Funny Festival brings joy through laughter and fund-raising

THE FUNNY Festival hopes to donate cash to the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital during its run at the Baxter Theatre this year.

The event’s 11th edition plans to encourage audiences to give money to the Children’s Hospital Trust.

The trust’s Tara van Schalkwyk said volunteers dressed in scrubs would circulate among audiences collecting funds at the Jive Funny Festival.

“They will highlight the power of collective giving any amount big or small and encourage guests to sign up for a monthly debit order in aid of the trust to benefit the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital and child healthcare projects in the Western Cape,” she said.

“By giving even a little bit of money each month, you can collectively do very big things and help to send little ones home where they belong,” she added.

The trust raised nearly R60 000 from donations during last year’s festival.

The money went towards building a Childsafe Research and Educational Centre and upgrading the parents’ accommodation at the hospital.

The trust planned to encourage donations by showcasing the positive impact that financial contributions have made in the lives of South African children.

Other organisations participating in the Funny Festival’s charity programme include the National Sea Rescue Institute and, for the first time this year, Volunteer Wildfire Services, which helped to battle this year’s South Peninsula fires.

“The festival has indirectly been used to raise funds for school tours, sending athletes to world or provincial champs or dance tournaments and competitions or, in one case many years ago, in paying for a colleague’s dialysis treatment.

“The Funny Festival has developed into a variety evening, showcasing the best local comedy alongside some of the world’s top variety acts. This year, acts from Italy and the UK are set to thrill the audience,” the organisers said.

The festival opens at the Baxter Theatre on July 20 and runs until August 16.

Tickets are R150 and are available through Computicket.