Win Free Tickets to Every* Show at the Minneapolis Jewish Humor Festival

Get ready for two weeks of Jewish laughs, cackles and guffaws at the Twin Cities’ first ever Jewish Humor Festival. A smorgasbord of hilarity, the festival runs from February 25th – March 7th, 2010 and includes stand up comedians, improv comedy, one-act plays, laugh yoga, musical comedy, storytelling, visual artists, film, workshops and more.
TC Jewfolk is a media sponsor of the event, and we know how to hook you up.
We’re giving ONE lucky TC Jewfolk reader a free pair of tickets to every Minneapolis Jewish Humor Festival event (except the Rain Pryor benefit and the workshops). That’s right – by answering the question below in the comments to this post you’ve won yourself an all-festival pass to two weeks of non-stop comedy.
Even if you don’t win our fabulous ticket package, most of the events only cost $5-$15. Mark your calendars now and get ready for lots of laughs.

How Do I Win the Free Tickets?

Want to win the free tickets to the Minneapolis Jewish Humor Festival? Just tell us in the comments to this post Who is your favorite Jewish comedian and why? You have until Thursday, February 18th, 2010 to answer this question. Good luck picking your answer – there are a hell of a lot of great Jewish comedians out there. The winner will be drawn randomly via The Hat, and you’ll be notified via email.

Don’t Miss These Shows:

The full list of the 20+ performances and events in the Minneapolis Jewish Humor Festival are available on their website, or on the TC Jewfolk calendar pages for February and March. Here are our favs.
Thursday, February 25 at 7:30pm – Opening Night
Joel Chasnoff – The Jewish Comedian Who’s Redefining Jewish Comedy
In his one-man stand-up comedy act, favorite comedian Joel Chasnoff explores the quirks, foibles, and absurdities of Jewish life in America – all based on real Judaism and Jewish experiences, including Joel’s nine years in Jewish Day School, his service in the Israel Defense Forces, and your family’s Shabbat dinner. Unlike many Jewish comics, stereotypes play no role in Joel’s act. Instead, he finds humor in the intricacies and details of Judaism and Jewish life. Joel will also introduce audiences to his humorous memoir, The 188th Crybaby Brigade, which will be published in January 2010 by Simon and Shuster. Rating: PG-13.
Ticket: $15, includes post-show book signing & Opening Night Reception.
Saturday, February 27 at 7pm and Sunday, February 28 at 9pm
Jason Neufeld is Impotent
Written and performed by award-winning New York native-turned-Winnipegger, Alix Sobler, Jason Neufeld is Impotent is a hilarious revenge comedy, originally written to get back at Jason Neufeld for breaking her heart. “Sobler is a delightfully brassy stage presence as she takes the audience through the stages of her grief, her Canadian culture shock and her need to be told she’s beautiful. Sobler is wonderful at creating characters – her channeling of her Jewish mother and her auditions for bit parts on Law & Order are spot-on” (Winnipeg Free Press). In her multi-media one-woman show, Sobler addresses important issues facing the Jewish community: intermarriage and assimilation, “but don’t think for a second that all that sappy, serious stuff makes this any less of a comedy! It’s just a really smart, well-presented and worthwhile one” (The Winnipeg Sun). Rating: R. Ticket: $10
Saturday, February 27 at 8:30pm and Monday, March 1 at 8:30pm
So Kiss Me Already, Herschel Gertz! A one-woman comedy by Minneapolis actor/writer Amy Salloway
1986. Amy has a plan for her 15th summer: Transform from total dorkwad to Material Girl. Build this city on rock and roll. And pine for Ross Buckman until he sees her True Colors shining through. Instead, her parents ship her off to “freakishly Jewish” Camp L’Chaim, where “even the mosquitoes wear yarmulkes!” How do you survive when you’re the pork chop in an all-Kosher world? “Energetic and hilarious…you’ll relate regardless of summer camp experience or religious persuasion” (CBC Manitoba). “A MUST SEE! Amy Salloway belongs to a rare and crafty class of clowns: she writes comedy as deftly and as perceptively as she performs it” (Cincinnati CityBeat). Rating: PG-13. Ticket: $10
Sunday, February 28 at 11am in the Tychman Shapiro Gallery
Laughter Yoga Workshop with Molly Dworsky
Wake up Purim morning ready to stretch and laugh out loud. Featured on Oprah, Laughter Yoga is a health and wellness practice that combines gentle stretching, yogic breathing, and group laughter exercises to achieve total body wellness. Anyone can practice Laughter Yoga! You don’t have to be happy, you don’t have to have a sense of humor, and you don’t have to have anything to laugh at to enjoy the experience of laughter. To be successful in Laughter Yoga, all you need is openness. Come laugh for the health of it! Workshop Fee: $15, includes a light and healthy lunch at 12pm.
Tuesday, March 2 at 7pm
Dial “M” for Comedy One-man comedy with Ari Hoptman. A mashed collection of sketches, vignettes, songs, and awful poetry for your entertainment.Rating: PG-13
Ari Hoptman is a comedian, actor, and playwright who has performed with numerous theater groups in the Twin Cities, including Fifty Foot Penguin, the Illusion Theater, the Great American History Theater, and Park Square. He is a familiar face at Leslie Ball’s Balls Cabaret at the Southern Theater and has done extensive summer stock work. His first feature film, A Serious Man, came out this October. When not doing theater stuff, he can be found teaching German at the University of Minnesota, or to anyone who will listen. Ticket: $10
Saturday, March 6 at 7pm at the Metropolitan Ballroom
LAUGH OUT LOUD with Rain Pryor
An evening of comedy, casual cuisine and community, benefiting the Robert and Janet Sabes Center for Jewish Arts and Humanities of the Sabes JCC. Rain Pryor, daughter of the late great comedian Richard Pryor, as she performs THE PRYOR EXPERIENCE and shares her love of comedy and music. Growing up Jewish and African-American gives Rain a unique perspective on race, religion, and spirituality, as she brings rare experiences alive through comedy and song. (This benefit is not included in the TC Jewfolk ticket package. Sorry folks.)
Sunday, March 7 at 7pm
Closing Night Comedy Cabaret
The Minneapolis Jewish Humor Festival will close with a casual and fun Comedy Cabaret featuring local Jewish improvers, stand-up comics, and musicians such as Josh Awend, Molly Dworsky, Dylan Fresco, Larry Greenstein, Annie Zimbel, Jeff Zuckerman and more! Presented in the style of an Open Mic Night, if you are interested in performing for this Comedy Cabaret, additional slots will be available for sign-up at the event! Hosted by Rabbi Sim Glaser of Temple Israel, this community-wide closing event is not to be missed! Rated: R. Ticket: pay what you can at the door! Proceeds will be split between performers at the end of the night!
(Photo: premasagar)