Because we all need a good laugh once in a while… I thought I’d pass this briefing along.
TORONTO JUST FOR LAUGHS FESTIVAL presented by WestJet
BRINGS SOME OF THE WORLD’S BEST ENTERTAINMENT
TO THE STREETS AT YONGE-DUNDAS SQUARE
COMEDY SUPERSTAR RUSSELL PETERS
MUSICAL COMEDY GROUP DAN FINNERTY & THE DAN BAND (The Hangover, Old School)
SINGING SENSATION GREGORY CHARLES
AND MORE
Friday July 17 – 6:00pm-11:00pm
Saturday July 18 – 5:00pm-11:00pm
FREE!
(Toronto July 7, 2009) – It’ll be minor pandemonium as Toronto’s own international superstar Russell Peters hosts a free outdoor gig at Yonge-Dundas Square, Saturday, July 18, as part of the Toronto Just for Laughs Festival, presented by WestJet.
Russell’s memorable event in year one of the Festival drew a remarkable 20,000 people of all ages to Yonge-Dundas Square.
The Toronto Just For Laughs Festival presented by WestJet’s annual free street component – which runs Friday July 17, from 6:00 to 11:00 P.M. and Saturday July 18, 5:00 to 11:00 P.M. – will also feature Quebec‘s phenomenally successful singer, songwriter and storyteller Gregory Charles – an event presented by OLG on the WestJet stage at Yonge-Dundas Square both nights. He’ll be joined Friday by L.A. musical-comedy sensations Dan Finnerty & The Dan Band, who are best known from the movies The Hangover andOld School. Also on the Saturday bill: a coterie of Russell’s headline-calibre special friends, including Angelo Tsarouchas and Steve Byrne.
The Festival’s Street shows present a free outdoor experience unique in the city, with echoes of European street theatre and jaw-dropping music-and-comedy. This year, the city block will come alive with additional Bollywood themed entertainment – including Bollywood dance group Shiamak, and the Indian Dohl drummers.
Toronto Just For Laughs invites the whole of GTA and out-of-town visitors for amazing nights of music and comedy. It’s two evenings of pure family fun, and all for free, culminating with the performances by Russell Peters and friends.
Toronto-born Russell Peters is currently in the middle of the largest comedy tour in Canadian history. In February, 2009 he shattered the box office record for tickets sold to an individual comedy show in the UK (16,000 at The O2 Arena in London). Russell has appeared at the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal five times, including his upcoming show at Montreal’s Bell Centre on July 24th which will be the largest indoor show in Just For Laughs history. He also performed at the inaugural Toronto Just For Laughs Festival in 2007.
The Dan Band is a comedy band from Los Angeles, California, created by actor/comedian Dan Finnerty. The band is well known for its covers of female-performed pop songs, which include their own brand of special lyrics with added hilarity and obscenities. Dan has made notable appearances in the movies Old School (singing “Total Eclipse of the Heart”), The Terminal, Starsky & Hutch, where he performed Roberta Flack’s “Feel Like Makin’ Love” at a Bat Mitzvah, and most recently The Hangover (performing “Candy Shop” and “Fame”) in a wedding scene reminiscent of his appearance in Old School. WARNING: this show contains mature content.
Gregory Charles is a Montreal based performing artist whose 2006 double-platinum album ‘I Think of You’, sold 109,000 copies in its first week – a record sales burst for a Canadian artist. It debuted at number 1 on the Nielsen SoundScan album chart. Gregory has hosted many important cultural celebrations and sung back-up and performed with a number of top talents such as Celine Dion,Tuck and Patti,and created and performed – to critical acclaim – his one-man show Noir & Blanc. As a musician his accomplishments include solo performances at New York’s Carnegie Hall, and shows with the Manitoba, Edmonton, Calgary and Montreal Symphony Orchestras. In 2004 he was voted ‘artist to watch’ by the Montreal Gazette and currently, he is the bilingual host of CBC Television’s Culture Shock.
Featured Events at Yonge-Dundas Square:
Friday July 17
8:30 pm – Dan Finnerty & The Dan Band
9:30 pm – Gregory Charles & his band
Saturday July 18
8:30 pm – Russell Peters, with friends Angelo Tsarouchas and Steve Byrne
9:30 pm – Gregory Charles & his band
___________________________
Hye! Note: Thank you to Ingrid and her staff at GAT for passing on this information. More updates on this festival to come… stay tuned!
