On Saturday,  an event for children will take place with the return of the Story Pirates. The Story Pirates, who recently appeared on stage with Conan O’Brien, are a critically acclaimed arts and creative writing organization formed to celebrate the words and ideas of young people, to promote literacy as a vital part of education, and to preserve the spark of youthful creativity.  The Pirates will perform Saturday  at 11 a.m.

And on Saturday night, the festival will conclude with a performance by headliner Bill Gardell – a stand up comedian from Pittsburgh who also stars in the CBS Sit-com “Mike and Molly.”

All three shows will take place at the Reg Lenna Civic Center. Tickets are still available at LucyComedyFest.com or by phone at (716) 484-0800.

WRFA’s Jason Sample recently spoke with Lucy-Desi Executive Director Journey Gunderson to get a preview of this year’s festival.

• LISTEN TO WRFA INTERVIEW WITH JOURNEY GUNDERSON

Some of the events scheduled for today include tours of the area and various Lucy attractions, provided by the Lucy Town Tour Bus, a luncheon at the Tropicana Room at teh Lucy Museum, and an event entitled Lucy 101 & Being Fred Mertz – featuring comedians Bill Chott and T. Faye Griffen. Several comedic workshops will also take place later this week.

Other events planned for later this week include an appearance from nationally known actor, standup comedian and Pittsburgh native Billy Gardell (Saturday at the Reg Lenna), who stars in the CBS sit-com “Mike and Molly.” Also Returning from last year’s event is comedienne Paula Poundstone (Thursday at the Reg Lenna), who serves as a panelist on NPR’s popular Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me, program and who was also named one of Comedy Central’s 100 greatest comedians of all-time. And stand up comedienne Tammy Pescatelli will be joining this year’s line-up as one of several performer taking part in the Stand-Up Showcase (Friday at the Reg Lenna). In addition, Lucie Arnaz, daughter of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, will be the host and musical guest of the showcase.

Tickets are still available for all three main events as well as many others. To purchase ticket or for more information, visit www.LucyComedyFest.com.

The new audio guide tours, which will be narrated by Lucie Arnaz, were made possible thanks to a grant from the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation, matching funds from the Lucy Desi Center, and the generous collaborative production efforts of Desilu, Too and exhibit designer David Weiss.  

The Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz Museum and Desilu Studios are open 7 days a week, Monday – Saturday 10am-5pm and Sunday 11am-4pm.

The Lucille Ball Comedy Festival, or “Lucy Fest,” runs August 1st-5th and features performances by Paula Poundstone, Lucie Arnaz, Story Pirates, Billy Gardell from CBS’s Mike & Molly, and much more. Visit www.LucyComedyFest.com for more information and tickets.

This year’s featured headliners for the 2012 Lucille Ball Festival of Comedy.

JAMESTOWN – One of Jamestown’s biggest events of the year will be underway less than a month from now. The 2012 Lucille Ball Comedy Festival will kickoff on Aug. 1 and continue through Aug. 5 with dozens of events scheduled over the five-day event.

As announced in March, the headliner for the show is standup comedian and Pittsburgh native Billy Gardell, who stars in the CBS sit-com “Mike and Molly.” Gardell will be featured at the Reg Lenna on Saturday, Aug. 4. Also Returning from last year’s event is comedienne Paula Poundstone, who serves as a panelist on NPR’s popular Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me, program and who was also named one of Comedy Central’s 100 greatest comedians of all-time. Poundstone will appear one month from today, on Aug. 2.

And just this past week, officials with the Lucy-Desi Center announced that stand up comedienne Tammy Pescatelli will be joining this year’s line-up. Pescatelli – who was winner of Comedy Central’s 2010 Stand-Up Showdown – will be performing at the Stand-Up Showcase on Fiday, August 3. In addition, Lucie Arnaz, daughter of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, will be the host and musical guest of the showcase Friday.

The Lucy-Desi center has also partnered with several other groups this year in the creation of various comedy courses to take place the week of the festival. The series will culminate with students earning stage time at Lucy Fest and the Gotham Comedy Club in New York City.  Courses are presented in partnership with Jamestown Community College’s Center for Continuing Education, and registration for youth and adults is now underway.

Tickets are still available for all three main events. In addition, details on several other events and promotions, including the comedy courses, can be found online. To purchase ticket or for more information, visit www.LucyComedyFest.com.

The show, which featured stories written by kids from across the country, never had a dull moment. Whether it was the story about the girl who did exactly what her dog did or the story about flying cats, kids kept cheering.

As a special treat, The Story Pirates announced they will be accepting stories from local students and will premiere sketches written by local kids at their upcoming show at the Lucille Ball Comedy Fest on Aug. 4 at 11 a.m.. Their show is funny for all, but it’s especially great for children ages 4-12. All children can submit their own original stories to info@lucy-desi.com by July 1 for a chance to be featured at the show. Tickets are available at LucyComedyFest.com and at the Lucy Desi Center for Comedy by calling 716-484-0800.

The Story Pirates, who were recently featured with Conan O’Brien, are a critically-acclaimed arts and creative writing organization founded in 2003 to celebrate the words and ideas of young people, to promote literacy as a vital part of education, and to preserve the spark of youthful creativity. The non-profit group that has been featured on the Today Show has grown to reach hundreds of thousands of children in over 200 schools across the country.

About The Lucille Ball Comedy Festival
The 2012 festival August 1-5 features Billy Gardell of the CBS hit Mike & Molly and his own 2011 Comedy Central Special: Halftime, Paula Poundstone – named Top 100 Comedians of All Time by Comedy Central, Lucie Arnaz, The Story Pirates kids comedy, Live Lucy Radio Plays, Dinner Theater with The Ricardos & Mertzes, museum & town tours, Late Night Comedy in the Tropicana Room, “Party on the Plaza” Friday and Saturday featuring bands, vendors, drinks and the Lucy World Games of grape-stomping, conveyer-belt candy-wrapping, I Love Lucy Trivia, a costume contest, and much more.  Tickets and information are available at www.LucyComedyFest.com.

The Lucille Ball Comedy Festival, or “Lucy Fest,” embodies Ball’s vision for her hometown legacy: a celebration of the comedic arts held annually on the weekend closest to her birth date, August 6th.

According to an economic impact study conducted by Buffalo firm Paradigm Economics, the 2011 five-day festival saw 13,000 in attendance and had a direct impact of $3.6 million on Chautauqua County.

The 2011 Lucy Fest featured more than ten comedians from NYC, Boston, Atlanta, San Francisco and Los Angeles performing over five days, and made international news with the setting of a Guinness World Record for “Most People Dressed as Lucy Ricardo” with 916 on Lucille Ball’s 100th birthday.

The Lucille Ball Comedy Festival is the first pillar in a four-pillar Legacy of Laughter vision for the organization including a comedic arts education program, comedy film festival and the establishment of the first national comedy museum and hall of fame.

The mission of the Lucy Desi Center for Comedy, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, is to preserve the legacy of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz and enrich the world through the healing powers of love and laughter through its commitment to the development of the comedic arts.

Billy Gardell will headline Lucy Fest 2012

JAMESTOWN – A Pittsburgh-native and television comedy star will be the headliner for the 2012 Lucy Fest. Lucy-Desi Center Executive Director Journey Gunderson announced that comedian Billy Gardell will headline the event in August of this year.

Gardell is known to more than 12 million TV viewers each week for his role on the CBS sit-com “Mike and Molly.” He’s also appeared in his own hour-long Comedy Central Special in 2011, and will be performing at the Reg Lenna Civic Center in Jamestown on Saturday on August 4.

Gunderson said they were obviously pleased to learn the up-and-coming national star will be coming to town, given his popularity on network television and that he is from nearby Pittsburgh.

Gunderson added that other attractions for the 2012 Lucy-Fest including the return of stand-up comedian Paula Poundstone – who was rated one of Comedy Central’s 100 greatest comedians of all-time and currently serves as a panelist on NPR’s “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me.” It was also announced that Lucie Arnaz, daughter of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, will be in town to witness the Center’s new Legacy of Laughter direction.

Several other events and features were also announced, including a set of comedy courses to take place the week of the festival, culminating with students earning stage time at Lucy Fest and the Gotham Comedy Club in New York City.  Courses are presented in partnership with Jamestown Community College’s Center for Continuing Education.

This preliminary schedule will be updated as new events are confirmed at www.LucyComedyFest.com. Tickets for all events go sale April 17.