An all-female comedy show is coming to Chilliwack to celebrate International Women’s Day.
Fraser Valley Comedy, started by Yo Trieu of Chilliwack, is welcoming 10 female comics to the Chilliwack Cultural Centre stage for its Jest Ladies show on March 8. And four of those comics are from Chilliwack.
Trieu said the show aims to give praise to the city’s local talent, while bringing in some outside voices. All together, he said, it will make for a diverse show.
Locals are Cari Norton Moore, Helena Paul, Ericka Young and Laurie James and the headliners are comedians Syd Bosel and Lisa Person. Another four comics will round out the night.
The Chilliwack Progress sat down with three of the four locals who all said they will be joking about family and relationships on March 8.
“When I first started – it was about 12 years ago – my jokes used to be all dirty and sexy, now I’m old so it’s aging and relationships,” said Young. “My son’s coming. I get to make fun of him to his face this time, which is nice.”
Moore said she’s going to stick to what she knows best which is talking about herself.
“My comedy is making fun of my family, or making fun of my weight or who I am.”
Stó:lō comedian Paul is a bit more vulgar that the others and said, among other topics, she’ll be talking about things people struggle with and masturbation.
Paul is “the dirty one,” Moore said.
“I’m the reason why it’s 18-plus,” Paul said with a laugh.
She also admits she’s the laziest of them all.
“Sometimes I even sit, I don’t even stand up,” Paul said.
Jest Ladies by Fraser Valley Comedy has been at different venues throughout Chilliwack since 2016. This is the first time the show will be on the main Hub International stage at the Chilliwack Cultural Centre.
In past years, the centre has brought the all-woman comedy show I Am Woman! Hear Me Laff! to Chilliwack on International Women’s Day, but that hasn’t been here since before the pandemic. Trieu has seen the success of that show, so he decided to take the leap and bring his show Jest Ladies to “the big stage,” he said.
Typical comedy shows will have three to four comics, but this one has 10 so there will be a lot of diversity in both the women and their topics, which Trieu said will appeal to more audience members.
“I think it’s very important to have a variety of people. It’s a buffet of different comics,” Trieu said, jokingly adding that they want to offend as many people as possible.
Feature comedians Bosel and Person will wrap up the night.
Bosel is known for her relatable storytelling about having “adult” children, surviving the glories of nature and being married for 1,000 years, according to her bio. She can be heard on CBC’s Laugh Out Loud and Just for Laughs. She was also on Canada’s Got Talent 2023.
A freelance graphic designer by trade, Person is naturally quiet and reserved, and freely acknowledges she’s a little older than many of her colleagues currently challenging the boundaries for women in the Vancouver-Lower Mainland comedy scene. She has performed at I Am Woman! Hear Me Laff! and Just For Laughs Northwest Comedy Festival. Person has also opened for Debra DiGiovanni, Tanyalee Davis, Chris Kattan and Derek Seguin.
Moore, who’s been in Chilliwack for more than 30 years, said what she’s looking forward to most on March 8 is having her friends come to the show.
“I love when you’re announced that you’re a local comic and the crowd cheers because they either know you or they recognize you,” she said. “Sometimes I think Yo (Trieu) has me on stage so I fill half the crowd.”
“She brings all of Chilliwack,” Trieu admitted. “She’s like the megaphone of Chilliwack.”
In addition to the four Chilliwack comics and the two headliners, there will be special performances by Angelica Senger, Alison Ogilvie and Monique Bellamy. The show is hosted by Nic Enright-Morin.
“It’s important to know it’s not just for women,” Moore added. “We’re celebrating women but men should be out there celebrating with us.”
Jest Ladies by Fraser Valley Comedy is at the Chilliwack Cultural Centre on Friday, March 8 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $37 and can be purchased at the Centre Box Office, online at chilliwackculturalcentre.ca, or by calling 604-391-SHOW(7469).
NOTE: This is an 18+ show and contains explicit language and subjects.
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