A group of comedians are sharing their talents to help local businesses – and their next stop is Champagne Taste Home.
The home consignment store in New Westminster is the next beneficiary of a series of comedy nights that’s being presented by Burnaby stand-up comic Ray Morrison and a group of local comics.
The comedy nights are being presented online, via Zoom, and audience members can enjoy the show from the comfort of their own home.
Morrison held the first comedy night in May in support of Cozmos Café + Bistro in Burnaby. For that occasion, each comic performed remotely from their own living room. For the upcoming Champagne Taste show, set for Friday, June 12 at 8 p.m., the comics will actually be performing on-site in the store – though audiences will still watch from home.
For show admission, audience members can either pay $10 to enjoy the performance outright, or else buy a Champagne Taste gift certificate (denominations of $10 to $50 are available) to enjoy the show first and shop later.
Janice Wright, owner of Champagne Taste, noted four of the eight performers are from New Westminster.
“They were quite excited about actually coming together and broadcasting here,” she said.
It’s a win for the comics, who get a chance to perform in the company – albeit the physically distanced company – of others. And it’s a win for the store, which gets to show off some of the merchandise it has on hand in various sections of the shop.
“This is a unique way to showcase some of the great merchandise and staged vignettes we are so famous for, as each comedian will be nestled in to their own part of the store as a backdrop to their routine,” Wright said.
The shop has been reopen part-time since May 7, Wright noted, with Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday hours. She’s been using her pandemic time to also work on the store’s website and social media presence – which, she says, has been paying dividends, if the amount of interest from the community is anything to go by.
“We’ve really been upping our game,” she said.
Wright and Morrison have known each other for years; before retiring and pursuing his stand-up career, Morrison was the rep for a furniture company and did business with Wright’s store.
For Morrison, a desire to support local business was the impetus to launch the comedy night series.
“As I do not see masses of people feeling comfortable reverting immediately to the old habits, many of these businesses will have a long road ahead,” he told the Burnaby NOW when he launched the first show in support of Cozmos. “They need our support more than ever.”
For more on the comedy series or to book tickets, search for “Life is Still Funny: Champagne Taste Comedy” on Eventbrite.ca.
For more on the store, see www.champagnetaste.ca.
