NO BUSINESS LIKE FUNNY BUSINESS
Give it up for Jersey’s Bad Boy of Comedy Mike Marino — the Face and the Voice of the forthcoming National Comedy Fest — performing at a Night of Comedy and Networking on April 8.
They call it the National Comedy Fest — a multi-venue mega-event that brings a mix of nationwide touring acts, local hopefuls, improv troupes, theatrical comedies, film presentations and more to theaters, school auditoriums, restaurants and nightclubs in and around Red Bank, Long Branch and Asbury Park. And if you feel as if you haven’t been let in on the joke, don’t sweat it — the Fest is a work in progress, albeit one with a committed debut date of April Fools Day, 2011.
A pet project of Long Branch businessman Todd Katz and Greater Long Branch Chamber of Commerce director Ron Kapowitz, the future funnyfest is also an event that’s found its voice, and its face — stand-up guy Mike Marino. The Jersey City-bred veteran of TV shows, commercials and clubs has been branded “New Jersey’s Bad Boy of Comedy,” although in truth he’s been frequently spotted manning the mic at a long line of charitable fundraisers (including a Red Bank benefit for the Monmouth County nonprofit 180 Turning Lives Around back in January).
As something of a warm-up for next year’s inaugural Comedy Fest, the Long Branch C of C will team with Marino to present its First Annual Night of Comedy and Networking on Thursday, April 8 at Branches in West Long Branch. It’s a benefit for the Jersey Shore Convention and Visitors Bureau, a newly formed entity about which exec director Bob Hilton (of the Blue Bay Inn in Atlantic Highlands) describes as being “here to make a difference” for businesses and municipalities in the Shore communities of Monmouth and Ocean counties. Tix for the event ($25 in advance, $35 at the door) can be reserved by calling the GLBCC at (732)222-0400, and admission includes hors d’oeuvres plus that crucial component of comedy, the all-night open bar.
Posted
March 30, 2010
in
under
