The 9th annual “Long Island Comedy Festival” will have 14 performances throughout the summer in Nassau and Suffolk counties, including one at the Gold Coast Arts Center in Great Neck on July 17 and another stop at the Landmark on Main Street in Port Washington on Aug. 9.
“The comedy festival tours Long Island during the months of July and August at many of the Island’s top venues,” said Paul Anthony, the founder and executive producer of the festival.
This year’s festival began on June 20 at the Peppercorn Cafe, located at 668 South Country Road in East Patchogue.
The festival will continue on Friday, July 11 at 8 p.m. at Theatre Three, located at 412 Main Street in Port Jefferson.
The “Long Island Comedy Festival” was created by Anthony, a comedian, in 2006.
Anthony said he and other comedians tour Long Island venues, performing a variety of stand-up comedy acts.
“It was created with the simple goal of promoting the art of live stand-up comedy right here on Long Island,” he said.
Anthony said that the festival has grown to include more mainstream acts and venues since its inception nine years ago.
“This summer we are featuring an evening with national headline comedian Kevin Meaney,” Anthony said. “The comedy festival is now featured at The Paramount Theater in Huntington which [has] over 1,000 seats.”
Meaney will perform on Aug. 2 at 8 p.m. at the Gateway Playhouse, located at 215 South Country Road in Bellport. Meaney has been featured in his own HBO special and has also appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
Comedians scheduled to perform at the Great Neck and Port Washington events include Randy Levin, Maria Walsh, Chris Roach and comedic duo Isaacs and Baker.
Other comedians scheduled to perform during the festival include J. Jay Boyd, John Larocchia, Scott Schendlinger, Rob Falcone and Joey Giarratano.
The Gold Coast Arts Center is located at 113 Middle Neck Road in Great Neck and the Landmark on Main Street is located at 232 Main Street in Port Washington. Both shows are scheduled to begin at 8 p.m.
Anthony said the festival receives submissions from people across the United States and “as far as the U.K., Ireland and Australia” and starts choosing performers in the fall.
“Each summer the comedy festival features over 50 comedians from Long Island, around the country and around the globe,” he said.
For a complete schedule and to buy tickets visit, longislandcomedy.com
