The festival comes to the Kuumbwa in Santa Cruz on Thursday, August 17 @ 8pm and will feature 10 comedians: Priyanka Wali (DOCTOR BY DAY, COMEDIAN BY NIGHT), Abhay Nadkarni, David Naimyar, Kabir Singh, Mona Shaikh, Neel Nanda, Reyhaneh Rajabzadeh, Richard Sarvate, Samson Koletkar, and Vik Pandya. Tickets: $20 adv, $30 door. http://www.desicomedyfest.com/shows-2017/2017/8/17/kuumbwa-jazz-center-santa-cruz
The 4th Annual Desi* Comedy Fest is an 11-day South Asian stand up comedy extravaganza touring comedy clubs and theaters in 9 cities throughout Northern California: San Francisco, Berkeley, Mill Valley, Santa Clara, Union City, Alameda, Livermore, Santa Cruz, and Mountain View.
The festival, the largest of its kind in the US, runs August 10-20 and features 40 South Asian comedians from all over the US, India and South Africa with diverse ethnic (Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Afghani, Sri Lankan, Iranian, Filipino, and African American) and religious backgrounds (Muslim, Jewish, Sikh, and Catholic).
Comics to watch for this year include:
-New York City-based, Indian-American, Alingon Mitra <www.desicomedyfest.com/alingon-mitra>, who has written for The Daily Show and been on numerous late night talk shows (Conan O’Brien, Colbert, and Craig Ferguson)
-Irish Catholic/Pakistani-Indian-Burmese-Muslim comedian, Ahmed Bharoocha <www.desicomedyfest.com/ahmed-bharoocha> featured on Conan and Comedy Central and named one of Ten Comedians to Watch in 2017 by Esquire Magazine
-The fastest growing young female comic hailing from South Africa, Karmen Naidoo <www.desicomedyfest.com/karmen-naidoo>
Comedians traveling from abroad include:
-Kritarth Srinivasan (India) <www.desicomedyfest.com/kritarth>
-Karmen Naidoo (South Africa) <www.desicomedyfest.com/karmen-naidoo>
-Reyhaneh Rajabzadeh (Muslim Iranian American comedian, based in Shanghai.) <www.desicomedyfest.com/reyhaneh-rajabzadeh>
Shows: http://www.desicomedyfest.com
Comedians: http://www.desicomedyfest.com/2017-comedians
Festival trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJkR1_i1tdI