CONTACT: Michelle Rodriguez, Director of Communications
Visit Santa Barbara
805.966.9222 x112, [email protected]
Jaime Shaw, Communications Associate
Visit Santa Barbara
805.966.9222 x107, [email protected]
Visit Santa Barbara Welcomes the First Ever Stand-Up Comedy Festival
to Santa Barbara September 2nd – 7th, 2014
Santa Barbara, CA (June 18, 2014) — The popular and long-running LOL Comedy Festival is moving to Santa Barbara. For several months, Visit Santa Barbara has been working diligently with LOL Comedy, Inc. and lolflix.com to bring the first ever large scale stand-up comedy festival to The American Riviera®. The festival will run September 2nd – 7th, 2014.
LOL Comedy has engaged the stages of Santa Barbara’s thriving Historical Theater District to realize a new and exciting chapter for the festival. Acts will perform at historic theatres The Granada, Lobero and Arlington, as well as throughout select downtown locations. The venues proximity to one another create a unique and accessible experience for festival audiences, placing them in the heart of Santa Barbara’s cultural scene.
“Santa Barbara has festivals year-round; adding a nationally recognized comedy festival to the calendar is long overdue,” said Cat Puccino, National Sales Manager at Visit Santa Barbara. “We are thrilled to be a part of Santa Barbara’s inaugural comedy festival and look forward to helping make this a fun and laughter-filled week.”
“Large-scale events such as the LOL Comedy Festival help contribute to the community on both an economic and cultural level,” said Santa Barbara Mayor Helene Schneider. “They also reinforce the city of Santa Barbara as a premiere destination for festivals.”
Since 2009, under the leadership of acclaimed comedy director/producer Scott Montoya, LOL Comedy, Inc. has filmed and produced over 60 original stand-up comedy specials, and become the foremost supplier of stand-up comedy to the Showtime Networks. LOL Comedy titles premiering on the Showtime Networks produced through the LOL Comedy Festival have included performances by comedians such as Russell Peters, Bill Bellamy, Joan Rivers, Andrew Dice Clay, Tommy Chong, Jon Lovitz, Louie Anderson and over 200 other headline comedians.
“We chose Santa Barbara as our new location for obvious reasons that go beyond its magnificent beauty. I was surprised that the city had never hosted a comedy festival before and wanted the LOL Comedy Festival to be the inaugural one. I was also inspired by the great work being done by other local festivals including the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. These factors, plus my love of Santa Barbara from coming here as a child, made it the clear choice as the new home to the LOL Comedy Festival,” said Scott Montoya, Festival Director and Director/Producer.
A press release announcing the official line-up, information on VIP Festival passes and general admission tickets will be released in the coming days.
For further information on festival sponsorship, local business opportunities or media/promotional requests, please contact the appropriate representative listed below:
Sindy Godfrey (Publicist):
Phone: (818) 561-4279
Email: [email protected]
Scott Montoya (Director/Producer):
Phone: (818) 505-3667
Email: [email protected]
Jamie Brindle (Producer/National Sponsorship):
Phone: (323) 645-0032
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
Carol Marshall (Branding Media Consultant):
Phone: (818) 760-6450
Email: [email protected]
Stephenie Hope (Live Show Producer/Local & Media Sponsorships):
Phone: (818) 760-6450
Email: [email protected]
ABOUT LOL COMEDY FESTIVAL
The LOL Comedy Festival, founded in 2009, was originally conceived as a way to generate a set number of stand-up comedy specials over several days. It has since grown into a multi-stage, nationally recognized festival, featuring dozens of live acts filmed and produced for Broadcast. Now in its sixth year, produced by LOL Comedy, Inc. and presented by lolflix.com, the LOL Comedy Festival is rebranding due to its location move as The Santa Barbara LOL Comedy Festival.
ABOUT VISIT SANTA BARBARA
Visit Santa Barbara is a non-profit 501(c)(6) organization jointly funded by the City of Santa Barbara, the County of Santa Barbara, the South Coast Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) and by a membership of hospitality-related businesses. The primary mission of Visit Santa Barbara is to enhance the economies of the City of Santa Barbara, South Coast communities and Santa Barbara County areas through tourism marketing that increases business revenue, tax revenue and creates jobs. Stay informed about Santa Barbara news with our Media Center, press releases and blog, TheSBPost.com.