JAMESTOWN, N.Y. — We’ve all made our adjustments in 2020 and the National Comedy Center has made so many changes it’s not even funny. Well, it’s funny...you know what I mean.
The Center normally brings comedy’s best talent into Jamestown each year for the Lucille Ball Comedy Festival. But this year, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, it's bringing some of the world’s funniest people into your home instead.
The executive director of the Comedy Center, Journey Gunderson, said the virtual festival has given people the chance to experience the Center in a new way.
“We’ve produced a virtual comedy festival and we are heading into the third weekend of that," Gunderson said. "It features more than 30 artists, such greats as Jay Leno, Gilbert Gottfried, and also very unique conversations like weird Al Yankovic being interviewed with Jimmy Fallon and Lin-Manuel Miranda."
Recently the Center announced that Debra Messing, of Will and Grace fame, will also be participating. Gunderson said Messing has a strong adoration for Lucille Ball, who the comedy festival is named after.
Access to the virtual festival is free, but the Center said donations are always appreciated.
The Comedy Center reopened in July with new safety measures in place as a part of its Laugh Safe program. Since its inception, 99% of visitors have said they feel safe with the measures it’s put in place and would recommend the experience to a friend.
The virtual comedy festival content is available until Sunday. For more information about the virtual experience, or to find out more about the museum as a whole, click here to go to comedycenter.org.