The 7th annual Gilda’s Laugh Fest kicks off this weekend to “celebrate laughter for the health of it.” Beginning in 2011, the Gilda’s LaughFest is the nation’s first-ever community-wide comedy festival, with all proceeds from the 10-day event benefiting Gilda’s Club Grand Rapids.
“Our mission is to provide free emotional health care for all, we provide emotional support for those on a cancer or grief journey at no cost,” Joanne Roehm, the Director of Strategic initiatives and Laugh Fest at Gilda’s Club Grand Rapids said.
With nearly 50,000 people in attendance each year at the comedy festival, more people seeking help walk into their doors, something Roehm says isn't always easy.
“You know cancer and grief are tough things to talk about, sometimes walking through the door at Gilda’s Club is the hardest part, and we hope that LaughFest is making that more accessible to people.”
The Comedy festival kicked off Thursday night with a large mannequin challenge in Rosa Parks Circle, as local production company Deep End Films recorded attendees participating in the challenge. Deep End Films Owner and Comedian Ben Wilke says, the frozen in time stunt was about getting the community involved.
“Really one of the cool things about LaughFest is every year, they try to have some community thing where people can just come out and be engaged with the festival right away.”
LaughFest will run through March 26. Comedian Howie Mandel will host the signature event.
