Bridgetown Comedy Festival
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| Bridgetown Comedy Festival | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Stand-up comedy, Sketch comedy, Improvisation, Podcast |
| Locations | Portland, OR, U.S. |
| Inaugurated | 2008 |
| Website | www.bridgetowncomedy.com |
The Bridgetown Comedy Festival was a stand-up comedy festival located in the Hawthorne district of Portland, Oregon that took place every spring from 2008 to 2017, featuring standup comedy showcases, live podcasts, panel discussions and improv comedy. It was created in October 2007 by comedians Andy Wood and Matt Braunger and filmmaker Kimberly Brady.
In 2010, Ben Bateman of Willamette Week newspaper called Bridgetown "the fastest-growing comedy extravaganza in America."[1] Successively larger and better-planned comedy festivals prompted one reviewer to comment, ". . . as usual, organizer Andy Wood and his royal army of geniuses outdid themselves. How can you make something already great even better? I'm not sure, but it happened."[2] In late 2009, the Portland Mercury reviewed the festival, stating that, "Bridgetown (or should we say, Andy Wood) is changing Portland comedy"[3] and the following year, the Portland Monthly stated that Wood "deserves several rounds of applause for making the fest happen . . . ."[4] In his work as a comedy promoter, Andy Wood created a venue where the comedy market was struggling, and has promoted the venue to as a regional and national event.[5] Part of Wood's approach in creating 'draw' to a weak comedy market was to couple art with philanthropy.[6] In 2014, Kristi Turnquist of The Oregonian wrote that "The annual event brings comedians from around the country together with some of the Northwest's top acts, for four jam-packed days of hilarity."[7]