You've probably noticed that there seems to be an inordinate amount of stalls, performances and general excitement going around Perth this week. Well, that's because Fringe World Festival is here!

We know we're a little late in our introduction, but for those who haven't already let their curiosity guide them into any of the performances yet, The Fringe World Festival consists of 150+ shows taking place within 3 majors 'hubs' – The Treasury, The Cultural Centre, and Comedy Central. There's an incredible amount of talent on display – more than 800 artists are contributing to the shows which range from spoken word right through to cabaret, but don't take our word for it, head on down and catch a performance!

Snowed under with New Year workloads or 'university prep'? Still a little light on cash after Christmas? Don't stress! Plenty of the entertainment is free, or between the $5 and $45 mark for ticketed performances. The shows will also be running day and night, so be sure to jump on the website to see when and where you can catch one (I was kidding about university prep part by the way, no one does that, so you've got no excuse not to go check it out).

There are over 100 Fringe festivals worldwide but this is the first to arrive in Perth, and we're so excited about it that we probably won't be able to resist making a couple updates about the shows to catch!

If you're even remotely sun sensitive, this week has probably been a little taxing. If you also had it large for Australia day, then today is probably Struggletown, population: you. Because there's something about this oppressive, sticky heat that just seems to make everything a little harder, isn't there?

Luckily, OnWilliam and the Fringe World Festival have banded together to help you out. They're making shopping (with a bite to eat) just that little bit easier this weekend with The Laneway Night Markets.

From 5pm to 10pm on Saturday, and 3pm to 8pm on Sunday, Hook and Lock lanes in Northbridge will boast 45+ stalls of food, music, art, vintage and dreams. Ok, maybe not dreams, but there'll be a serious amount of goods floating around and by 5pm, the worst of the day's heat will have passed. You'll be able to visit a Jean Pierre Sancho stall, check in with Fat Shan records, grab a taco from La Cucaracha and peruse vintage until the sun is well gone from the horizon.

So come one, come all! If you don't know where Hook and Lock lanes are, they run parallel to the east side of William st in Northbridge – directly behind our gentlemanly clothing store, The Fox Hunt.

If you want to make a mental list of the goodies available, a full list of the stalls awaiting you can be found on the OnWilliam site, here.

- Kyle