The Great Outdoors Comedy Festival coming back to Kinsmen Park this summer

Setup for the Great Outdoors Comedy Festival in Edmonton. (Evan Klippenstein/CTV News Edmonton)

Edmonton summers belong to comedy once again as the Great Outdoors Comedy Festival (GOCF) returns for another installment this summer.

The comedy festival will take over Kinsmen Park from July 12-14 offering up new laughs for Edmontonians to share.

Stand-up comedian, actor and co-host of the popular podcast Flagrant Andrew Schulz and comedian, actor, writer and recent Saturday Night Live host Shane Gillis will co-headline the event on July 12.

The pair are set to join the already announced line-up of Bert Kreischer, host of the comedic podcast The Machine, 2 Broke Girls creator, writer and executive producer Whitney Cummings and Steph Tolev, who won Best Female Stand Up at the Canadian Comedy Awards in 2015. The trio performs on July 14.

Brennan McFaul, vice president of Trixstar LIVE – who is producing the comedy festival – said that the dynamics of Schluz and Gillis are sure to entertain Edmonton audiences.

“As comedy fans first and foremost, we are so excited to have Andrew and Shane co-headlining this night at GOCF," said McFaul. "These are two of the brightest and most popular next generation of comedy legends and Edmonton gets them both on the same night in what will surely be a once in a lifetime show for their fans.”

“It's going to be wildly hilarious!”

GOCF doubled up on the 2024 tour by adding four new stops to its itinerary. It will return to Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax and Vancouver and add Winnipeg, London, Ottawa and Spokane in Washington to the comedy festival.

Aside from the laughs, the comedy tour also raised and donated more than $350,000 to local charities in each of the markets visited over the past three years. They have raised funds for local charities such as Boyle Street Community Services, Hope Mission and STARS Air Ambulance.

With the addition of Schulz and Gillis, the GOCF is not yet finished booking more acts as more announcements are coming later this spring. You can stay tuned for the announcements by following GOCF’s Facebook, X and Instagram accounts.

Tickets are available to purchase on their website Friday.