National Comedy Center Postpones 30th Annual Lucille Ball Festival

Nick Warren

Following suit with many other large-scale events in the U.S., the National Comedy Center announced Thursday that its annual Lucille Ball Comedy Festival has been rescheduled for August 2021, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The 30th-anniversary festival that was scheduled for August 5-9 was set to feature comedian Jeff Foxworthy and past SNL stars David Spade, Kevin Nealon, and Rob Schneider. The festival has been rescheduled for the same weekend in 2021: August 4-8, 2021.

The announcement came with a heavy heart, as Journey Gunderson, executive director of the National Comedy Center said in a statement: "It is with tremendous sadness that we make the difficult decision to reschedule our Lucille Ball Comedy Festival," she said. "We are grateful for the patience, understanding and continued support of our festival attendees, sponsors, volunteers and staff, and our Jamestown and Chautauqua County community during this time."

According to Gunderson, the decision was not made lightly, as the festival draws people from over 40 states, affecting the economy in the Jamestown community as a whole.

Those who already bought tickets will automatically have their tickets transferred to the same shows and events for the 2021 festival, but there are additional options for ticket holders. They can also donate the value of their tickets to the National Comedy Center as a tax-deductible contribution, exchange the value of their tickets for a National Comedy Center gift card, or receive a full refund by requesting one by July 15.

Ticket holders can select their preferred option at ComedyCenter.org/TicketForm.

A virtual event will also be held by the National Comedy Center. A series of online programs and streamed comedy events will occur throughout the summer, debuting on the Comedy Center's new online platform, National Comedy Center Anywhere.

The center also plans to reopen its comedy museum this summer with cleaning, disinfecting and social distancing protocols in place.

To learn more about the National Comedy Center's response to the COVID-19 crisis, visit https://comedycenter.org/.