Buxton Festival Fringe presented its eagerly awaited Fringe Awards on Sunday, July 25 in the Fine Dining Room at the Dome, home of Fringe sponsor, the University of Derby Buxton.

Chair Stephanie Billen welcomed the Deputy Mayor of High Peak, Councillor Stewart Young, his mother, Ann Young, a former Mayor herself, Fringe and Festival founder Malcolm Fraser, and Fringe supporter Trevor Osborne to the event. She also  praised the high standard of entrants to this, the 31st Buxton Fringe: “I love giving out awards, but I am also aware of the many excellent artists and performers who may end up disappointed. We admire all the entrants tremendously and the awards are about thanking everyone who has taken part.”

Two of the biggest events ever staged under the Fringe banner were honoured – the hugely popular Buxton Military Tattoo (winning in the Other Events category) and the Buxton Art Trail, showing over 70 artists in 34 different locations won the Visual Arts event prize.

In the much sought-after theatre categories, Bordello Theatre Co’s Tales from the Black Jack won in the Production category, with its actor Alex Moran being rewarded for his performance. A late entry into the Fringe, If I Were Me, won for Youth Production, while Robert Hamilton received the Young Actor award for his performance as the guilt-ridden barman in Sketch theatre company’s Threads.

Award winners receive free entry to next year's Fringe, plus certificates. The full list of nominations is as follows, with the winners printed in bold:

Music
Small ensemble
Fordante: Exciting Film and Light Classical Music
Bright Cecilia: Forbidden Sacred – Music for an English Cavern
Selfmade Music: Seachanges
Liath Hollins & Kathryn Lewis: String & Song: Secrets of the harp

Large ensemble
City of Manchester Opera: Carmen – Concert Version
High Peak Orchestra: Concert
Amaretti Chamber Orchestra: Highly Recommended
Tideswell Male Voice Choir: The Tideswell Male Voice Choir Show

Most enjoyable
Ensemble MDCX: Monteverdi Vespers of 1610
Burbage Primary School: Music Event (joint winner)
String & Song: Secrets of the Harp
Derbyshire City & County Youth Orchestra: Summer Residential Course Concert
Tideswell Male Voice Choir: The Tideswell Male Voice Choir Show (joint winner)

Vocal
Bernadette de Cent (Gill Sweeting and Not the Blue Cheese Tarts)
Keith Smith: (Jake Thackray Rides Again)
Margaret Ferguson (An Evening with Africa’s Lady of Song)
Anne L Ryan (Moving Tone: One Heart Sings)
Susie Self (Selfmade Music – Seachanges)

Solo instrumentalist
Jonathan Ellis (Concert Pianist: A Piano Cavalcade)
Oliver Nelson (Violin Solo, High Peak Orchestra: Concert)

New music writing
Phil Mountford (Fordante: Exciting Film & Light Classical Music)
Anne L Ryan (Moving Tone: One Heart Sings)
Nicholas Simpson (Amaretti Chamber Orchestra: Highly Recommended)

Comedy
Show
The Crozzy Show: Crozzy
How To Survive a Zombie Apocalypse: After Dark
The Man who Cannot Lose: Lab Monkey Productions

Individual performance
Andrew O’Neil: Best medicine & Underground Events
Gerry Howell: The Fantastic Reality of Frederick Goodge
Helen Keen: It is Rocket Science! V2
James Sherwood: One Man & His Piano
Phil Buckley: Jokes Not Included
Kent Valentine: Fablemonger

Dance
Buxton Day of Dance: Chapel-en-le-Frith Morris Men)
Encarna Dance Presents Unquiet: Kerry Allsop and Gemma Collard-Stokes
Spiltmilk Say Dance: Spiltmilk Dance

Film
Weekend of Film: Buxton Film

For Families
The Clock Master: Sparkle and Dark’s Travelling Players
Misdirected: High Jinx
The Rainbow Under the Sea: The REC Drama School
Turned Out Nice Again!: Little Pixie Productions

Spoken Word
Seven Deadly Sins: Sophie Snell
Stranger than Fiction: David Allen
Bedtime Stories: Hendrick’s Gin and 40 winks