Flagship City Comedy Fest Sets Sail

Contributed photos

A full weekend of hilarity is in store during the Flagship City Comedy Fest, happening at various venues across Erie. Featured national headliners include Learnmore Jonasi, left, Brent Terhune, top right, and Kristen Becker, bottom right.

BEGINNING THURSDAY, APR. 27

A four-day, home-grown comedy festival spread across seven different venues, the Flagship City Comedy Festival (FCCF) is launching in a big way. For its inaugural year, it will feature headlining events with Brent Terhune, Learnmore Jonasi, and Kristen Becker, in addition to eight other showcases over the course of the weekend. With dozens of comics from across the county, the Flagship City Comedy Fest is poised to be without a doubt the leading event of our local comedy scene.

It should be no surprise why this started in the first place. One of the weekend's organizers, Anthony Morelli of Off Constantly Comedy saw what was happening across the country and thought that "It looked like a lot of fun and something that Erie needed. It also helps Erie understand that comedy is happening around town, because we have so many local comics involved in it." A comedian himself and a 2022 40 Under 40 honoree, Morelli wanted the event "to let you know that good comedy is around."

And around plenty it is.

When performance slots opened earlier this year, the FCCF certainly had their hands full, with more than 40 submissions from all over the country. Some of the local talent includes Casey Kuftic, who will help kick the whole thing off. Morelli noted locals like Jamie Benedi, Brian Bailey, Cheyenne Gaines, Jerry Neilsen, and Brittany Alexis as well as former Erieites like Nicole Walkow are in the mix throughout the weekend, along with fellow event organizer and Off Constantly compatriot Dan Brady.

"We started thinking about it in probably 2021," Morelli notes of Brady and himself. "To have it happen in 2023 is how we wanted to go. Two years was a good amount of time to get it developed and implemented at a small scale this year, but we're planning for the future and I'm already planning 2024 and going to try to make it bigger."

The weekend will be unique in that there are multiple locations involved, with the 10/20 Collective hosting four events, including two headliner shows. In total, there will be 11 different comedy events spread over seven venues, so audiences can pick and choose what they want to go to.

One location was a no-brainer. "The Black Monk Brewery is where I started doing our first showcases, and that's how I started building the brand of Off Constantly Comedy," Morelli explained, noting that the local brewery would be host to "Hot Jokes," a wing-centric event perfect for fans of the runaway series Hot Ones.

Then there are events like Inked Comedy at Andromeda Studios, an idea that finds comedians literally under the (tattoo) gun. The idea donned on Morelli while he was getting a tattoo from Leslie Fiolek Hess at the last 40 Under 40 Experience party — and will be one of the very first events of its kind. 

Events run from April 27 to 30 // Various Locations // Individual ticket pricing available // For more information, visit Flagship City Comedy Fest on Facebook and Instagram, and for tickets, go to tickets.eriereader.com

Thursday, April 27

Room 33 Showcase //  7:30 p.m.

Room 33 // 1033 State St. // Free

Casey Kuftic & Friends // 8 p.m.

Edinboro VFD Station 38 // 125 Meadville St. #2507,
Edinboro // $20

Friday, April 28

Calamari's Showcase // 7:30 p.m.

Calamari's Squid Row // 1317 State St. // Free

Learnmore Jonasi // 9:30 p.m.

10/20 Collective // 1020 Holland St. // $20 - 23

Saturday, April 29

Not Your Grandma's Brunch // 12 p.m.

10/20 Collective // $10

Hot Jokes at Black Monk // 5:30 p.m.

Black Monk Brewery // 3721 W. 12th St. // Free

Brent Terhune // 8:30 p.m.

Room 33 // $25 - 28

Late Night Laughs // 11 p.m.

10/20 Collective // $10

Sunday, April 30

Heavenly Brunch (clean set) // 12:30 p.m.

10/20 Collective // $10

Inked Comedy // 3:30 p.m.

Andromeda Studios // 3735 W. Lake Rd. // $10

Kristen Becker // 6:30 p.m.

Sheraton Erie Bayfront // 55 W. Bay Rd. / $20 - 28