tricks and aerial manoeuvres by Talia Pura.

McEwen is convinced that Winnipeg has the motivated population to increase attendance, based on the fact that last year 690 (14-show) Buddy Passes and 622 Frequent Fringer (10-show) passes were sold. That's over 1,500 tickets just from passes alone.

"Maybe we add another main venue, which would allow us to have 150 companies next year," he said. "With that I think we can reach 75,000 to 80,000 in the next few years."

Last fall, he resigned the top job at Toronto's third-largest fringe festival in Canada after nine years in the country to come home to basically stage-manage the second-largest.

"I'm still a stage manager," said McEwen, who held the post of Winnipeg's fringe co-ordinator from 1994 to '98 before Toronto came calling.

"I do a lot of the same tasks, except I have a better title."

McEwen is one of the few fringe administrators who has made a career on the fringe circuit, having run not one, but two major Canadian festivals.

kevin.prokosh@freepress.mb.ca

Here's the competition

2007 Canadian fringe festival attendance

1. Edmonton: 130 shows, 74,963 indoor show tickets

2. Winnipeg: 136, 71,921

3. Toronto: 140, 57,184

4. Vancouver: 70, 19,809

5. Montreal: 97, 17,821

6. London: 48, 13,897

7. Victoria: 45, 12,500

8. Saskatoon: 47, 12,400

9. Ottawa: 53, 11,500

10. Calgary: 33, 10,120

Top reasons attendance may rise:

1. Tickets are now available online, which should attract spur-of-the-moment sales and younger, tech-savvy fringers.

2. The introduction of Fringe After Dark, a nightly talk/variety show hosted by Ken Rudderham, will introduce more indoor performers on the outdoor stage.

3. For the first time, 100 per cent of tickets for the July 27 Best of Fest performances are available in advance.

Top reasons attendance may fall:

1. All companies can now charge the $9 top ticket price. There are about 100 $9 shows, compared to about 63 in 2007.

2. Weather. Remember what Mother Nature did to the Winnipeg Folk Festival last Saturday.

3. Festival fatigue. After the usual burst of enthusiasm during opening week, interest seems to wane in the final days.