What happens when you have six comedians round for the weekend? You end up with a comedy festival like no other!
That was definitely the case when comedians Mick Miller, Steve Royle, Nina Gilligan, Justin Moorhouse, Gary Marshall, and Lea Roberts, graced the stage at Elton Liberal Club, in New George Street, last weekend (Friday, March 1 and Saturday, March 2).
The inaugural comedy night last year was such a great success, that this year, we brought it back by popular demand.
However, this time it was an expanded comedy festival, spread over two nights – meaning we were able to have double the fun!
The comedy festival, which was sponsored by JD Sports, was highly anticipated, as the fantastic line-up ensured both nights were unmissable.
All the comedians came with top-notch sets that had the audiences in complete stitches.
Bury Hospice events fundraiser Dale Mulgrew said: “The Bury Hospice Comedy Festival was a huge success.
"We had sell-out crowds on both nights. In fact, we’d been sold out for several weeks and had a waiting list.
“I am pleased each night just went very well and everyone enjoyed themselves, because we had a line-up of great comedians over the weekend.
“There was lots of laughter- plenty of chuckles galore from the crowd.”
The comedy festival was compered by hospice trustee, Dr Kevin Jones, dubbed the “funniest doctor in Britain".
Kevin, a well-respected, retired doctor and comedian who performs stand-up on the comedy circuit, brought the fabulous line-up together.
He welcomed Nina Gilligan, Mick Miller and Steve Royle to the stage on the first night, followed by Gary Marshall, Lea Roberts and Justin Moorhouse on the second.
Kevin said: “It was spectacular to watch six of the country’s best comedians at the top of their game.
“The audiences absolutely loved them and they loved the audiences. It was a magnificent way to raise money for a magnificent cause.”
Not only were the comedians welcomed by the audiences, we had a couple of very satisfied supporters that managed to win the "barrow of booze", who very much welcomed taking home their winnings.
We are really pleased with how great the comedy festival went, £9,000 was raised over the weekend, with a final sum, still yet to be confirmed.
The success of the festival is straight off the back of a spectacular run of events we’ve hosted, including the Christmas Tree Recycling Scheme in January, which raised a magnificent £20,584.61, and the "For the Love Of" ball last month, which brought local people together in a luxurious setting to have fun whilst raising funds for the hospice.
Thank you to everyone who attended the comedy festival, and to those who have supported our events so far this year.
Your ongoing contributions enable the hospice to support many people across Bury who are in need of essential palliative and end-of-life care.
We have plenty more great events to come that will challenge, inspire and entertain you. Make sure you don’t miss out, and get involve wherever possible.
Head here for more information on the Bury Hospice events: https://www.buryhospice.org.uk/events/
The Bury Hospice Fire Walk is around the corner on Friday, March 22 at Woodbank Cricket Club. You can sign up at https://www.buryhospice.org.uk/events/fire-walk.
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