The organizers of the Fresno Comedy Rumble hope the event will shine a spotlight on the region’s growing standup comedy scene. Full Circle Brewing photo

Fresno’s comedy scene seeks to bring more laughs in a new festival debuting this weekend. The Fresno Comedy Rumble will feature shows, food, drinks and live music from Fashawn, Iwanaga, Sci-Fi Caper and others closing out each day.

The festival has partnered with local venues to host the events, which include a head-to-head competition of 16 comics from all over California. The main event each night will feature the day’s top competitors, as chosen by the audience.

There will be a dozen sideshows to keep the festival alive throughout the weekend.

The Fresno Comedy Rumble is organized by three Fresno comics — Mike Wooten, Isaiah Washington and Dave Apkarian.

“We realized that people always asked when the next open mic was, what time, etc. So, we figured having a dedicated group that posts and promotes the local shows would benefit not only the comics, but also benefit the audience members looking to come out for a laugh,” said Wooten.

Locations for the Fresno Comedy Rumble were chosen based on the previous treatment of local comics over the years.

“We think it will be an amazing way to bring Fresno together for a weekend of fun. Getting everyone out for a mix of comedy, music and food is something that Fresno has never seen before, so we’re hoping the turnout is great and everyone has a blast,” said Wooten.

The main events each night are at Full Circle Brewing, The Labyrinth Art Collective and Strummer’s. Wooten said all three locations already have regular comedy open mics and shows, so it was a matter of asking them if they would be interested in participating in the event.

“Full Circle has been hosting comedy consistently since 2019. Full Circle started to host comedy out of necessity for the comedy community, as there were no other weekly comedy events in Fresno at the time,” said Adam Band, partnerships and advertising manager at Full Circle.

Local comedian Danny Minch has been hosting shows at the DiCicco’s location in Clovis for many years.

Given the growth of the Fresno Comedy Scene, it was time for Fresno to host its first-ever comedy festival, said Brand. With Full Circle’s long-time involvement in the community, Full Circle was one of the first places that The Comedy Rumble team reached out to.

Full Circle Brewery hosts weekly comedy open mic events every Sunday and larger, ticketed comedy events monthly. The comedy shows have brought a new audience to their taproom, and they can see the scene’s growth in the Central Valley.

The festival begins Friday and runs through Sunday. Weekend wristbands, as well as single-day tickets, are available now at https://tinyurl.com/367u3b22.