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VANCOUV-HA
Just For Laughs comes to town
TREVOR
NOAH
JFL NorthWest’s
inaugural fest
promises hysterics
By Alex Walls
Photos courtesy of JFL NorthWest
Attention Vancouver: prepare for milk
to gush out of your collective noses
and maybe pay a visit to the washroom
before mid-February because this month
sees the birth of JFL NorthWest.
The new incarnation of the NorthWest
Comedy festival, JFL NorthWest is backed
by Just For Laughs, the company behind
the Montreal Just For Laughs Festival and
Toronto’s JFL42. Running from Feb. 18 to 27,
the festival has snagged some pretty hefty
comedy names, including new host of The
Daily Show, Trevor Noah, already making
waves in the media with a call to Fox News
to stop orbiting Mars when it comes to gun
control and interpreting genuine human
emotion; occasional Jennifer Lopez costar
and veteran stand-up Wanda Sykes;
everyone’s favourite member of the Blue
Man Group, David Cross, and known anger
management specialist Lewis Black.
About 30 to 40 per cent bigger year on
year, with about 50 shows across 12
venues around Vancouver, Coquitlam,
and Surrey, the festival is a result of a
partnership between NorthWest Comedy
Fest and JFL, and is expected to sell an
estimated 25,000 tickets over its run,
festival director Heather Wallace says.
She founded the original NorthWest
Comedy Fest, starting in 2013, and says
the partnership with “the world’s biggest
comedy brand” was an opportunity
to take the festival to the next level,
with the JFL brand opening doors to
bigger names and more recognition.
The company had been looking to establish
a presence in Western North America after
launching JFL42 in Toronto in 2012, chief
operating officer Bruce Hills says. Despite
other options in Western Canada and the
US, JFL felt Vancouver was the place to do
it after meeting with Wallace, he adds.
Vancouver’s “great” comedy scene also
fit the fare JFL was looking to produce—a
more indie, cooler, comedy proposition
than the broader Montreal offering, Hills
says. And while the focus is on creating
an event which feels homegrown, JFL’s
attitude is that it is going to produce the
biggest comedy festival in Western North
America, with tourism marketing targeting
not only Canadians but also nearby US
cities, such as Portland and Seattle.
Wallace echoes Hills’ confidence in
Vancouver’s comedy market—“people
seem to love comedy here”—and hopes
JFL NorthWest will become a destination
festival, one that is respected in the
industry, and that people plan to come
and see. As for 2016? “We’re super excited
about this year, [it’s a] fabulous line-up.”
Featured theatre venues include the
Orpheum, the Vogue and the Queen
Elizabeth, as well as the Rio and Yuk
Yuk’s. Alas, there are no free shows for
those wanting a taste of the festival,
but prices range from $10 to about
$70 for the headliners, she says.
But it’s not just about comedy
heavyweights—JFL NorthWest features
a “Best of the West” series supporting
local comedy and comedians, showcasing
acts that take place all year round.
One such local comedian is Kyle Bottom,
who says the partnership with JFL is a “huge
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