MIKE MACDONALD DRUMMING UP LAUGHS
Comedian Mike Macdonald heads to the Marigold in support of Truro Boys and Girls Club
A local non-profit children’s club is holding a fundraiser comedy show featuring a prominent Canadian comedian.
Mike Macdonald will appear at the Marigold Cultural Theatre on Thursday, Jan. 4, for a comedy performance to help raise money to assist the Truro Boys and Girls Club.
“It’s a great way to get people out for a night of laughs,” said Joanne Thibeau, executive director for the Truro Boys and Girls Club.
“All the profits from the show will be going back into the Truro Boys and Girls Club, so we are hoping to sell out.”
Macdonald is widely known across Canada for his live show and physical comedy, and has made many appearances in festivals like Montreal’s Just For Laughs and the Yuk Yuk’s comedy shows.
“Mike is extremely funny,” said Marc Sauvé, owner of Funny Fundraisers, a Bedford company that specializes in securing shows and entertainment for local charities and fundraisers.
“I’ve been doing comedy for 25 years and have seen thousands of other comics on stage, but Mike is really the best comic I’ve ever seen. He is very animated with his jokes, and often has these faces or movements he does with jokes that just make it 10 times funnier.”
As a friend of Macdonald, Sauvé approached the Boys and Girls Club with the idea of Funny Fund-
raisers setting up a show for them.
“The fundraising comedy idea is really an old one,” said Sauvé.
“Ernie Butler, who owned the Comedy Nest in Montreal, had a program called ‘Comedy with a Cause.’ It was just a great way of raising money and a great time for all.”
After working as a standup comic for 25 years, Sauvé decided to take the charity comedy idea and turn it into a business.
“We’re sort of the middle-man,” said Sauvé about his business.
“We’ve been doing this for nine years now, and have done close to 500 shows across the Maritimes. We’ve helped raise about $1.5 million for local groups and charities and do about 40 shows a year now.”
The club hopes the money raised will help fund a muchneeded upgrade.
“The money will go towards multiple areas, but our priority right now is a new bus,” said Thibeau.
“We have about 77 kids that attend our after-school program right now, and use the bus to pick up students from school and take them here. The transportation is a courtesy; they don’t have to pay extra for it, but we also don’t get funding for it.”
The club’s current 20-passenger bus is beginning to show its age, making the club question its reliability.
A new bus would also bring with it new technologies such as back-up cameras, which would make transporting kids to the club easier and safer.
The show kicks off Jan. 4 with Macdonald taking the stage at 8 p.m. Tickets are $30 and can be bought online at ticketpro.ca.