“I Am Battle Comic” follows a group of comedians on a mission to provide laughter for U.S troops stationed in Afghanistan, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Iraq.

Highs and lows facing the men and women in the military are balanced with the humor of performances and interviews with top professional comedians including George Lopez, Dave Attell and Tammy Pescatelli.

The program is free and open to the public through the sponsorship of the Chautauqua County Veterans Services Dwyer Program.

The United Veterans Council will be accepting donations at the event to fund the purchase of flag markers for veterans’ graves in Chautauqua County.

Viewer discretion is advised due to some adult content and language.

Originally airing Friday, Oct. 5, 2016.

The 2016 Lucy Town Half Marathon and 5K race will take place Oct. 8 and 9 in Jamestown, NY. (Image courtesy of www.LucyRace.com)

WRFA Public Affairs Director Jason Sample talks with Journey Gunderson, executive director of the National Comedy Center and Lucy Desi Museum about the 2016 Lucytown Half Marathon & 5K. Gunderson provides details of the event, including registration information as well as details on the headline performer, Tammy Pescatelli.

Both the 2016 Lucy Town Half Marathon and Univera Kids 2K will take place on October 9. In addition, the Lucy Town 5K will take place on October 8. The race weekend is held annually in Lucille Ball’s hometown of Jamestown. For the fourth consecutive year, Univera Healthcare is the presenting sponsor for the weekend’s events.

The Lucy Town Half Marathon & 5K race weekend has attracted participants from across the country annually since its creation in 2013, including both elite runners and Lucy fans alike. The inaugural year was headlined by Martin Short, and during the 2014 race weekend paid tribute to the iconic I Love Lucy grape stomping scene as 1,232 people set a new world record for most people treading grapes.

The weekend is a program of the National Comedy Center, which also produces the Lucille Ball Comedy Festival and operates the year-round Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz Museum.

In addition to the races, comedian Tammy Pescatelli will be appearing in Jamestown for a performance at the Willow Bay Theater on October 8.

Arguably one of the hardest working women in comedy today, Tammy Pescatelli’s most recent one-hour special, the top downloaded, Finding The Funny (available on Netflix & iTunes) is just one of her new and noteworthy endeavors. Tammy brings brassy sexiness with a female voice of witty sarcasm to her audiences, holding her own on the topics of sports, television, dating and family life using tongue-in-cheek humor. She has had recent appearances on The View and The Howard Stern Show and was chosen by Jenny McCarthy & Donnie Wahlberg to be a part of their Dirty, Sexy, Funny franchise that included a hilarious all-female slate of standup comedians comedy special on EPIX/Hulu, a touring show and a pilot for A&E.

Tickets to the October 8th performance ($17.50) are now on-sale by calling 716.484.0800, or visiting www.lucyrace.com. Registration information on the 2016 Lucy Town Half Marathon is also available by visiting www.lucyrace.com.

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.

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.