You would have been hard pressed to find a straight face at the Wawota Legion Hall last Saturday night. The Puck-n-Funny comedy troop was invited to the Hall to help raise funds for the local hockey arena. The show was preceded with dinner and the chance to bid in a silent auction, purchase 50/50 tickets and enter a draw to win a $1000 travel voucher from McPhail Travel.
Wawota Forum Board president Trevor Birnie gladly accepted the travelling comedy acts' offer to perform in Wawota. Besides needing to raise money for the arena's chiller and condenser, comedy shows are a rare occurrence in Wawota according to Birnie; it "was just good timing" for something like this in his words.
Mike Simmonds, comedian and founder of Puck-n-Funny, described himself as always being the class clown back in his school days. An avid hockey fan, Simmonds decided to combine his natural comedic talents with his passion for the sport, which he understands is one of the more costly ones to take-up. "Breaking bread and laughter are an excellent way of raising funds for the community," according to Simmonds. The comedy act, which Simmonds formed seven years ago in La Ronge, has been successfully raising funds for hockey arenas across Western Canada ever since.
Simmonds is also "50% of Canada's blind comedians." He has been blind since 1999 and is also using comedy to raise money in support of vision restoration research. More information about this campaign can be found at http://standupforsight.com/
The line-up for last Saturday's fundraiser included Simmonds himself, headliner Daryl Makk and Paul Voissard. The comedians had the Wawota crowd not only laughing about the humdrum aspects of life, but at themselves too-the sure sign of a successful comedy event.
