2nd annual Grindstone Comedy Festival kicks off Wednesday
The Grindstone Comedy Festival is bringing back laughs to Edmonton’s core.
The comedy festival at Grindstone Theatre, running July 21 to July 25, will feature Canada’s top comedians, sketch groups, and improvisers, including: Jon Dore, Chris Locke, Mark Meer, Ron Pederson, Adrienne Fish, Andrea Jin, Ryan Williams, and Charles Haycock.
The comedy festival first appeared in 2019 but was forced to cancel in 2020 due to the pandemic.
“This is kind of like the remounted second festival. Some of the response that we have had is the excitement of the first gig back – overall, just excited to be performing again,” said artistic director Byron Martin.
“We’re running four festivals back to back so we are ready to get going for sure,” he added.
Martin says the overall response has been overwhelming. He called the Grindstone a place where stand-up comedians “cut their teeth” on the live stage.
Kathleen McGee, festival producer, says there is plenty of great local talent and talent across Canada.
“I think every performer is so excited to get back on stage because it was kind of sad and scary for a while,” said McGee.
McGee says the festival is based strictly on talent at home – a “grass-roots comedy festival."
“There are going to be some really fun and funny jokes,” said the festival producer.
“We want everyone to understand how much talent is here. I think everyone will be blown away."
Safety measures will be in place with masks recommended.
Tickets can be found online.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.