Some of Canada’s top comedy talent is hitting the stage in Kelowna.
Turner Volkswagen’s Kelowna Comedy Festival will have three of Canada’s best headliners, so get ready for some laughs. The festival will take place on June 5, 6, and 7 at Dakoda’s Comedy Lounge with local performers opening up for a different headliner each night.
Friday night will feature Ivan Decker, who was recently named the funniest comedian under 30 in Canada. The headliner on Saturday night will be Patrick Maliha, who’s the current world record holder for most impressions in a minute. Canadian comedy legend Tim Nutt will take over on Sunday.
Comedians Ivan Decker, Tim Nutt, and Patrick Maliha. (Photo Credit: Contributed/Kelowna Comedy)
Though Dakoda’s Comedy Lounge has a headliner every week, Kelowna Comedy founder and organizer David Kopp says this festival is special. “Not only are they some of the very best headliners in the country, [but] we’ve also got three of them in three days.”
The festival also includes a show by improv experts Gentleman Hecklers on Saturday night at the Film Factory. The Gentleman Hecklers take “bad” films and shoot off live commentary in a packed theatre, kind of like the grumpy old men Statler and Waldorf from the Muppets. The show will be presenting Plan 9 From Outer Space, a film notoriously considered one of the worst movies ever.
Photo Credit: Contributed/Kelowna Comedy
Kopp expects about 200 to 300 people to come through Turner Volkswagen’s Kelowna Comedy Festival, but he says the all of the shows will still be intimate. “It’s not like going to see a comedian in a big theatre,” says Kopp. “There’s an intimacy that’s experienced when you’re actually in a club and the comedian is making eye contact with you.”
“If you’ve ever seen comedy on TV, there’s really no comparing that to seeing it live,” continued Kopp. “These guys are genuinely the masters of the craft. There’s this excitement and energy in the air when you watch a live performance. You’re not just watching it, you’re actually a part of it. The entertainers, the comedians, they feed off of the energy of the crowd. You just become wrapped up in it. It’s contagious and it feels amazing.”
Tickets are $30 for the three headliner shows or $15 per performance, with tickets available at Dakoda’s. The Gentleman Hecklers’ show is $10.
For more information about times and the shows themselves, check out the festival’s website.
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