Comedy Night in Grimsby rebooted

After a successful experiment in Summer 2021, Grimsby’s Downtown Improvement Area board is rebooting its Comedy Night in Grimsby series.

Last summer, the series operated in Coronation Park each Wednesday evening in the summer.

These were followed up with some specialty themed events for a Ladies Night and Christmas promotion.

“People who turned out really appreciated the events both the outdoor events in the summer and the indoor events later in the year. The board had planned to connect all that to a continuation of the summer program in 2022, but COVID shut down January and February plans,” said Mike Williscraft, Grimsby DIA president.

For the first time, the event will be hosted in Station 1 Coffeehouse’s 24 Steps Lounge, which is upstairs from the main cafe – free of charge.

General manager Nicki Manley said she is excited to see how the event goes in the newly renovated space.

“The cafe will be open downstairs until the show starts, so guests can purchase any coffee or treats and take them upstairs. Then the downstairs will close at 8:15 p.m.,” said Manley.

MARCH 30 SHOW STARTS 8 P.M.

With the event being first come, first served, she noted the lounge will be open at 7 p.m.

“We will have beer and cocktails, along with wine, juice and soda and some treats available upstairs, too,” added Manley.

The idea for the comedy night originated from the simple need to give area residents something to do – both to entertain and just to get them out of the house.

“We got dozens and dozens of comments about how nice it was to have something to do and people really appreciated the fact the DIA was putting this on free of charge,” said Jeff Jordan, Grimsby mayor and DIA board member, who volunteered as an event host on a couple of occasions last summer.

With a mandate to promote the downtown, Williscraft said this kind of event is a great fit.

“The outdoor shows, which we will pick up again this summer, will continue to be ‘family friendly’. Anything that gets people downtown is a very good thing, so we wanted to keep the event and its branding going through the winter,” said Williscraft.

“We will be running events on the last Wednesday of each month until June, then the weekly summer series will pick up in July.”

Williscraft also noted, at its board meeting last week, the DIA unanimously supported any effort to have the Grimsby Farmers’ Market return to Main Street this summer.