WHILE the rain may have come down last week it didn\u2019t stop the Bendigo Comedy Festival bringing cheer to town, for the most part.<\/p>\n
Following the gala launch on Wednesday, proceedings were paused on Thursday due to restricted travel advice, but light-heated lols were soon back on the agenda for the remaining three days.<\/p>\n
Co-organiser and comedian Ash Greblo said despite the interruption, the event was well attended and well received.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were definitely some high points, unfortunately some of those high points were water levels,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cDue to the floods, we did have to cancel the Thursday, but the rest of the festival was an overwhelming success in the end.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were great numbers for pretty much every show across all the different venues, and in turn, with the big crowd, it was big laughs from everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n
With parts of Bendigo and the wider region impacted by the floods, Greblo said it was important the shows went on and gave people an escape from the challenges being experienced statewide.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe safe thing to do was not to encourage people to drive to the venues on Thursday,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen when we could excitedly say on the Friday, \u2018hey, we are back on,\u2019 people rocked up and they said they were so glad.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both the gala and the local showcase were sell-outs, and Greblo said the multi-show day passes also proved a hit.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe day passes across the fest were the most popular,\u201d he said. \u201cWe had people come in and see three or four shows a night.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yet there\u2019s no rest for the wickedly funny, with organisers already planning for next year\u2019s event.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve taken on a lot of feedback about how good the day passes are and how people would like package passes so they can pick the shows,\u201d Greblo said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re taking all that on board and starting to try and work out what we can have for next year.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve decided to stay in the Engine Room. They are happy to have us, and we\u2019re stoked too. One of the things people said was how good the old fire station is, it\u2019s such a great venue.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re just really thankful for the community. Not just the audience but the sponsors, and the volunteers. The organising committee is not huge but the team behind it feels pretty big.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WHILE the rain may have come down last week it didn\u2019t stop the Bendigo Comedy Festival bringing cheer to town, for the most part. Following the gala launch on Wednesday, proceedings were paused on Thursday due to restricted travel advice, but light-heated lols were soon back on the agenda for the remaining three days. Co-organiser […]<\/p>\n