South Cariboo residents poured into the 100 Mile House Community Hall on Saturday, Oct. 13, for food, drinks, raffles and belly laughs.
The 3rd annual 100 years of community Comedy Night was presented by the South Cariboo Branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association.
Leland Klassen, the Canadian known for his clean comedy, was the evening’s showstopper.
The audience roared with laughter and perhaps even shed some tears as he showed them how he can touch both ears simultaneously thanks to his massive hands and tiny head.
“It was fun. They were a great crowd,” he said, following the show.
“When you connect, when you can actually look into people’s eyes, then they kind of relax and enjoy. That’s kind of what I try to do.”
Over the course of his hour-and-a-bit on stage, Klassen talked about the sudden onslaught of old age, the joys of dealing with customs and about that one time he was almost a hero.
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When asked about his squeaky-clean style of humour, he said, “The most important thing when you do stand-up is to be who you are and that’s just who I am. So when I’m on stage, I’m the same guy…”
Klassen said he’d definitely come back to 100 Mile if invited.
Williams Lake comedian Kerry Chelsea, who performed for the 100 Mile crowd last year as well, admitted he gets a little nervous on stage but said it was an honour to be asked to return.
“I think it’s fantastic. I’ll keep coming back every year,” he said.
Chelsea was this year’s opening act and his jokes ranged from poking fun at his mom’s French Canadian idioms to talking about his dad’s body.
At one point, he left the stage to serenade a woman with his Elvis impression.
“The crowd, again this year, is fantastic. 100 Mile is so welcoming, right. I think it went really well.”
For John and Elaine Sturgeon, who live in Lac la Hache, the promise of laughter was just too tempting to resist.
“There’s not a lot that happens in 100 Mile and when things happen, you’re crazy not to take advantage of them,” said Elaine. “They usually turn out to be very entertaining.”
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She said she particularly appreciated Klassen’s clean comedy.
“It’s nice to have good, clean humour, you know, that’s just for everybody about everyday things.”
100 Mile House resident Tracy Melin sat near the front of the stage and laughed her head off throughout the show.
She said she came to the show because, “everybody needs to laugh sometimes. It’s a good release.”
Everett and Diane Lightfoot volunteered as the evening’s security unit but still got to enjoy the comedy from the back of the room.
“It was an awesome show. It was really really fun,” said Diane, who admitted that “the guy with the hands” was her favourite.
No one joke stood out as a favourite for Everett, but he said he truly enjoyed the whole thing.
“The crowd was fun, too. You could see they really enjoyed it.”
beth.audet@100milefreepress.net
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