Pictured from L to R are: Bruce Hills, President of Just For Laughs; Charles Décarie, CEO of Just for Laughs Group; Councillor Buxton Potts, MPP Kristyn Wong-Tam; François Joseph Poirier, Senior Vice-President, Sales and Partners Experience of Beneva; Deputy Mayor of Toronto, Michael Thompson; Julie Dzerowicz, MP for Davenport and Oz Weaver, Festival Producer.
Toronto - Sep 24, 2022 – Global leader in comedy, Just For Laughs is pleased to announce that the 10th edition of Just For Laughs TORONTO is now underway.
Yesterday evening, Just For Laughs invited its partners and sponsors to an official opening held at the Meridian Hall to celebrate the return of the festival to the city and launch the new free street festival.
Charles Décarie, CEO of Just For Laughs Group and Bruce Hills, President of Just For Laughs were joined by Julie Dzerowicz, MP for Davenport, Kristyn Wong-Tam, MPP for Toronto Centre, Deputy Mayor of Toronto, Michael Thompson and François Joseph Poirier, Senior Vice-President, Sales and Partners Experience of Beneva, the festival’s presenting sponsor, to officially open the event.
“What a pleasure it is to be here tonight on behalf of the Federal Government. Just For Laughs TORONTO is back, for its biggest festival yet. Beyond making us laugh, this beloved annual event is a breath of fresh air for our city. It provides a much-needed economic and tourism boost. Our government is proud to support Just for Laughs again this year through both Heritage Canada and FedDev Ontario.” said Julie Dzerowicz, MP for Davenport on behalf of Minister Rodriguez.
“This weekend we will see local and international acts perform for the public for free. This includes comedians from every corner of Toronto and across the province. It is our hope that this year’s event will be just the beginning. We believe that there is a distinct opportunity for this event to become the world’s biggest and best comedy festival within the next few years.” said Deputy Mayor of Toronto, Michael Thompson.
Charles Décarie, CEO of Just For Laughs Group said, “Being able to return to Toronto as a fully in-person event as we celebrate our festival’s 10th anniversary is extra special.” Bruce Hills, President of Just For Laughs added, ‘We love seeing how this festival has flourished in the city over the past 10 years. It’s very exciting to see our vision of growing this event come to life this week with our street festival starting, ComedyCON expanding and our standup in rooms across the city.”
The much anticipated festival returns to host some of today’s biggest comedians performing in venues across Toronto until October 1st. New for this year, the event also includes a free threeday street festival. Located on a 130,000 sq-ft site at Front St. E and Berczy Park and now running daily 11am-11pm up to and including Sunday September 25th, festivalgoers can look forward to a packed program of comedy, music and entertainment at the Beneva Stage.
Thank you to our generous sponsors,
Beneva (Presenting Partner), SiriusXM Canada (in Association with presenting partner), Muskoka Brewery (Official Beer & Ready To Drink Partner), Virgin Plus (Official Mobile & Internet Partner), Boston Pizza (Official Restaurant Partner), OLG (Official Lottery Partner) National Bank (Official Bank Partner) and TO Live (Venue Partner).
Thank you to our generous Government partners: The Government of Canada, The Government of Ontario, Ontario Trillium Foundation & The City of Toronto.
ABOUT JUST FOR LAUGHS TORONTO
Established in 2012 and now in its tenth year, Just For Laughs TORONTO (formerly known as JFL42), is a pass-based interactive comedy festival based in Toronto, created by the Just For Laughs Group, the most important player in the global comedy industry co-owned by Groupe CH, Bell Media and ICM Partners. Developed with a mandate to celebrate the most hilarious, innovative, riveting and relevant comedy experiences in the world with Toronto audiences, Just For Laughs Toronto’s unique interactive pass based ticketing and reservation system makes it the first comedy festival of its kind. Just For Laughs entertains millions of spectators with its festivals on Canadian and international stages, in Montréal; Toronto; Vancouver; Austin, U.S.A.; Sydney, Australia and London, U.K. The Group organizes shows featuring thousands of comics from Canada and other countries, including established artists as well as up-and-comers; stages its own comedy shows and musicals; produces touring shows; broadcasts digital and televised content (notably Gags, which is shown in 150 countries and followed by an online audience of ten million on YouTube); manages talented artists; and is the originator of the ComedyPRO and JPR Pro industry conferences.