Sarah Stupar talks Zoofest / JFL / OFF-JFL

JFL is here kiddies, or as I like to call it, comedy Christmas. Personally I find JFL (including Off-JFL and Zoofest) to be the best festival in town. Place des Arts gets transformed into some kind of crazy carnival complete with freaks and weird performance art, and the funniest of the funny descend on Montreal to bring laughter to the naughty AND nice! I'll be walking the JFL beat for the whole festival, follow my advice and laughter will ensue.

The first thing you need to know is that tickets can be a hassle. They are not available at the door so you need to buy online or from the designated box offices, (locations can be found here http://zoofest.com/en/tickets) Browse the Zoofest program to see if you favourite comedians are in town, but also, don't be afraid to try someone new!!

My favourite show at Zoofest would have to be Midnight Surprise. It happens every night at Theatre St Catherine, obviously at midnight, and the line-up is a surprise! This is your chance to (possibly) see the big name gala stars in an intimate setting for a way lower price! The line-up is always a surprise, but if you look at the gala schedules you can get an idea of who is in town and might show up at midnightsurprise (which is why I'm kicking myself for NOT going on Sundaynight when Dave Chapelle happened to jump onstage for a well received 75 minute set).

I was able to see, however, Ahmed Ahmed (Vince Vaughn's bestie, leader of the Axis of Evil comedy tour), Lunell (break out star from Borat) and Gina Yashere (Last Comic Standing) at midnight surprise, and they all had me rolling in the aisles. 

Gina Yashere was raised in London by Nigerian parents, and anyone who has ever had to answer the “but where are you really from” question will certainly enjoy her comedy, but even if you're whiter that Wonderbread you're probably still going to laugh . She'll be taking the stage at Comedyworks tonight at 8pm.

Ahmed Ahmed has been in the comedy game for quite some time, but can never outlive the fact that he shares a name with an Egyptian terrorist on the FBI's most wanted list. Expect some hilarious stories about airport security. You can catch him tonight at the Comedyworks at 10pm.

Luenell is a strong personality that serves up laughs like a slap in the face. She almost defies description and can be seen on the nasty show from the 23-25th at Metropolis. But be warned: it's called the Nasty Show for a reason. If you don't like sex jokes, you're not going to like Luenell or the Nasty Show.

Keep checking back to CJLO often for more stories and updates about JFL/Off-JFL/Zoofest.

Sarah Stupar hosts Best of The West - Thursdays 2 - 3pm.