Luther Burbank Center for the Arts to Host Stand Up Sonoma Comedy Benefit

Luther Burbank Center for the Arts (LBC) will host Stand Up Sonoma, a comedy benefit featuring Joel McHale, Nick Kroll, Nikki Glaser, Kyle Kinane, Chris Porter, and more on Thursday, January 4, 2018 at 8 p.m. Proceeds from the once-in-a-lifetime night of comedy relief will go to the Sonoma Pride Fundraiser and King Ridge Foundation, which directly help those in Sonoma County affected by the October wildfires.

Additionally, a portion of ticket proceeds will go to Luther Burbank Center for the Arts Fire Recovery Fund. Created by veterans of Sonoma County's hospitality industry, Stand Up Sonoma will also feature a Community Happy Hour prior to the performance, beginning at 6:30 p.m., complete with a raffle and local beer and wine available for purchase. Tickets range in price from $55 - $125 and will be available for purchase on Thursday, December 7, 2017 at 12 p.m. by calling 707.546.3600, online at lutherburbankcenter.org, or at the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts ticket office (50 Mark West Springs Road in Santa Rosa).

"Events like this comedy benefit are healing in many ways and we are grateful to Stand Up Sonoma for dreaming up a performance that will help our community come together to support one another and be entertained," said Luther Burbank Center for the Arts President and CEO Rick Nowlin. "We are excited to open up the Center's facility to the community for this unforgettable evening!"

In the midst of the fires in October 2017, many restaurants and bars across Sonoma County were able to open their doors to provide refuge and a gathering place for the community. Upon hearing both heartbreaking and heartwarming stories, Jacob Totz, lead brewer of Russian River Brewing Company and his colleagues in the hospitality industry were inspired to create Stand Up Sonoma. With a passion for helping the local community and with the understanding that the road ahead can be long and tiresome, Stand Up Sonoma aims to aid the long-term needs while the rebuilding process is underway, after the immediate help is gone.

"As a fan of stand-up comedy, I knew that it would be an amazing opportunity to gather some of today's most hilarious comedians to help one another laugh and do our part to help rebuild the community," said Totz.

Along with Jacob Totz, The Stand Up Sonoma committee is made up of Stephanie Valdivia, Marketing and Event Planner of Cuvee Wine Country Events, and Jackie Tompkins, Tasting Lounge Manager of B. Wise Vineyards.

For more information about Stand Up Sonoma, visit https://www.standupsonoma.com/
### About Luther Burbank Center for the Arts
A 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, Luther Burbank Center for the Arts is home to world-class performances, nationally recognized education programs, contemporary visual art, and many popular events. The Arts Center is located in the heart of the Sonoma wine country and ranked among California's top performing arts presenters. Together with its resident companies, the Center presents more than 230 performances in music, dance, theater, renowned speakers, and comedy; provides education programs serving 40,000 children and adults; and hosts more than 1,000 community events a year. Owned and operated by the Luther Burbank Memorial Foundation, the Center relies on charitable community donations to achieve its mission - to enrich, educate, and entertain.

About Sonoma Pride
In an effort to help rebuild their local community, Natalie and Vinnie Cilurzo, owners of Santa Rosa's Russian River Brewing Company, have partnered with former professional cyclist Levi Leipheimer's King Ridge Foundation to launch the charitable endeavor Sonoma Pride. The campaign will raise funds through direct donations to the King Ridge Foundation, sales of Sonoma Pride beer, $25 donations for a chance to win Pliny the Younger line cutting privileges in 2018, and more.

About King Ridge Foundation
King Ridge Foundation is a Santa Rosa based 501(c)3 non-profit that through Levi's GranFondo has raised more than $2.5million for charity since 2009. In 2015, King Ridge Foundation raised more than $60,000 for relief efforts in connection with the Valley Fire, one of California's most destructive wildfires in the state's history.

King Ridge Foundation's mission is to give at-risk youth a chance. During times of heightened community needs, our mission expands to focus on enabling everyone to return normalcy to our community's way of living. Through this flexibility we are able to thrive, and continue to serve our core mission. Learn more about King Ridge Foundation at http://www.kingridgefoundation.org

About LBC Fire Recovery Fund
Of the 140,000 square feet in the facility, the October 9 fire destroyed approximately 30,000 square feet, including: a two-story classroom building; the 400-seat auditorium/performance space; the LBC's storage and workshop building, along with approximately 400 instruments in the Music For Schools lending library; and much of the landscape and the irrigation system. In addition, the Sculpture Garden suffered significant damage.

The Center was finally able to reopen for business on November 6, following four weeks of business disruption, requiring the cancellation of nine shows, with another six hoping to be rescheduled. Donations to the LBC Fire Recovery Fund will allow for recovery of the unanticipated costs of clean-up, lost ticket revenue, musical instruments, maintenance tools, and more- and allow LBC to keep serving the North Bay community as it has for almost 40 years.

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