City comics apply for funniest person with a day job

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This article was published 29/08/2016 (3685 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WHO’S THE FUNNIEST? Tuesday night is the finals for Funniest Person with a Day Job. This show is almost sold out, but some extra tickets will be released today, says Rumor’s Comedy Club manager Tyler Schultz, so call 204-488-4520 to check for availability. The 2016 contenders are Spencer Adamus, Ashley Burdett, Chad Anderson, Benji Rothman, Josh Klassen, Dan Goldberg, Martin Navarro, Jared Story and Ronald Recuenco.

The experience is worth the summer of tense comedy runoffs, says host Ben Walker, who won the contest in 2012. “Winning the contest opened the door to hosting at Rumor’s, then headlining — and now making connections for me to perform in other cities and countries.” Last year’s winner, Andy Noble, ends off the night Tuesday while judges compile their scores.

 

READY FOR ROSEANNE?: There are only a few tickets left for brash comic Roseanne Barr at the Club Regent Event Centre on Thursday, with Winnipeg’s Big Daddy Tazz opening. This is Barr’s first stop on her western Canadian tour before she loops back east for the Just for Laughs festival in Montreal.

The former sitcom star is highly political, says she doesn’t sleep at night from watching the U.S. presidential campaign and liberally sprinkles her comedy routines with F-bombs. She is not in favour of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and has interesting observations about outspoken Republican nominee Donald Trump.

Hold onto your hats. Should be an interesting night…

MUSIC OF MANYFEST: About 25 musical acts are booked for the sixth annual downtown street festival that runs Sept. 9 to 11 on Broadway. One stage on Kennedy Street and Broadway, running during the day and evening, will be dedicated to the many talented indigenous musicians in the area. A second stage for live performances goes from 7:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. in front of the Manitoba Legislative Building.

Friday night acts include Atlaas singer Heather Thomas doing ethereal R&B and Attica Riots. “He’s a tall rocker with long hair, charisma and energy and everybody will swoon,” ManyFest organizer Jason Syvixay says of the Riots’ frontman, Bobby Desjarlais. Closing the Friday show is local electro-pop group Vikings.

Three acts play on Saturday: hip-hop group the Lytics kick things off before the big dance party in front of the stage with DJs Co-op and Hunnicutt.

CHANGING JOBS: Downtown Winnipeg BIZ managing director and ManyFest mastermind Syvixay says September festival 2016 is his last hurrah with the BIZ. “I’ll close the chapter with this. I’m expecting 60,000 to come this year for the festival. We have brought 250,000 people downtown with it so far.” Syvixay has been known to juggle more than 100 DowntownWinnipeg BIZ events during a Winnipeg summer.

So what’s really going on? Syvixay is tight-lipped, but we do know the Mighty Mouse of Downtown Winnipeg BIZ is leaving to fly over to HTFC Planning and Design, which specializes in “landscape architecture, community and resource planning, economic development, urban and interpretive design.”

Syvixay has been at the University of Manitoba studying for his masters in city planning at the faculty of architecture, and my spies whisper he will be doing some interesting projects in the Exchange District.

SINGLES MEET & GREET: Attraction to a new person in an art gallery in the afternoon has got to be less dangerous than finding amour with a stranger in a bar late at night. Plus, the Winnipeg Art Gallery is betting on single art lovers being attracted to other art lovers. The upcoming WAG singles parties are divided into different age groups on different dates. The first one is Sunday, Sept. 11, from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. for people in their 30s and 40s. A week later, on Sept. 18, there’s a second mixer with the same hours for the 50s and 60s set.

The WAG people say they are offering interactive gallery tours and then “group activities designed to encourage new relationships” as a way to help break the ice. For more info, hit the special events page at winnipegartgallery.com. Tickets are $25. People can drop into the gallery in person, or shy folks can buy them online. Singles only, no married types sneaking in on spec!

Got tips? Cool things happening in your world? Rubbing shoulders with stars? Call the tip line at 204-474-1116.