Winnipeg 
Events Description
Prepare to strike gold when the Winnipeg Comedy Festival (WCF), presented by Manitoba Liquor Marts, returns April 30 – May 5, 2024. Laughter is the ultimate treasure at this year’s festival, which includes the return of our crown jewels: five recorded-for-television Mega Shows (formerly known as our Galas), and two live recordings of the hit radio series The Debaters, which premiered at the WCF in 2006. We’ve also gilded this year’s schedule with shiny new programming including a one-person show about life as a touring comic for the Canadian Armed Forces, a roast to a beloved WCF comic, and an evening of all-star Asian comedy.
This year’s Mega Show hosts are all brilliant Canadians whose varied talents amplify all the fabulous and funny performers at the fest. Our Mega Show broadcasts are some of the most-watched stand-up comedy specials in Canada. In fact, for the second consecutive year, one of our televised Mega Shows has received a Canadian Screen Award nomination!
This year’s Mega Shows are:
Thursday May 2 @ 7:30pm – Your Next Act Fresh starts, new chapters, same laughs. Because change is sometimes scary, but it’s always hilarious! Hosted by Paul Sun-Hyung Lee (Disney’s Star Wars universe, CBC’s Kim’s Convenience, Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender)
Friday May 3 @ 6:30pm – The Perfect Show When the life you dream of meets the life you’re stuck with. Hosted by Ann Pornel (Baroness Von Sketch Show, host of The Great Canadian Baking Show)
Friday, May 3 @ 9:15pm – Back in the Day A side-splitting celebration of nostalgia that gets even better in hindsight. Hosted by Maestro Fresh Wes (first hip-hop artist inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, rapper, producer, actor & writer)
Saturday May 4 @ 6:30pm – Love You, Man Intimacy, vulnerability, and other manly subjects. Hosted by DJ Demers (creator & star of new CBC sitcom One More Time, appearances on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Conan)
Saturday May 4 @ 9:15pm – Customer Disservice Your laughter is important to us; please stand by. A comedy show so funny you’ll want to speak to the manager. Hosted by Lauren Ash (NBC’s Superstore, ABC’s Not Dead Yet)
As always, the festival is much more than the five shows that are recorded for televised broadcast. X marks the spot at the Gas Station Arts Centre patio, also known as our Festival Hub, which boasts free programming Wednesday May 1 – Saturday May 4 (see the WCF website for daily schedule). Executive Director Nick Kowalchuk has been working hard for the past two years to turn the GSAC patio into a welcoming outdoor space for the arts. “It’s fantastic to see the corner of River and Osborne alive with cultural events and a celebration of the arts. Comedy in particular can show us new perspectives that can help us laugh and learn. Laughter can get us to the other side of tragedy, can bring us together in common experience, and can make us forget the challenges of everyday life. The WCF HUB on the GSAC patio is a great way to bring our community together in laughter.”
Inside the theatre, we’ve got a treasure chest full of innovative comedy programming, including classics:
Laughing with the Stars (Wednesday, May 1, 7:30pm), where you can catch some fave Winnipeg celebs trying their hand at stand-up comedy for the first time with the support of trained professionals.
The Dark & Dirty Show (Friday, May, 9:45pm, 18+): if you like your comedy like you like your truck stop coffee, this is the show for you!
Queerly Beloved (Sunday, May 5, 3pm): International headliners and local favourites combine in this celebration of queer comedy!
We’ve also struck gold with loads of new programming, including:
The Roast of Kathleen McGee (Saturday, May 4, 9:30pm): What do you do when a brilliant comedian and a wonderful human being receives a stage 4 cancer diagnosis? You show her love and support the only way fellow comedians know how – truly tasteless jokes. Host Steve Patterson (CBC Radio’s The Debaters) and a murderer’s row of WCF’s favourite comics pay loving roasty tribute to Kathleen’s comedy and life.
EH! Material (Friday, May 3, 7:30pm): Comics from coast-to-coast bring their “Eh! game” to this show that proves Canucks provide the best yuks for your bucks!
The War Comic (Saturday, May 4, 4pm): Pete Zedlacher chronicles his adventures and experiences performing for the Canadian Armed Forces in war zones around the world in this hilarious and moving one person show. ($5 of every ticket sold will be donated to the Southern Chiefs’ Organization First Nations Veterans Program)
HOW MUCH
Tickets:
$25 – $45 + fees
How to get tickets?
WHEN & WHERE
Date & Time:
April 30 – May 5, 2024
Venue: Various locations in, Winnipeg
Gas Station Arts Centre, 445 River Ave unit 1, Winnipeg
Burton Cummings Theatre, 364 Smith St., Winnipeg
More to Do:
