Comedy Festival

Download the 2009 Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DOZENS OF COMEDIANS DESCEND UPON CITY FOR 8TH WONDER COMEDY FEST

February 24, 2009 (Winnipeg) – A mob of Comedic Kings is set to descend upon Winnipeg, and our comedy crew has been working around the clock to contain the chaotic creatures and put them on display throughout the city from April 15-19, 2009.

Exciting changes are coming down the pipeline for the 2009 CBC Winnipeg Comedy Festival. We have partnered with Frantic Films to produce the TV broadcasts of our galas which will air, as always, on CBC. This year’s galas will become one-hour television specials which means the live galas are packed with comedic talent!

Thursday, April 16 don’t miss the Savings and Groans gala hosted by Kevin O’Leary, a real-life dragon from the hit CBC series Dragon’s Den. Other cash-grabbers include “That Canadian Guy” Glen Foster, Whose Line Is It Anyway’s Kathryn Greenwood, festival fave Tim Steeves and more.

Friday gets a little freaky when we present a double bill – two galas for one fantastic ticket price! First up is the Holiday Show, hosted by Royal Canadian Air Farce alum Don Ferguson and featuring Sean Cullen, Deb McGrath and many other holiday hijinxers. After a short intermission, hold onto your seats for the fantastic Queer as Jokes gala hosted by Kids in the Hall’s Scott Thompson and featuring several acts including Bob Smith, Elvira Kurt, and Winnipeg’s own Trevor Boris.

Saturday we present two individual galas; the early evening gala at 6:45pm features Seven Deadly Sins with ringmaster Andy Jones and vixens of vice Tim Nutt, Teresa Pavlinek and Deb DiGiovanni and others. The late gala Cradle to Grave, starts at 9:15pm with that other krazy Kid Kevin McDonald. Featuring Mike Bullard, Mark Little & Andrew Bush from Picnicface, and more.

Over the lifespan of the festival, our Best of the Fest show continues to grow in popularity to the point that this year, we’ve moved it to the Pantages Playhouse. This fantastic gala, on Sunday, April 19th at 7pm, is also a celebration of the Gas Station Theatre’s 25th anniversary. With host Big Daddy Tazz and performers Deb DiGiovanni, Marc Maron, Jeb Fink and many more, it’s going to be a party you don’t want to miss!

Other festival highlights include the return of our partner Rumor’s Comedy Club; the always popular Winnipeg Show at the Gas Station Theatre; live recordings at the WAG of two hit CBC Radio series The Debaters and WireTap; and our always sold-out French Gala at the CCFM. We’re hitting the Park Theatre this year with some great new programming including the titillating, no-holds-barred Gender Panel moderated by female-to-male transsexual writer Meryn Cadell. We’re also offering fantastic free programming at the Millennium Library and McNally Robinson Booksellers, and our French and English rural tours will visit four towns each in March. Check out our website for full details (www.winnipegcomedyfestival.com).

This year’s festival is sure to be the 8th Wonder of the World... or at least of Winnipeg. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster, www.ticketmaster.ca or 780-3333. Early bird pricing in effect until March 20th.

The CBC Winnipeg Comedy Festival is produced by the Osborne Village Cultural Centre, home of the Gas Station Theatre.

For further information, please contact:
Anne Dawson, Director of Marketing & Communications
(204) 229-2762 or anne@winnipegcomedyfestival.com