Canadian comedy stars to perform in Gananoque this fall in support of local kids

Are you finding yourself in need of a little extra laughter lately? Well, look no further.

The Great Canadian Comedy Caravan Tour is coming to the Springer Theatre at the 1000 Islands Playhouse this fall.

This is a live tour travelling across eastern Canada to showcase the comedic talents of Canadian TV writers and Just For Laughs veterans while supporting dozens of charities nationwide. 

The Caravan will be stopping by the scenic waterfront Gananoque venue on Friday, Nov. 8. Proceeds from this show will go to the local registered charity Champions For Kids. The show will be hosted by Matt Watson, headlined by Rob Pue and Rick Currie, and will also feature comedian and tour organizer Todd Reid. 

Host Matt Watson is well-known throughout international comedy circles, having performed at Just for Laughs 42, the Glasgow Comedy Festival, The Adelaide Fringe Festival, and the Melbourne Comedy Festival, among others.

Headliner Rob Pue has made annual appearances at Just ForLaughs, Winnipeg and Halifax Comedy Festivals, CTV’s “Comedy NOW!”, MTV’s Punk’d, and many more. Pue will be joined by fellow Canadian comedy legend and Gemini Award Winner Rick Currie, best known for his work on the Rick Mercer Report, Just For Laughs, and CBC’s Laugh Out Loud. 

Brockvilleist spoke with comedian and tour organizer Todd Reid to hear more about how this show came to fruition. He explained that he has been good friends with fellow comedian Rick Currie for years, and the two agreed a year and a half ago that they would start to do more shows together.

Their first show was at the Yuk Yuk’s in Halifax and after its success, Reid was soon hard at work booking other theatres across eastern Canada. Their next show was at the Station Theatre in Smith Falls, and Reid recounted, “Once we saw it sold out right away I thought, maybe we’re onto something here.”

After being invited to participate in a show to raise money for the Carleton Place Youth Centre, Reid knew he wanted to maintain this philanthropic component as part of their tour. “We really felt great about giving that money to kids charities because my biggest passion in life is kids.” 

He continued, “Now, we’ve got around 30 shows booked between October and May and all but two are going to help out kids charities. The really cool part about that is they are charities that have a local office in the city where we’re performing so the money is going back into that community.”

A large donation cheque will be presented at the end of the show to the executive director of whichever foundation is being highlighted at that show.

Reid noted, “There’s so many scams these days so we only work with registered charities, some of the best charities on the planet. There’s so many of them that we love being partners with and knowing that we’re dumping off thousands of dollars every stop to benefit kids, it’s the best part of what we do.”

When asked where the money would be coming from, Reid clarified that it would be a combination of money from ticket sales and sponsorships from local organizations.

“Before I was a comedian, I was a salesman, so what I did was email and call dealerships, chamber of commerce members, home builders, and so one from each city we’re going to. They’re usually happy to give when they ask ‘Who do I make the cheque out to?’ and I explain the cheque gets made out directly to the charity – not to us.”

The Great Canadian Comedy Caravan Tour’s first run of 30 shows will take place from October 2024 to May 2025. After a summer break, Reid and his buddies plan to hit the road once again in 2025 – 2026, having already booked multiple venues. They plan to do 50 shows in their second run, and 70 or 80 shows across northern and western Canada in their third run with the end goal of hosting their final show in Vancouver, BC among their friends and families. 

Don’t miss your chance to have a laugh and support a great cause with this comedy crew before they embark on more shows across Ontario, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia. Tickets will be made available very soon so stay tuned at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61555972315267