Every year, the minute I get my eager hands on the Fringe program, that familiar double whammy of exhilaration and dread overpower me. Exhilaration, because I can't wait to read the descriptions and circle the shows I want to see, and dread, because I quickly realize that I don't have nearly the time to see everything I want to see. With weekday shows starting at all hours of the day and continuing well into the night, the Fringe stays true to its alternative roots, yet sometimes forgets the rest of us who have an alarm that goes off at 6:30 a.m. Nevertheless, because the festival is all about no censorship, no artistic direction and no middle man, as well as being one of the most laid back, unabashedly fun and fearless summer fests in a city that prides itself on its happenings, it's a given that one must attend.

Fringe offerings can wow you, move you, make you feel positively blessed to have seen a life-altering performance for the bargain-basement price of $9 or can make you exclaim, "What the f***!" just like a La Presse journalist did a few years ago, prompting the fest to adopt it as their battle cry and use that line on every bit of promotional material out there. It's certainly the case. I've taken friends to see plays that they still remember to this day and I have also taken friends to see plays that I will never live down. What can I say; it's a crapshoot, people!

At the risk of being totally wrong, this year's shows that hold promise for me, are: @"Teaching the Fringe"<@$p> by Keir Cutler, taking a comic look at the menace of rogue audience members, Fringe wunderchild Jem Rolls in "How I Stopped Worrying and Learnt to Love the Mall","Dishpig" by TJ Dawe and Greg Landucci, a solo show about the delicious, high paying, well respected glories of scrubbing dishes in a restaurant, "The Official Napoleon Dance Class" (simply because I'm a Napoleon Dynamite fan and can't resist), "First Hand Woman" by Canadian actress and playwright Sarah Michelle Brown, about an exhilarating journey for anyone who has loved and lost, "Mojo" by Alice Childress, a raw and compelling account of tough love set in 1970s Harlem, "This Hour Has 88 Years" a fast-paced, high-energy project aimed to recapture the excitement of 88 years of history, "The Beekeepers" by Jeremy Taylor, a claustrophobic dark comedy about bees, beekeepers and survival, and last but not least, "Degrassi: The Musical", whose title alone should give you an instant idea of what the Fringe and its wacky preoccupations are all about.

Last year, the Fringe welcomed over 55,000 people at the Festival. This year, its 18th, over 90 companies will be presenting over 700 performances and this journalist is wondering whether it's mathematically possible to see all 700 shows. I can tell you one thing; every year, I have a damn good time trying!

For more information and a complete schedule, log on to: www.montrealfringe.ca