Otter Lakers were treated to a night of comedy by three Yuk Yuk’s comedians on Saturday night as a fundraiser for the town’s upcoming 150th anniversary celebrations.
Volunteers from the organizing Otter Lake 150 committee used tablecloths, candles and string lights to turn the RA Hall into a makeshift comedy club for the night.
Committee member Sarah Gravelle, a self-described “huge fan” of stand-up comedy, contacted Yuk Yuk’s comedy club to see if they would send comedians to the event.
“I asked if they would come out this far, and they said yes, and it just went from there,” she said.
As the show’s start time approached, Gravelle announced to the crowd that one of the comedians scheduled to perform had gotten lost on the way to Otter Lake.
“She ended up two hours in the other direction,” she said before the night’s first comedian Sarah Boston got on stage.
Fortunately, Yuk Yuk’s comedian Mark Daly happened to be in attendance at the show. He generously filled the gap with a rather raunchy three-minute set.
“We have a cottage nearby, and when I saw the event I said, ‘Wouldn’t it be funny for us to go and sit in the audience?’” said Daley’s wife Anne Richard.
Finally, Bobby Knauff got on stage to deliver his set. He joked about the audience’s relative age – and amount of medical devices inside of their bodies – and professed his love for older women. He even got the audience involved in the show via some banter with a 72-year-old woman sitting in the front row.
When the last joke was told, the Otter Lake crowd erupted in raucous applause. As audience members began to file out of the building, some could be heard saying they would like to bring back a comedy event again next year.
“The show was great,” said organizer Lory Beaudoin, who acknowledged all the hard work her team of volunteers put in, as well as those working the snack counter and bar.
The comedians said while touring events like these can often be a little hit-or-miss, the audience in Otter Lake was one of the best they’ve had.
“The audience was super attentive and super into anything that we talked about,” said Knauff.
Money raised from the tickets will go toward the committee’s festivities for Otter Lake’s 150th anniversary next year.
