With one festival just wrapping up, another is now ramping up. So goes summer in Montreal’s Quartier des spectacles, where the Jazz festival, which ended on Sunday, is quickly giving way to the Just for Laughs festival.
The comedy fest runs from July 10 to 28.
While the overwhelming majority of the clientele in the past has tended to be local, tens of thousands of visitors from outside the city, province, and country still typically pour in every year.
Indeed, according to Just for Laughs data compiled by Tourism Montreal, overall expenses by tourists from outside of Quebec totalled upwards of $25 million for the 2012 edition. And festival organizers have reason for renewed optimism for 2013 as well.
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As in years past, this year’s two-week tour is slated to feature major talent both local and international – and, in the case of NDG-raised Hollywood breakthrough Jay Baruchel, a bit of both.
In addition to Baruchel, who will host a Just for Laughs gala on July 25, comedy fans will have the opportunity to see British stand-up comedian Eddie Izzard on the same night. Singer and actress Kristin Chenoweth is performing the next day, on the 26th, while long-time TV personality Joan Rivers will take the stage on the 27th.
Even with all that star power, for many — especially if they are Saturday Night Live fans — 2013’s two biggest draws may be fellow SNL alumni Seth Meyers, who is scheduled to appear on the 24th, and Sarah Silverman, on the 27th. After a decade as an actor and writer on SNL, Meyers is taking over NBC’s The Late Show next year. Silverman, for her part, has made her sharp, often politically incorrect humour the centre of a career that has taken her from SNL to Comedy Central and included online viral hits.
Other major festival attractions this year include “The Nasty Show,” hosted by Bobby Slaton, which will be presented some 10 times between July 17 and 27.
Most of the events will take place at Club Soda, the Metropolis, and the Place des Arts’ Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier. Remaining tickets to the various events can be found online here.
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