Second Annual JFL NorthWest Draws More Than 30,000 Comedy Fans

The second annual JFL NorthWest, presented in association with SiriusXM, came to a close this past weekend. The 10-day mid-winter festival, which took place February 16 to 25, welcomed over 30,000 comedy fans and over 100 comedians at 25 venues across Vancouver.

This year's JFL NorthWest featured multiple sold out performances from major comedy headliners including Sarah Silverman, Trevor Noah, Iliza, Tom Segura and Chris D'Elia, whose two performances at the Vogue Theatre were filmed for his upcoming Netflix special. Audiences were also treated to performances by Jim Gaffigan, My Favorite Murder, Piff the Magic Dragon and Game Grumps, to name a few.

"The Best of the West Series", presented by SiriusXM, highlighted top local talent in stand-up, sketch and improv, and SiriusXM's Top Comic featured headliner and 2016 winner Chris Robinson.

JFL NorthWest's "Comedy Short Shorts" film competition awarded a grand prize of $1,000 and a spot at Just For Laughs Montreal later this year to Grocery Store Action Movie from director Matthew Campbell of Vancouver and Canadian Comedy Award-winning sketch duo Peter N' Chris.

For the first time in Vancouver, the 2017 Festival introduced the "Just For Laughs Pitch Sessions" where producers from the Just For Laughs TV department meet with some of the city's comedic talent looking for assistance in turning their creative concepts into reality.

"We're humbled by all the love and support for JFL NorthWest," says Festival Director, Heather Wallace. "We continue to grow as a festival, and this is in no small part due to our incredible comedians, our valued sponsors, venues, media outlets and most of all, our west coast comedy fans. We're thrilled with the success of this year's Festival and look forward to doing it all again in 2018."

Just For Laughs Chief Operating Officer, Bruce Hills adds, "We're so proud of our partnership and the success of the second annual JFL NorthWest. We can't wait to bring more laughs to the city of Vancouver."

The full list of performers at JFL NorthWest 2017 included Sarah Silverman, Jim Gaffigan, Trevor Noah, Chris D'Elia, Iliza, Tom Segura, Game Grumps, Piff the Magic Dragon, My Favorite Murder, Moshe Kasher, Colin Quinn, Brian Posehn, SiriusXM's Top Comic Showcase, The Alternative Show hosted by Andy Kindler, Fortune Feimster, Jon Dore, Michelle Wolf, Nate Bargatze, Aparna Nancherla, Todd Glass, K. Trevor Wilson, Barry Crimmins, Stop Podcasting Yourself, B-Sides, Comedy Short Shorts, My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea, "Kiss My Ass" the show, The Just For Laughs Showcase; and "The Best of the West Series" presented by SiriusXM featured Alicia Tobin's Come Draw with Me, All You Can Eat Laundry, Barely Legal, Cords Comedy, The Critical Hit Show, Eight ½ Inches of Comedy, The Gentlemen Hecklers, Graham Clark's Quiz Show, The Hero Show, Hip.Bang!, Jokes Please!, Komedy at Kino, Laughter Party, The List, LMG News, The Ryan & Amy Show, Sidekicks, Stacked Comedy at Yagger's, The Sunday Service, Teenage Dirtbag, Vancouverite, and We Know Nothing About Art.

JFL NorthWest welcomed its partners SiriusXM, The Province of British Columbia, Tourism Vancouver, Sleeman Breweries, Hopping Mad Cider, Car2Go, Tim Hortons, DVBIA, and Creative BC to its 2017 event.

Highlights from JFL NorthWest 2017 can be found on the following platforms:

Website: www.JFLNorthWest.com

Twitter: www.twitter.com/JFLNorthWest (#JFLNW17)

Instagram: www.instagram.com/JFLNorthWest

Facebook: www.facebook.com/JFLNorthWest

In 2016, NorthWest Comedy Fest and Just For Laughs joined forces to present JFL NorthWest, Vancouver's comedy festival, a blend of the best in stand-up, sketch, and improv. The inaugural festival took place in 2016 and was a huge success, with an impressive 47% growth in attendance numbers over 2015's NorthWest ComedyFest. The 2017 Festival will be a mid-winter highlight, taking place February 16 to 25 at multiple venues across Vancouver. Founded in 1983, the Just For Laughs Group has had but one goal in its 30-plus years of operation: Make People Happy. To achieve this goal, the Just For Laughs Group has focused on four major products: Festivals in Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver and Sydney; television production including "Gags" seen in over 130 countries and on over 75 airlines and stand-up specials; live shows, such as Canadian tour dates for Jerry Seinfeld, Louis C.K., Jim Gaffigan and the Just For Laughs Comedy Tour; and talent management.

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