By Sally Deering

There’s no doubt the snowstorms of 2014 left Jersey City streets ripped up pretty bad.  How bad? I saw a woman park her Fiat in a pot-hole.  (Rim-shot!)

Everybody could use a good laugh these days and Craig Mahoney of Jersey City, a stand-up comedian and artist has taken it upon himself to help Jersey City reclaim its sense of humor. Starting Sunday, March 30^th and running all week through Saturday, April 5^th, Dos Equis presents the Jersey City Comedy Festival featuring 100 comedians performing in clubs and other venues all about town. This marks the second year for the “week-long, city-wide celebration of the art of comedy” and Hudsonites are invited to shed their winter blahs with a few belly laughs.

“The schedule is set: over 100 stand–up comedians and we’ve got four sketch comedy groups and one improv comedy group,” Mahoney says. “We’re going to have two art shows as part of the festival, too.”

Mahoney will open the festival at a new performance venue The Rogues Gallery on Palisade Avenue in the Heights section of Jersey City.

“That’s where we will start and finish the week,” Mahoney says. “And at LITM on Newark Avenue in Jersey City, there will be a group art show of artists who are also comics.”

Last year’s comedy festival featured 100 comics doing 18 shows over six nights at 14 venues; this year there will be 100 comics, 25 events, two after-parties, open mics and figure drawing

“Roughly the same amount of comedians will be coming,” Mahoney says. “We mixed it up with live podcasts and a live book reading, a web video marathon and shows on the big screen with a Q&A afterward.”

For one performance, Mahoney and his friend Justin Murray will do a live commentary of the 1986 movie TRANSFORMERS.

Mahoney has made sure every show has a female comic performing, and with ticket prices averaging $15, Mahoney’s goal is to make sure all the comics get paid for performing, even if it’s just train fare.

“Most comics are coming across the river to be in the festival,” Mahoney says. “I don’t think the comics should have to worry about anything except showing up and being funny.”

If you go:

Sun, Mar. 30 – Sat, April 5

JERSEY CITY COMEDY FESTIVAL

Opening and Closing night at

The Rogue’s Gallery

467 Palisade Ave

Jersey City

For schedule information, go to

www.facebook.com/JerseyCityComedyFestival