Forget the snow, get some guffaws at Charlottetown Comedy Festival

Islanders in need of some distraction from the tiresome winter weather may find it among the giggles and guffaws sure to aboundat the first annual Charlottetown Comedy Festival.

The PEI Brewing Company is organizing the event, which is underway now untilSaturday night.

Performers include top comics from across Canada, including Jen Grant, who previously performed at the Halifax and Winnipeg Comedy Festival, as well as on CBC's The Debaters.

Grant told CBC Mainstreet P.E.I. on Thursday that she's excited to be part of a new festival.

"It's something cool that we are bringing here," she said. "And I like the snow. It adds a little drama."

Good time for a festival

Al Douglas, event organizer for the PEI Brewing Company, said the show was organized in cooperation with the Hubcap Comedy Festival de l'humour HubCap out of Moncton.

He said February is always a slower time on the Island, so a comedy festival seemed like a good idea.

"With all these snowstorms, people need a good reason to get out and get some laughs in so the timing worked out perfectly," he said.

Grant, a redhead, said she was always a fan of the Island because of Anne of Green Gables.

She added that comedy festivals are also a great way for performers to meet and work on their comedy.

"It's like a summer camp for comics, you get to hang out and bounce ideas of each other," she said.

Three shows, two venues

The festival presents three shows at two venues, all of them starting at 7 p.m.

Julien Dionne, Jen Grant and Lars Callieou will perform at the PEI Brewing Company on Thursday, Feb 16.

On Friday, Feb. 17, Travis Lindsay, Mark Walker and Drew Behm take the stage at the same location.

And on Saturday, Feb. 18, Ali Hassan, host of CBC's Laugh out Loud, performs at the Florence Simmons Performance Hall.

Tickets are available at the door or online on the PEI Brewing Company website.

• MORE P.E.I. NEWS |BridgeFest will open Confederation Bridge for morning walk or run
• MORE P.E.I. NEWS |Stuart McLean remembered on P.E.l.: 'It really stayed with me, his generosity'