It鈥檚 being billed as a 鈥渧ery, very, very, very funny night.鈥�
It should prove true with the Best of the Winnipeg Comedy Festival entertaining on the Gordon Tootoosis stage and other live performance artists set up throughout the building.
It鈥檚 the Dekker Centre鈥檚 third annual fundraiser, Celebrate the Arts.
Manager Moe McGuinty is excited about bringing in the Best of the Winnipeg Comedy Festival.
鈥淭hey are truly three of Canada鈥檚 finest comedians.鈥�
John Wing has appeared on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno six times. Al Rae is a Gemini Award winner and Dean Jenkinson has written comedy sketches for Joan Rivers, the Muppets and This Hour has 22 Minutes.
Around the venue, entertainment will be provided by performance artists such the Pigeon Hotel Brass Band, folk singer Charles Zelkie, pianist and singer Brendan Legario, crooner Bob Leslie, the NBCHS Jazz Band, cellist Zaide Masich and youth string group El Sistema.
Look for a Joke in the Box experience and expect the staff to be dressed up to the nines.
Dueling Pianos from Calgary will be back by popular demand.
The widest array of hors d鈥檕euvres and appetizers the Battlefords has ever seen or tasted will also be on offer, says McGuinty, provided by Blend, Crandleberry鈥檚, Sigstad鈥檚, Battlefords Co-op, Moon鈥檚 Kitchen, B&D Meats, Minisapoy, Sobeys, Western Development Museum, Hit and Stay and Box Office Caterers.
In a recreation of the popular art project of the first annual fundraiser, McGuinty says, 鈥淒ean Bauche, Ljubica Hardi, Bonny Macnab, Darrell Baschak and Jan Layh will be creating stunning art works in the atrium as you look on.鈥�
While it鈥檚 not cheap to attend (the tickets are $150), McGuinty says it鈥檚 important to remember the Celebrate the Arts fundraiser helps to promote and showcase the local arts community.
He adds, the Dekker Centre goes to the public for funds only once a year, and it鈥檚 so the local arts community can make use of it.
鈥淭his year the Kiwanis Music Festival, 4-H, Battlefords Community Players, NBCHS Drama Club, Battlefords Dance Festival Association, Svoboda Ukrainian Dance Festival, Kamala Choir, Gallery Singers, the Battlefords Jazz Society and the Battlefords Children鈥檚 Choirs have all used the Dekker Centre, to the benefit of us all,鈥� says McGuinty.
